#5193, New Music for Gamelan
Gamelan music goes back several centuries, but the fast-paced style that became a tourist attraction in Indonesia emerged in the twentieth century in Bali. This style is now known as “Gong Kebyar” – which roughly translates to “burst into flame”. In contrast, Javanese gamelan music sounds much statelier, cyclical, and composed. On this episode of New Sounds, we have works from composers and ensembles that take both styles to entirely different territories through their innovative, experimental works.
Balinese composer Dewa Alit has an album with Gamelan Salukat that is appropriately titled as Baur Bentur, which means “mixing and smashing”, alluding to the combination of different tuning systems and scales that aren’t supposed to be played simultaneously. And yet they all co-exist, with the addition of the piano played by Sri Hanuraga, in “Sukat Tacala”.
In “Kekembangan” and the rest of the songs on their album titled American Works for Balinese Gamelan, recorded by the California-based ensemble Gamelan Sekar Jaya, composers Evan Ziporyn, Michael Tenzer, and Wayne Vitale present an “an intercultural musical experiment”. Ziporyn’s piece brings a saxophone quartet and an instrumental Balinese-style gamelan orchestra together, creating a consistent and reliable context of harmony that makes “Kekembangan” an easier listen for Western ears.
Podjama is a Swiss jazz trio formed by vocalist Anne-Florence Schneider, bassist Jean-Pierre Schaller, and guitarist Claude Schneider. Joined by the gamelan ensemble Saraswati, they also fuse Western and Indonesian elements in “Tari Danur Dara / Temple Keeper”, which is the only piece that contains vocals with lyrics in our playlist.
We end the episode with a slightly calmer yet still lively piece from American composer Lou Harrison: “III. Belle's Bull”. The recording brings Gamelan Galak Tika and pianist Sarah Cahill together, whose piano melodies ring in just intonation, adapting to the universe of Harrison’s Concerto for Piano with Javanese Gamelan. - Sırma Munyar
(Photo of Gamelan Salukat, courtesy of the ensemble's Facebook page.)
Program #5193, New Music for Gamelan (First aired 10/08/26)
ARTIST: Various Artists
WORK: Gamelan Gong Kebyar: Paksi Ngelayang
RECORDING: The Gamelan Music Of Bali
SOURCE: King Record Co. Ltd
INFO: https://www.discogs.com/release/11496589-Various-The-Gamelan-Music-Of-Bali
ARTIST: Dewa Alit & Gamelan Salukat
WORK: Sukat Tacala
RECORDING: Baur Bentur
SOURCE: Black Truffle
INFO: https://dewaalit.bandcamp.com/album/baur-bentur
ARTIST: Gamelan Sekar Jaya
WORK: Kekembangan
RECORDING: American Works for Balinese Gamelan
SOURCE: New World Records
INFO: https://newworldrecords.bandcamp.com/album/american-works-for-balinese-gamelan
ARTIST: Podjama & Saraswati
WORK: Tari Danur Dara / Temple Keeper
RECORDING: Podjama & Saraswati
SOURCE: Altrisuoni
INFO: Available on digital streaming platforms, including Spotify, Apple Music, and Amazon Music.
ARTIST: Lou Harrison, Sarah Cahill, Evan Ziporyn, Gamelan Galak Tika, Jody Diamond
WORK: Concerto for Piano with Javanese Gamelan: III. Belle's Bull
RECORDING: Harrison: Concerto for Piano with Javanese Gamelan
SOURCE: CMA Recorded Archive Editions
INFO: https://www.clevelandart.org/performing-arts/cma-recorded-archive-editions/lou-harrison-concerto-piano-javanese-gamelan
