Gamelan Pacifica
Trance Gong (cdRescue)
12.99
This is an authorized CDR reproduction of the original CD, made in cooperation with the ensemble as part of our cdRescue series.
It comes with limited liner notes. Full notes are available to download as a Word document, or below as text.

Gamelan Pacifica, directed by Jarrad Powell, presents six new works for an ensemble inspired by the gong/chime orchestras of Java and Bali. Seattle's Gamelan Pacifica performs contemporary music drawn from various composers and traditions of Indonesia and America. The disc features works composed since 1983 except a realization of 'In A Landscape' (1948) by John Cage. Other composers featured are Jeff Morris, Jarrad Powell, Signy Jakobsdottir and Jon Keliehor.
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Gamelan Pacifica was formed in 1980 and is directed by composer Jarrad Powell. The group is a professional ensemble in residence at the Cornish College of the Arts in Seattle, Washington. The group performs new and innovative music in an international style, drawing their repertoire from various composers and traditions, while seeking to define a style reflective of their own musical tastes, interest, training and instincts.

Gamelan Pacifica currently uses three sets of instruments: an iron and bronze set in Central Javanese style; a bronze set in Cirebon style; and an American gamelan made of aluminum. The Central Javanese and the American instruments were used on this recording. The diversity of gamelan styles in Indonesia as well as in other countries proves this to be a vital and constantly changing form of musical expression; some of the extended instrumentation heard here, such as the use of Roto-Toms, xiao-bo, or even electronic processing, can be seen as part of this evolving concept of gamelan.

Text from the liner notes

Gamelan Pacifica: TRANCE GONG

New music for extended gong/chime percussion orchestra
Directed by Jarrad Powell
Includes works by John Cage, Jon Keliehor, Jeff Morris, and Jarrad Powell
Also two collaborative compositions by Signy Jakobsdottir, Jon Keliehor, Tom Fallat, and Jarrad Powell

Small of My Back (10'40") 1990 by Signy Jakobsdottir, Jon Keliehor, Tom Fallat, and Jarrad Powell
for aluminum gamelan instruments, kendang, suling, and harmonizer
© 1990 by Gamelan Pacifica

Rain (10'49") 1987 by Jeff Morris
for Javanese gamelan
© 1987 by Jeff Morris

Trance Gong (8'50") 1990 by Signy Jakobsdotter, Jon Keliehor, Tom Fallat, and Jarrad Powell
for Roto-Toms and xiao-bo
© 1990 by Gamelan Pacifica

In a Landscape (8'05") 1948 by John Cage
arranged for aluminum gamelan instruments by Jarrad Powell
© 1960 by Henmar Press, Inc.

Gending Erhu (10'30") 1983 by Jarrad Powell
for aluminum gamelan and erhu
Warren Chang, erhu
© 1983 by Jarrad Powell

Peaches of Immortality ( 10'45") 1991 by Jon Keliehor
for Javanese gamelan
© 1991 by Jon Keliehor

Small of My Back. Composed for choreographer Nancy Cranbourne and the Allegro Dance Series. Traditional gamelan interlocking rhythmic techniques, such as imbal and kotekan, are employed in unusual ways. A digital signal processor is used to harmonize the suling (bamboo flute).

Rain. Inspired by several performances given by Indonesian musicians at Expo '86 in Vancouver, Canada, where, at the invitation of the Indonesian government, Gamelan Pacifica also performed. Several permutations of kotekan are juxtaposed and, by varying orchestration, the role of the kotekan is shifted from a decorative filigree to a central, structural melody. The title honors one of the Pacific Northwest's most famous commodities.

Trance Gong. Performed on instruments not usually considered part of the standard gamelan instrumentation: Roto-Toms and xiao-bo (Chinese bronze cymbals); still, the spirit of the music and the quality of the sound is distinctly gamelan, with a definite Balinese slant.

Gending Erhu. The erhu is a two-stringed spike fiddle played by a bow inserted between the two strings. Gending Erhu was written specifically for Warren Chang, a master player of the erhu. Not long after Chang moved to the U.S. from Shanghai, he and Jarrad Powell became acquainted at Cornish College of the Arts in Seattle, where both were teaching. Chang's interest in gamelan and Powell's fascination with the ehru resulted in the idea for this piece.

In a Landscape. A disarmingly simple and lovely piece characteristic of many of Cage's works of the 1940's; features unabashed use of modal material and the exploration of rhythmic structures as a method of formal organization; original piece scored for solo piano or solo harp, arranged for gamelan instruments by Jarrad Powell in 1981. The instruments used are made from aluminum and are tuned in just intonation with the following intervals: 28/27 8/7 9/8 10/9 21/20 8/7 9/8 10/9.

Peaches of Immortality. Written during the summer of 1991 to underscore a theatrical presentation of Monkey, a classic Chinese folk tale written during the 16th century by the scholar Wu Cheng-En. Hints of degung and jaipong style gamelan mix with the interactive elaboration characteristic of Balinese music.

About Gamelan Pacifica

Originally formed in 1980, Gamelan Pacifica is among the finest ensembles devoted to the performance of music for gamelan in the United States. The Seattle Weekly recently wrote, "one of the Northwest's best-kept musical secrets, this gamelan/orchestra ensemble has quietly acquired a formidable reputation for innovative, spirited performances of new and traditional music." Gamelan Pacifica performs music in an international style, drawing their repertoire from various composers and gamelan traditions, while seeking to define a style reflective of their own musical tastes, interests, training, and instincts. Based in Seattle, they have performed extensively in the Pacific Northwest, and have been the recipient of numerous grants, including support from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Rockefeller Foundation, and the Seattle Arts Commission.

As innovators in the field of international gamelan, Gamelan Pacifica has premiered, commissioned, and performed many new works, including pieces by Lou Harrison, K.R.T. Wasitodiningrat, A.W. Sutrisno, I Wayan Sadra, Janice Giteck, Jeff Morris, Jon Keliehor, Ingram Marshall, Jarrad Powell, David Mahler, Bun Ching Lam, K.R.T. Wasitodiningrat, John Cage, Nancy Karp, Barbara Benary and others. Gamelan Pacifica can be heard performing the music of Janice Giteck on the New Albion CD, Home (revisited), and the music of A.W. Sutrisna on the Leonardo Music Journal CD Series Volume Two, INTERACTION New Music for Gamelan.

Gamelan Pacifica currently has three gamelan, an iron and bronze set in Central Javanese style, a bronze set in Cirebon style, and an American gamelan made of aluminum. The Central Javanese instruments and American instruments are used on this recording. Some of the extended instrumentation heard, such as the use of Roto-Toms, xiao-bo, or even the digital signal processor used to harmonize the suling on Small of My Back, can be seen as part of the evolving concept of gamelan. Gamelan music, in its many forms, is a vital and constantly changing form of musical expression of which Gamelan Pacifica considers itself to be a part.

Gamelan Pacifica is a professional ensemble in residence at Cornish College of the Arts in Seattle and is directed by composer Jarrad Powell.

Performers

Peaches of Immortality

• Signy Jakobsdottir
• Jon Keliehor
• Jim Madara
• Key Ransone
• Matthew Sperry
• Merlin Coleman
• Tom Fallat
• Brooks Whitehead
• Maria Angelita Omo
• Jarrad Powell

For further information about Gamelan Pacifica visit www.gamelanpacifica.org

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