Gamelan

Western enthusiasts have often compared the static yet constantly moving state of gamelan music to a river running in its course, or to "moonlight poured over the field".

Gamelan is a form of unique and exotic music originating in the islands of Indonesia in South East Asia.

The traditional music of Java, an island in the Malay Archipelago, the gamelan formed an important part of the religious and social life of the village. The gamelan is a collection of musical instruments, mostly metallic, with gong- or bell-like sounds, that has been passed down by oral tradition for well over a thousand years.

Here is a well-developed, powerful, and beautiful music that is completely outside the western idea of what music could and should be, traditionally learned quite naturally and a part of everyday life, "in much the same way villagers learn to sow and harvest crops, prepare a meal, or build a traditional dwelling. Starting from the youngest age villagers begin to absorb the conventions and style of gamelan music, gradually and by osmosis as much as formal teaching, learning to play the various instruments. A village gamelan is not played by professional musicians but by villagers who take their part in playing the gamelan as they would in planting the fields or harvesting the crops.

The gamelan and its music are an integral part of the ritual life of the village and indeed the entire gamelan and particularly the large gongs are considered sacred. The instruments of the gamelan are typically housed in its own open-walled building."

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Gamelan Resources

Gamelan Directories: INTERNATIONAL GAMELAN DIRECTORIES - INDONESIA, AUSTRALIA, NEW ZEALAND, SINGAPORE, JAPAN, CANADA, USA, MEXICO, ARGENTINA, ISRAEL, EUROPE, THE NETHERLANDS, UNITED KINGDOM,
These are directories of currently active gamelan groups and groups
performing related arts...
BALUNGAN: the gate: American Gamelan Institute
Missouri GAMELAN Group: Gamelan - Groups in the USA
This is a directory of currently active gamelan groups and groups performing related arts in the United States. Its purpose is to provide a communication network so that gamelan performers and enthusiasts can get current information about each other easily, and so those who...

Music of Indonesia

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Gamelan Anak Swarasanti

The 4-tone instruments played by Gamelan Anak Swarasanti are tuned roughly to the western notes G, A, B, D. In keeping with the duality that runs thoughout much of Balinese culture, the instruments are paired, with male and female instruments of each type, the male tuned slightly higher, and the female slightly lower than the nominal pitch, which generates a beautiful shimmering or beating effect at the difference between the frequencies of the male and female instruments.

Click to Listen to Gamelan MP3's

WINDU NALA: audio excerpt from Gamelan Anak Swarasanti
THE RAVE SESSIONS: audio clip is a short excerpt from Gamelan Anak Swarasanti, from a piece called Pebaktian (prayer).
Baliade.: Baliade for string quartet and diatonic gamelan
composed by Sinta Wullur, performed by Multifoon
Indonesian Gamelan: Indonesian Gamelan & Balinese Gamelan

What is Gamelan?

Claude Debussy and the Javanese Gamelan: Debussy's Exposure to the Gamelan - The 1889 Paris Universal Exposition was an eye-opening experience for Claude Debussy, a young composer just beginning to make himself known and get his first compositions published. At the 1889 Exposition, groups from around...

Gamelan CD's

Bali: Gamelan Semar Pergulingan:Gamelan of the Love God

To hear a song sample, click on "Listen"
"Of the many kinds of gamelan to be found on the tiny island of Bali, none evokes a more ethereal and enchanted sound world than the rare gamelan of the love god, Gamelan Semar Pegulingan. " (rated 4of 5 stars)

Amazon Price: $10.99 (as of 07/25/2008)

Gamelan in Midwest USA

Visiting Scholar Kansas City (UMKC) Conservatory of Music: I Ketut Gede Asnawa - Visiting Scholar - Composer, performer, and scholar I Ketut Gede Asnawa, as a visiting faculty member at the University of Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC) Conservatory of Music, is currently is directing Genta Kasturi, a newly formed gamelan group in Kansas City.
IPAAM - Schubert Club Gamelan Ensemble: The Schubert Club Gamelan Ensemble is a joint production of IPAAM and The Schubert Club.This performing ensemble presents one or two major per...