GAMELAN JAVA EASY
Track 1 7:24 'Kiprah Menakjinga' a character/episode from Langendriyan, dance music of Istana Mangkunegaran, Surakarta. Recorded in 2007 at RRI Surakarta; gamelan Karawitan Istana. Track 2 0:37 The sound of kentongan, the wooden suspended slit-drum used for signalling in village communities. Recorded in 1994, at night, in the neighbourhood of Hotel Sahid Kusuma in Surakarta. Track 4 2:21 Ciblon (water gamelan) and other sounds. Recorded in 2008 at the pool of Hotel Sahid Kusuma. Musicians in the water: Al Suwardi, Darno, Nurwanto, Prasadyanto, Sri Harta, Sukamso. Also: two frogs (Kodok Ngorek) and the suling of Supardi. Track 6 9:07 Ladr. 'Gadhung Mlati' for genders and gong slendro sanga. This sacred piece is played here in a rarefied ensemble of only gender-type instruments, the ranges of which are cast in several octaves (gender barung, gender panerus, gender panembung or slenthem), and gong. The performers are faculty members of the Surakarta Conservatory (STSI, now ISI): Sukamso, Suraji, Darsono, Supardi. Recorded in 2001. Track 7 25:42 Gendhing bonang 'Tukung' pelog barang 'multistyle'. This version of the classical well-known gendhing is performed incorporating the main different styles of Central Java gamelan playing. In particular, the following three styles are alternatively played in the succession of the gongan (gong cycles): Kraton Yogyakarta, Kraton Surakarta, Istana Mangkunegaran (Surakarta). Gamelan and players of STSI Surakarta. Recorded in 2004. YANTRA – Production and Digital Release
Lagu KUPU-KUPU PUCCINI When John Noise Manis asked me to write a gamelan rendition of the Humming Chorus from Puccini's opera Madama Butterfly, I felt it would be quite a challenge, mainly because Javanese gamelan instruments are tuned to pentatonic and heptatonic scales. But it was an interesting challenge, as the tuning alone provided an opportunity for a new interpretation since certain notes could not be reproduced (although it was my desire to imitate the original melody as closely as possible), and other factors such as instrumentation, melody, rhythm, and tempo also played an important role in creating a new interpretation. So, I decided to accept the proposal and started to listen to a recording of the original work which JNM sent me. I shall briefly describe the compositional process I followed. After listening to the original version, I made a few notes about melody, instrumentation, rhythm and tempo. I began to imagine how it would sound when played with the tuning of the gamelan, and to decide which instruments I would use to perform the melody, rhythm, and bass line. After writing the main melody and arranging the instrumentation, I felt that it would not sound good if the composition started directly with the main melody. I thought it would be better if there was an introduction treated quite differently from the main melody. So I looked again at the important points and notes in the main melody as the basis for creating a new section that could be played in fast tempo, in the style of lancaran, as a kind of introduction to the composition. I did not compose a buka, or solo introduction to be played on one of the instruments, as is customary in Javanese karawitan; and in the end, one of the musicians gave a visual cue for the others to follow so that all players could start together. After listening to the recording, I can honestly say that I feel satisfied with the result, although I must admit that, as an imitation, of course it is not as good as the original version. While the original version is performed by voices accompanied by strings, both of which have a broad pitch range, the instruments in a gamelan ensemble cannot reach all the notes of the original version. The fixed pitches of the gamelan instruments at times sounded strange, mainly because of the heptatonic scale. Also, the tempo of the gamelan version seems more dynamic, and the rhythms more distinct, perhaps due to the percussive nature of the instruments. Note – The two-part melody uses the seven notes of the pelog scale: Lagu 'Kupu-Kupu Puccini' was recorded at ISI Surakarta, 3 July, 2007. |