Taking Sides: Balinese Gamelan v. Javanese Gamelan

I think that Bali is primarily Hindu, while Java is the part of Indonessia with the heaviest Muslim influence. So you might expect me to prefer Javanese gamelan, but I don't.

as an aside, is Bali the only Hindu area outside India (apart from places with loads of Indian immigrants, or does Bali just have loads of Indian immigrants?)?

I'm putting you down as a reference statistic.

(Then he and his wife, who was an English Literature professor, both got tenured positions in the same university out of state and moved away. Yay for them! They were nice, friendly (cool) neighbors. They were more bohemian and accepting of our poorly maintained building than I was, given the low rent and really great location, but then the roof leaked on his book manuscript, or something like that, and they were a little less understanding.)

until recently I knew nothing about Gamelan. I even had the vague idea that there was such a thing as a gamelan, some kind of stringed instrument. Then someone told me that it was all to do with little bells or something, then I read someone talking about making Gamelan music, and then I became so obsessed with it that I had to buy a record of it.

I can see how composers would get really into it, it has an interesting richness to it.

I think I will buy a Balinese Gamelan CD for contrast tomorrow. And then I will consider the question of whether two Gamelan albums is all the Gamelan I need or not.

this is what it looks like: http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B000084T5H.02.LZZZZZZZ.jpg

It's called The Jasmine Isle: Gamelan Music .

The sleevenotes have little pictures & descriptions of Gamelan instruments.

One old classic recording is called something like Music for the Morning of the World. As an added bonus, you get the ketjak, the Balinese monkey chant.

I have been searching on the web for something like a comprehensive list of western composers who were inspired by, or in some cases directly tried to imitate, gamelan. Off the top of my head, I remember reading that Cage's prepared piano was an attempt to approximate the sound of a gamelan (probably Balinese, in that case). I think Henry Cowell was probably taken with it. Possibly Conlon Nancarrow. Debussy was impressed with it after hearing it at the 1889 Paris Exposition. I think Harry Partch is another one. And of course a lot of later composers, but I'm trying to think of the earliest ones to draw on its sound. Even Satie, I think, though I don't hear a connection there.

but i don't think so. actually i dont know. yup.

anyway,i just had a quick look at it,and the blurb says
"ocean of sound begins in 1899 at the paris exposition when debussy first heard javanese music performed"

the first chapter is sub-headed "sound and evocation;muzak,ambience and aethereal culture;brian eno and perfume;bali,java,debussy"

i went so far as to start a thread on ocean of sound and my difficulty getting into it a while back,but i'm starting to think i should give it another shot...

As for recommended titles, I'd say the Nonesuch stuff presents an obvious and (at least in the US) budget-minded place to start. The aforementioned Balinese comp titled Music from the Morning of the World is the pick hit to click. (I think the new reissue series has split the contents of that disc back into its component albums, one of which is called Golden Rain and includes the monkey chant; the title of the other one escapes me.) The Nonesuch folks also recorded a follow up Balinese disc in the late '80s or early '90s, attempting to document how the music had changed and shifted; the recording is better, but I don't enjoy the performances as much. Much better on the update tip is a relatively recent three-disc non-Nonesuch set recorded by Mickey Hart called (I believe) The Bali Sessions: great sound, great performances, with a wide sampling of gamelan and non-gamelan stuff too. Also, I've noticed that the new Nonesuch reissue series also includes Idjah Hadidjah's Tongerret (sp?), which is a great Balinese pop recording with a lot of the tintinabulent and plaintive qualities of gamelan.

Pretty much all the Javanese Nonesuch's I've heard were worth hearing, my favorite being Javanese Court Gamelan Vol. 2. As I said, there seem to be fewer Javanese recordings available in this country; perhaps its appeal is a little more ephemeral, less easy to bottle.

A few years ago, any really good US record store had a bunch of releases from a Japanese label called King Records, and they put out some amazing Balinese discs as well as some Javanese and Sundanese recordings. The label did a Gamelan Semar Peguligang (sp?) disc that I really love (including compositions by I Wayang Lotring, who's supposed to be the Mozart of Balinese gamelan--a musicologist I interviewed for a story on a local gamelan orchestra actually told me that). You don't see those King discs around so much anymore, but after a while I just started buying any and all of them I could afford, Indonesian and otherwise, and was rarely disappointed.

