In terms of the logical and aesthetic principles of musical
organization, both Javanese and Balinese gamelan traditions share
several general characteristics. First, the orchestral fabric, its
texture, is based upon the structural principle of theme and
variations. Unlike this form in the West, however, where it is
treated as a formal structure of successivie musical events (i.e.,
first a theme is stated, followed by a successive series of
increasingly more complex and remote variations of the theme), in
Indonesia it is a formal structure of simultaneous musical events.
Thus the theme (the balungan in Java, the pokok in Bali) and its
variations (i.e., paraphrases of the theme) are presented
simultaneously: some instruments state the theme, while others
paraphrase it, expressing different ways (i.e., variations) of
ornamenting it. The technical term for such a musical texture of such
closely related parts is "heterophony." But sometimes in Indonesian
gamelan music paraphrasing becomes so complex that the principle of
variation is very difficult to perceive, since the melodies produced
by the elaborating instruments seem to be--although, on closer
examination they are not--completely independent of the fixed
melody
.
Thus some musicologists prefer to think of Javanese and Balinese
gamelan music as "polyphony."
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In Example 2, a typical score of a short repeated eight-beat Javanese musical form, these two principles may be clearly seen. The fixed melody (i.e., the balungan) is played by the slentem. The different styles of interlocking variations of the balungan (i.e., the paraphrases) are played by the two bonang, the peking, the two saron, and the two demung. In addition, the interlocking colotomic instruments are included: the ketuk, the kenong, the kempul, and the gong ageng
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In Example 3 these two principles may be clearly seen in their Balinese gamelan equivalent. The fixed melody (i.e., the pokok) is played by the calung; the interlocking variations of the pokok (i.e., the kotekan) are played by the gangsas; the beat is played by the kajar; a lyrical paraphrase of the pokok is rendered by the giyang, rebab, and flutes; the stress tones of the pokok are played by the jegogan; and the interlocking colotomic instruments, the kemong and the gong, keep track of the formal interrelationship of all the musical parts.
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Indonesian Theater Accompanied by Gamelan Music
In both Java and Bali gamelan music may be played for a variety of reasons: (1) for entertainment, (2) for religious ceremonies, or (3) to accompany a theatrical presentation, either a dance performance or a shadow-puppet performance. Indonesian theater most often draws on two ancient Hindu epic poems, the Ramayana (The Story of Prince Rama) and the Mahabarata (the War of the Baratas), which have been dear to the hearts of many Southeast Asians (including Cambodians, Burmese, Laotians, and Thais) for over one thousand years. One theme that pervades both epics is the symbolic struggle between good and evil, on a human level as well as a cosmic one. Thus the various characters of a dance drama or a shadow-puppet play that retells one of these two ancient epic tales embody different combinations of good and bad qualities. Rama (the hero prince of the Ramayana), for example, embodies the Indonesian ideal of male virtues: love, strength, endurance, follower of truth. His wife, the princess Sita, idealizes female qualities: faithfulness and marital love, in particular. And the ten-headed demon king, Rawana, personifies the qualities of lust, deceit, hatred, and pure evil. While the Ramayana portrays human relationships, the Mahabarata (The War of the Baratas) relates an heroic tale of the battle between two related families: the Pendawas (the "good side") and the Kurawas (the "bad side"). Both tales have been summarized in two appendices at the end of this chapter.
In an Indonesian dance drama (whether danced with painted, carved wooden masks or not) the characters of the Ramayana or the Mahabarata are portrayed by the dancers themselves, dancing and reciting their lines (to the accompaniment of gamelan music) in a combined art form of sumptuously costumed ballet and dramatically orientated theater. When the epic tales are presented in the form of a long shadow-puppet play (generally three hours in Bali, and often nine hours in Java), however, one highly trained puppeteer, a mystic storyteller and interpreter of the supernatural (not unlike a Shaman), is in total control of the performance. The puppeteer, called dalang, is a multi-talented artist of the highest calibre, not a specialist as in many cultures around the world. The dalang single-handedly directs the course of the complex drama: he is the conductor of the gamelan; he is a scholar of Hindu literature who understands the ancient languages of the age-old epics; he is an orator and singer; and often he is even an ordained priest who possesses the power to ward off evil influence, make offerings to the gods, and protect the people of the village.
