Gamelan brings captivating Bali music
By Michael B. Bakan
Assistant Professor of Ethnomusicology
They gathered together in the early evening... and for hours the air would ring
with swift, chiming sounds that rose and fell above the agitated throb of
drums... At first, as I listened from the house, the music was simply a
delicious confusion, a strangely sensuous and quite unfathomable art,
mysteriously aerial, aeolian, filled with joy and radiance. Each night as the
music started up, I experienced the same sensation of freedom and indescribable
freshness... for there is nothing purer than the bright, clean sound of metal,
cool and ringing and dissolving in the air. -- Colin McPhee, "A House in
Bali", Singapore: Oxford University Press.
Such were the impressions of ethnomusicologist and Pulitzer Prize-win-ning
American composer Colin McPhee in response to his early experiences of Balinese
gamelan music in the 1930s.
For McPhee, gamelan, the ancient tradition of Indonesian gong-chime percussion
orchestras featuring, a battery of magnificent and highly decorated
bronze-keyed xylophones, gongs, drums and cymbals, as well as bamboo flutes and
other instruments, was to become a life-long passion.
The hauntingly beautiful melodies, "exotic" scales, devilishly complex rhythms,
and multilayered shimmering soundscape of gamelan music captivated and inspired
McPhee as a musician and scholar, and he lived on the beautiful island of Bali
on and off for some eight years during the 1930s, devoting much of his life to
the study of Bali's fascinating music and rich cultural life.
For other western composers, including Claude Debussy, Lou Harrison, Steve
Reich and Philip Glass, gamelan music has been a primary source of inspiration,
and the island and culture of Bali -- with its world-renowned traditions of
music, dance, drama, painting, sculpture and ritual splendor -- have been a
magnet for scholars, artists, celebrities and travelers of every imaginable
description, from Charlie Chaplin, Lady Diana, Mick Jagger and David Bowie to
"superstar" anthropologists Margaret Mead and Clifford Geertz.
A journey to Bali is an opportunity not to be passed up, but now, even if you
can't afford the $1500-plus round-trip airfare, you can experience "the bright,
clean sound of metal, cool and ringing and dissolving in the air" that McPhee
found so enchanting.
You need go no farther than the FSU School of Music, which recently welcomed
the arrival of a beautiful new Balinese gamelan. It is the only ensemble of
its kind in the southeastern United States.
The magnificent orchestra of hand-crafted instruments was made for FSU's School
of Music by master bronze-smiths and wood carvers in Bali. The project was
overseen by Bali's greatest musician, 72-year-old I Wayan Beratha, who
personally tuned each gong and each of the bronze keys -- more than 100 -- of
the metal xylophones.
The gamelan consists of dozens of individual instruments and is played by an
ensemble of some 25 musicians. Nonetheless, in Balinese terms, every gamelan
is regarded as a single instrument, an inseparable entity with a name, tuning
system, sound, character and living soul uniquely its own.
The name of FSU's gamelan is "Gamelan Hanuman Agung," or "Gamelan of the Great
Hanuman," referring to the heroic white monkey warrior of the Hindu epic
Ramayana.
Hanuman is one of many characters depicted on the carved wooden stands that
support the gongs and bronze keys. Each stand is unique and depicts a scene
from the Ramayana through its finely detailed imagery of kings, queens, demons,
animals, trees and flowers.
Every time the gamelan is played, offerings of flowers, incense and prayer are
made to assure that its sound will please the gods. The offerings are made to
the gong ageng, or "great gong," which -- both as a source of sound and
physical object -- is thought of as the symbolic center of the universe.
For the Balinese, a gamelan is a work of art and object of devotion, rich with
symbolism and saturated with meaning and spiritual power.
"Gamelan Hanuman Agung" is already enjoying an active life at Florida State. A
gamelan performance ensemble course is the latest addition to the School of
Music's extensive world-music performance program, furthering FSU's reputation
as one of the leading ethnomusicology and world-music programs in the United
States.
The ensemble has an enrollment of 25 students, including graduates in
ethnomusicology and undergraduate non-music majors.
The technical demands required to play the instruments are extremely varied.
Some are very difficult to play, while others are quite simple. Because the
gamelan can accommodate players at all levels of ability and experience,
including novices, it is ideal for FSU's world-music program, which aims to
provide performance opportunities for all university students.
They gathered together in the early evening... and for hours the air would ring
with swift, chiming sounds that rose and fell above the agitated throb of
drums... At first, as I listened from the house, the music was simply a
delicious confusion, a strangely sensuous and quite unfathomable art,
mysteriously aerial, aeolian, filled with joy and radiance. Each night as the
music started up, I experienced the same sensation of freedom and indescribable
freshness... for there is nothing purer than the bright, clean sound of metal,
cool and ringing and dissolving in the air. -- Colin McPhee, "A House in
Bali", Singapore: Oxford University Press.