I've never been to Bali, but according to friends who've been, there are hundreds, thousands of gamelans--almost every little village has one, the way that almost all US and British towns used to have their own brass bands and so on--and thus there are almost as many stylistic twists and quirks as there are gamelans, in addition to the different established traditions and scales. I imagine it's probably even more diverse and diffused in Java, where the tradition is older. So the few recordings that make it into Stateside bins are just the tip of the proverbial iceberg.

the balinese "golden rain" stuff (gamelan gong kebyar) is insanely fast, like d'n'b fast, but most of the balinese gamelan discs don't have kebyar tracks on them.

the javanese stuff floats along s-l-o-w-l-y, like at the pace of phillip glass. i have to agree with vol. 2 as the one to start with.

as for the balinese discs, i quite like the ones titled "music of the shadow play". that one uses a really lovely bamboo gamelan with a tinkly sort of toytown vibe.

so i guess my recs. are golden rain, javanese vol. 2, and shadow play.

I liked the turtle percussion thingy, and I tried playing one of the instruments that she played, but I wasn't very good. Then she took my guitar and tuned it to a gamelan scale!

OH god this is so good with headphones, the drum cuing is so great on this! The flute in the slow parts of the second track is such a great counterpoint to the almost hardcore drumming and the fury of the metalphones! I wish more of the cymbal sound was in the right channel, though.

I also got:
http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B000084T5F.03.LZZZZZZZ.jpg
(Nonesuch Explorer Series - Bali: Gamelan and Kecak)

Also, what other countries have a Gamelan tradition?

Gamelan related NOISE.

the "gamelan & kecak" that jon got today and "music from the morning of the world" may be the best to star with because of their variety, but i am hooked on the intricate tinker tones of the love god and the shadow play.

if you live in Dublin and want to catch some Gamelan action then check out this festival: http://ergodos.ie/?page_id=16

my new theory is that both Javanese and Balinese Gamelan are better than music written for Gamelan orchestras by contemporary composers.

gamelan recordings recommendations please!

i have nonesuch explorer's java court gamelan 1-3, and 'gamelan of the love god' - any other standouts?

at all?

SUNDA(-NESE)* GAMELAN >>>> JAVA >>>>>>>>>>>>>> BALI

sunda is west javanese style, not very well known outside of Indo but it's by far my favorite.

i would expect nothing less from you!

how did you find out about it? are there... recordings...?

This Sublime Frequencies Gamelan disc is pretty cool.
http://static.boomkat.com/images/52674/333.jpg

Has a "field recording" vibe; lots of atmosphere and ambient sounds along with the instruments.
One track sounds like someone walking in and out of a performance. Actually, the whole disc kind of sounds like that.

mostly featured with suling (flute) or voice, here is a sample of my favorite track (great album if a little bit "samey" but really strong):

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002KHRRSE/ref=dm_dp_trk7

look on youtube for "sunda gamelan" esp the tracks with airbrush art pictures:
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=sunda+gamelan

I saw this at BAM and it was amazing: http://www.bam.org/view.aspx?pid=2229

John Schaefer seems to play a lot of gamelan (or gamelan-inspired) music on New Sounds on WNYC.

Can't take sides because unfortunately don't know enough about it.

ok this Sangkala album is awesome, thank you so much!

loved the gamelan and the balinese dancing in A House in Bali, but hated the opera bang on a can stuff.

xp: hell yeah, just threw it on blast and freaking every one out with it. XD

Voting Balinese because of the Jegog (bamboo gamelan)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IW-QPw4-4cU

http://nielsenhayden.com/makinglight/archives/014711.html

complete Javanese gamelan for sale in the DC/baltimore area.

Wish I had the money to buy that.

As for the thread title debate, spent a year living in Surakarta studying Javanese gamelan at the national arts school, so I'm partial to its sounds. Especially pieces in the pelog (7 note) scale. In contrast with Balinese gamelan, the Javanese style is slower, more transcendent, and more refined. Claude Debussy said about it:

“But my poor friend! Do you remember the Javanese music, able to express every shade of meaning, even unmentionable shades … which make our tonic and dominant seem like ghosts, for use by naughty little children?”

And:

"There used to be—indeed, despite the troubles that civilization has brought, there still are—some wonderful peoples who learn music as easily as one learns to breathe. Their school consists of the eternal rhythm of the sea, the wind in the leaves, and a thousand other tiny noises, which they listen to with great care, without ever having consulted any of those dubious treatises. Their traditions are preserved only in ancient songs, sometimes involving dance, to which each individual adds his own contribution century by century. Thus Javanese music obeys laws of counterpoint which make Palestrina seem like child’s play. And if one listens to it without being prejudiced by one’s European ears, one will find a percussive charm that forces one to admit that our own music is not much more than a barbarous kind of noise more fit for a traveling circus."

Granted, Balinese gamelan incorporates many of these aspects, but it is certainly not as... magical. It's perhaps more accessible to new ears, for most pieces are quicker in tempo and modifications in rhythm are much more pronounced. But, taking sides, Javanese gamelan is all in the subtlety. Really, it's the most beautiful music I have ever heard.

my new theory is that both Javanese and Balinese Gamelan are better than music written for Gamelan orchestras by contemporary composers.