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The wayang kulit shadow-puppet play is presented at night, with a large white screen (stretched vertically over a wooden frame, sometimes elaborately carved) which is illuminated by a bright light from behind (i.e., the side where the dalang and the gamelan musicians are seated, formally atired, on the floor). The screen-stage of the wayang kulit symbolically represents the spiritual world in microcosm. The screen is the sky; the banana trunk (used to support and hold the puppets) denotes the earth; the bright light (an electric light bulb in Java and a primitive coconut oil lamp in Bali) is the sun; the puppets are human beings; and the dalang is god (i.e., the hidden forces and powers that conduct human behavior). In Java a regular gamelan, most often in slendro tuning only, is used to accompany wayang kulit, while in Bali a so-called Gamelan Gender Wayang, normally a slendro ensemble of only four genders, is preferred. Since the same two epic tales are told and retold in the Javanese and Balinese wayang kulit, it is appropriate that a representative section of a play be presented in this chapter. The following is an English translation of the opening song of the dalang from the Javanese wayang kulit play called, "The Reincarnation of Rama."
"Let silence dominate. Many are the creatures of God that roam the earth, the sky, and the oceans. Innumerable are the beautiful women of the world. Yet none can equal those who reside in the Kingdom of Dwarawati. Even if you search hundreds of countries, you will never find a kingdom to match it. Thus, do I introduce the Kingdom of Dwarawati as the beginning of our story this evening.
Wide is the reputation of Dwarawati, and high is its fame. The sands of mighty oceans border it, and tall mountains protect its rear. Along one side lie rich and abundant rice fields, on the other a mighty river that leads to a harbor along its shore. Fertile is the soil, and prosperity abounds. Night and day, merchants trade their wares, while the herds and flocks of peasants' flocks roam freely. Never has strife disturbed the peace of this kingdom. Foreigners crowd to make Dwarawati their residence. The officials of the kingdom all have a single purpose--to magnify the fame of Dwarawati. The Kingdom illuminates all the world with its beauty. Numerous are Dwarawati's colonies, on Java and many other countries far and wide.
Who is the powerful King who rules over this wondrous Kingdom? He is the King Kresna--"Kresna the Black," whose body, inside and out (blood, bones, and skin), are black as the color of a moonless night. One of the incarnations of the god Wisnu is King Kresna, while the other incarnation is Ardjuna. As the front and back sides of a fragile leaf, they appear different, but their tastes are the same. The King of Dwarawati is a wise sage, a fair judge, a fearless warrior, and a glorious noble. He is powerful yet humble, wise and generous. He provides for his subjects. To recount all the virtues of the King and the splendor of his Kingdom would take the whole night. Thus, what has been said must suffice for now.
Adat (ah'-daht) Customarly laws and traditions of local ethnic groups in Indonesia;
Angklung (ahng'-klung) A shaken tuned percussion instrument with bamboo tubes loosely suspended in a frame, produces a single note (plus its octave or octaves);
Balungan
(bah-lung'-ahn) The Javanese term for the basic (or nuclear) melody
of gamelan music; a melody used as the basis for a gamelan gending,
that is, as the basis for contrapuntal musical parts (the bonang,
gendÀr, suling, rebab, gambang, celempung, etc.);
Barong (ba-rong') A mythical Balinese animal (danced by two men) and symbol of goodness and prosperity;
Bedug (buh-duhg') A large, tacked, barrel-shaped Javanese drum used as a gamelan instrument to accompany dance;
Bonang (bo'-nahng). A lead instrument in Javanese gamelan, composed of a double-row of horizontally mounted tuned kettle gongs played with two padded beaters (tabuh);
Boss Raised center section of a gong;
Buka (bu'-kah). The "opening" of a Javanese gamelan composition played by a solo instrument;
Ceng-ceng (cheng'-cheng) Balinese cymbals used in the gamelan for rhythm and color. Also an important instrument in marching gamelan bands;
Celempung (chlem'-pung) A large plucked zither of the Javanese gamelan;
Dalang (dahl'-lahng) The puppeteer of the wayang kulit shadow-puppet play;
