Dancers of Bali Gamelan Orchestra

Dancers of Bali Gamelan Orchestra - Dancers of Bali Gamelan Orchestra

*Originally posted on July 10, 2006

This orchestra was based out of the village of Pliatan, Bali in Indonesia at the time this record was released either in the 1950s or 1960s. The performances on this record are excellent. According to some of the notes on the back cover: "The gamelan recorded here, from the village of Pliatan, is the foremost in Bali, an orchestra of twenty-five musicians celebrated for their brilliant perfection of ensemble. It is used for ceremonial temple music and to accompany many forms of dance, classical, and new, and represents the most modern development in Balinese musical style. It employs a five-tone scale known in Indonesia as pelog, which may be briefly defined as pentatonic with semitones. It consists of separate instrumental groups which are integrated to form a complex whole. Melody is sounded in unison on the gangsas, marimba-like instruments with bronze keys and bamboo resonators. Smaller gangsas supply ornamentation, while continuous, rippling mosaic-arabesques are performed by four men on the reyong, a row of small, horizontally mounted gongs. Deep gongs, punctuate the melody, while small gongs divide the phrase or mark the off-beats. A pair of drums combine in syncopated interplay to lead the ensemble, controlling tempo, while cymbals maintain a steady tremolo, reinforcing the drums on important accents."

Here's a basic explanation of gamelan courtesy of Wikipedia just in case one is not familiar with the musical form: "A gamelan is a kind of musical ensemble of Indonesian origin typically featuring metallophones, xylophones, drums, and gongs. The term can be used to refer either to the set of instruments or the players of those instruments. The word "gamelan" comes from the Javanese word "gamel", meaning to strike or handle."

Tracklisting:

Side 1

1. Overture-Kapi Radja (Melody From North Bali) {2:56}

2. Angklungan {6:50}

3. Tumulilingan (Bumblebees Sip Honey) {9:23}

4. Baris {3:10}

Side 2

5. Gambangan (Ancient Melody) {2:56}

6. Kebyar {5:50}

7. Gender Wayang; Angkat-Angkatan (Music For a Shadow Play) {3:58}

8. Legong: a) Legu Chondong, b) Pengipuk, c) Garuda {8:40}

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