This is definitely true.

do you realize how fucking amazing Balinese gamelan players would be at math-rock?

i didn't realize until i took a class on it that gamelans are divided into two sets of people and they alternate notes. shit is incredible.

SUNDA(-NESE)* GAMELAN >>>> JAVA >>>>>>>>>>>>>> BALI

sunda is west javanese style, not very well known outside of Indo but it's by far my favorite.

― i love you but i have chosen snarkness (Steve Shasta)

this.

look on youtube for "sunda gamelan" esp the tracks with airbrush art pictures:
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=sunda+gamelan

this is also true, right down to the airbrushed art pictures.

this is the album that made me decide to move to indonesia and start working with sundanese musicians:

http://www.amazon.com/Degung-Mojang-Priangan-Sundanese-Music-West/dp/B000003ZO3/ref=pd_sim_m_3

it's official, non-stolen-and-repackaged-royaly-free-by-some-american-record-label-name is degung vol 2 - mojang priangan by gentra pasudan. i think this song is on it, or at least is representative of the style of the album:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KHvmyfoCleg

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gamelan_Sekaten

^^
This is going on right now, in Solo, and my housemate's friends keep ringing him up so we can hear it down the phone.

Awesome.

Was thinking of signing up for one of those Gamelan classes at the South Bank...

i hope xyzzzz__ signed up bcz then I will see him at next month's GAMELANATHON: http://www.southbankcentre.co.uk/whatson/gamelanathon-77253

as much as i love metallophones, jegog is the best imo

xp aw, might have gone along but will be away that weekend.

That looks cool! Dunno yet if I can make it down though.

Unfortunately I didn't (think the beginner classes were on weds which I'm unavailable for at the moment), but hey I'll def come along :)

Anyone dig Nyai Sumiati?

Sublime Frequencies is presenting Matt Dunning's Javanese gamelan movie docs on the US east coast this month

http://www.thousandbells.com/

They are a tad artsy

Playing lots of Java Gamelan today

http://funkyimg.com/i/DzaL.jpg

http://funkyimg.com/i/DFDg.jpg

I would too if I had all of those instruments.

I gotta get more Javanese stuff. Just picked up that Nonesuch Explorer Jasmine Isle LP and it's so beautiful.

Loving this gamelan mix on NTS -
https://www.nts.live/shows/guests/episodes/shhhh-24th-january-2022

That was lovely, thanks for posting!

Javanese is relaxing, Balinese eventually makes me feel like I'm going to have a panic attack.

^Was not aware of that distinction (I've only heard a minimum of recorded gamelan) but the NTS mix contains a bit of both

xp the relaxation vs. panic attack dichotomy is broadly accurate, but some styles of Balinese gamelan have a more chill vibe, like Gamelan Semar Pelugingan. The Nonesuch Gamelan of the Love God comp is a wonderful, bordering-on-psychedelic example of that style:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hQFlbqnvUqU

I love both Javanese and Balinese, just depends what mood I'm in.

Javanese gamelan and more singer Peni Candra Rini is wowing me right now before a small crowd in DC. She has recently worked with Kronos Quartet and Deerhoof.

She can sing traditional, delicately, or shriek and get operatic. She’s also a professor in Indonesia and is visiting and teaching at U of Richmond in Va in US now as a Fulbright scholar . Her father is a puppeteer and mother sings

as much a s i love me some gongs & metallophones, the bamboo jegog has been my jam for an aeon now:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ikS6r0qxwt0

May I invite you to indulge in this Gamelan Semara Ratih performance from the hilltops of Ubud performing "Manuk Anguci" (A Singing Bird):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UEWCCSuHsuQ

That is beautiful, thank you. What an amazing performance

Is there a good compilation overview of this type of music?

Mrs Ippei, thank you, that's incredible. Awesome to see the smiles on those performers' faces too. "Yeah, we know how badass this is."

Also, I misread the thread title as Balinese Gamelan vs. Japanese Gamelan. I thought, "The Yellow Magic Orchestra guys did some great Gamelan-style songs, but can you really pit them against the Indonesians?!"

Very glad this thread exists, will need to read back through it.

xp the elektra nonesuch comp " balu: gamelan & kecak" is pretty good as an intro

On a recent trip to Bali I heard gamelan being played somewhere in the distance. Our local guide offered to take me there, and in a temple-like structure we found a bunch of kids rehearsing. It was not unlike the video posted by Mrs Ippei above. They played amazingly well, to my western eyes and ears, but the musicians all looked so nonchalant about it. The drumming (on the kendang) was fierce!

Amazing...