Damping To put something against the sound-producing material or part of the instrument as soon as the sound has been produced in order to silence it. With metallophones, the fingers of one hand may firmly grasp the metal key immediately after it has been hit with the mallet in the other hand;
Demung (duh-mung') Javanese saron. Of the three one-octave sarons it is the lowest;
Form A term that expresses the basic fact that music, like all art, is not a chaotic conglomeration of sounds but consists of elements arranged in orderly fashion according to numerous obvious principles as well as a still greater number of subtle and hidden relationships;
Gambang (gahm'-bang) The name of the xylophone of Java, Sunda, and Bali. Played with two beaters; in Java and Sunda it is made from wood (often teak), while in Bali from bamboo;
Gamelan (gah'-mah-lahn) A Javanese, Balinese, or Sundanese orchestra of tuned bronze or iron percussion instruments, often with a flute (suling), a two-stringed fiddle (rebab), and drums (kendang). The Javanese word gamel means a type of hammer, e.g., one used by a blacksmith;
Gamelan angklung Balinese orchestra of bronze metallophones, gongkettles, drums, cymbals, hanging gongs, flute, and occasionally bamboo rattles (tuned) that are shaken laterally, from which the ensemble has taken its name; usually has a high-pitched four-tone tuning. Plays in processions and for rites of death. Very common type of gamelan in Bali;
Gamelan gambuh (gahm'-buh) Rare Balinese orchestra of meter-long flutes (suling), bowed spike fiddle (rebab), drums (kendang), cymbals (ceng-ceng), gongkettles and archaic percussion instruments, and hanging gongs; a court ensemble with large repertoire of seven tone scales played pentatonically which accompanies a dance drama;
Gamelan gender wayang Balinese quartet of ten-keyed bronze metallophones (gendÀr) played polyphonically and used to accompany rites of passage and the traditional shadow-puppet play, wayang kulit;
Gamelan gong Most common orchestra in Bali with five-tone tuning (pelog), metallophones (gangsa), gongkettles (reyong), hanging gongs, drums (kendang), cymbals (ceng-ceng), and flutes (suling);
Gender (gen-der') Metallophone of Java and Bali, with thin bronze bars suspended on cords in a carved wooden frame, usually above tubular resonators. The resonators are tuned in unison with their respective bars. They are played with mushroom-shaped beaters held loosely between forefinger and middle finger;
Gender wayang Ten-keyed gender of Bali. Used for the shadow-puppet theater, wayang kulit;
Gending (gen-ding') A musical composition for gamelan with a variety of different formal structures determined by strokes of the various sized gongs;
Genre A particular type of composition;
Gong
The Javanese term for a large, suspended metal percussion instrument
with a raised section in the center (the boss), often called gong
ageng in Java and Bali;
Gong chime An instrument where the individual gongs are arranged on a low, horizontal frame or bed, with each gong resting boss upward on crossed cords;
Gong-kettle A gong-shaped metal instrument with a wide flange and a boss (the raised knob in the center of the flat surface), placed horizontally in a rack, often in tuned sets (frequently called "gong-chime"), and played on the boss with a mallet;
Heterophony (he-ter-off'-one) The paralleling of a musical line by another voice or instrument (a melodic paraphrase called a "part" or "voice") with almost, but not quite, the same tones. The second melodic line may slightly embroider the first, anticipate it, follow it by a beat or so, or move with it, often slightly distuned to it;
Hocket (hah'-kit) Consists of a rapid alternation of two (or more) melodies with single notes or short groups of notes;
Idiophone
(id'-eo-fon) Any instrument that yields a sound by its own
substance, being stiff and elastic enough to vibrate without
requiring a stretched membrane or strings (e.g., gongs, cymbals,
xylophones, metallophones, et al);
Kecak
(ke-chahk) A Balinese dance of the Hindu story Ramanyana, accompanied
by a male chorus with chants, shouts, and recitations with highly
rhythmic and complex interlocking syllables that are intended to
sound like a forest of monkeys;
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Kempul (kum-pool') An 18-inch suspended tuned gong of the Javanese gamelan; normally there are several, each with a different pitch, hanging in a row so that melodies may be rendered on the complete set;
Kendang (kuhn-dahn') The term for the two-headed drums used in the gamelan orchestras of Java, Sunda, and Bali;
Kenong (kuh-nahng') A high-pitched kettle gong of Java, with a central boss, set on crossed cords over a wooden box, and forming part of a gamelan;
Ketuk (kuh-tuhk') A small horizontally mounted tuned gong of the Javanese gamelan;
Klenengan (kluh'-nuhg-ahn) A type of Javanese gamelan music, played in a soft and contemplative style, used for listening entertainment rather than for the accompaniment of a dramatic theatrical event;
Kotekan (ko-tek'-ahn) A Balinese term for ornamental interlocking figuration;
Metallophone Percussion instrument having a series of tuned metal bars, rather like a xylophone except for the material of which they are composed;
Mode A particular arrangement (hierarchy) of related pitches;
Orchestra A relatively large group of instrumental players;
Orchestration The art of employing, in an instrumental composition, the various instruments in accordance with (a) their individual properties and (b) the composer's concept of the sonorous effect of his work;
Part The music for a particular instrument or voice in an ensemble;
Patet (pah'-tet) Melody type or mode in Javanese gamelan music;
Percussion General name for instruments which are sounded by striking or shaking, such as drums and tambourines;
Pesinden (puh-sin'-dhun) A female singer (often a soloist) who sings with the Javanese gamelan orchestra;
Pelog (pa'-log) A 7-toned tuning system, from which three five-tone melodic modes may be constructed, for gamelan music in Java, Sunda, and Bali;
Phrase In music, by analogy with speech, a phrase is a small coherent unit--more than a "word" and less than a "sentence." A small musical unit;
Polyphony (po-lif'-o-ne) Music or musical texture with two or more simultaneous voice-lines rationally ordered together;
Puput (puh'-puht) A Minangkabau wind instrument;
Rabana (rah-bah'-nah) A frame-drum used principally in Indonesian Muslim music;
Rebab (ruh-bahb') A 2-stringed bowed fiddle of Indonesia: espe-cially Sumatra, Java, and Bali;
Renteng (ruhn'-tuhng) A row of tuned metal kettles in a wooden frame which gives its name to a particularly type of Sundanese gamelan type;
Resonator Any acoustical implement, usually in the shape of a hollow vessel, that serves to reinforce sounds by resonance;
Reyong (ra'-yong) A row of tuned metal kettles in a wooden frame played by three or four players in a characteristically virtuosic interlocking rhythmic manner;
Saluang (sahl'-u-ahgn) A long end-blown Sumatran (Minangkabau) bamboo flute;
Saron (sah-ron') The main metallophone (four sizes) of the Javanese gamelan, with thick metal keys that are struck with a wooden mallet (tabuh);
Siter (si'-ter) A small, plucked zither of the Javanese gamelan which gives its name to a particular genre of Javanese traditional music called siteran;
Slendro (slen'-dro) A five-tone tuning system, from which three five-tone melodic modes may be constructed, for gamelan music in Java, Sunda, and Bali;
Slentem (slin'-tuhm) Single-octave, low-pitched gendÀr of the Javanese gamelan orchestra. Carries the main melody (balungan);
Suling (su'-ling) The name for the end-blown bamboo flute of the gamelans of Java, Sunda, and Bali;
Sunda (sun'-dah) The Western one-third of the Island of Java, where the Sundanese language is spoken;
Talempong (tah-luhm'-pung) A small kettle-shaped gong of the Minangkabau which gives its name to a particular ensemble of four or five talempong as well as gongs and drums;
Unison Simultaneous performance of the same notes or melody by various instruments or by the entire ensemble;
Wayang (wi'-yahng) A generic name for theater in Bali, Java, and Sunda. There are three main types: (1) wayang kulit (shadow puppet theater), wayang orang or wayang wong (human dance-drama theater, and wayang golek (three-dimensional wooden puppet theater);
Xylophone Percussion idiophone consisting in its developed form of a series of graduated, tuned wooden slabs, laid parallel to one another and supported at two points that form vibrational nodes. Xylophones are played with two sticks or knobbed beaters;
Zither A type of instrument in which the strings run over a resonating chamber the length of the body of the instrument (with no appreciable neck).
