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Gamelan of Central Java IV: Spiritual Music (Dunya/Felmay)
$17.99

Pendhapa Gamelan of Sekolah Tinngi Seni Indonesia: Bambang Sosrodoro, Darsono, Djoko Santosa, Hadi Boediono, I Ketut Saba, I Nyoman Sukerna, Kuwat, Rusdyantoro, Rustopo, Sarno, Slamet Riyadi, Sugimin, Sukamso, Supardi, Suraji, Waridi
Musical Direction - Joko Purwanto
Musical Design - John Noise Manis
Date of Recording - July 22, 2003

Program
1. Ladrang TURUN SIH, pelog lima 15:19
Rebab: Suraji - Calls to prayer: Rustopo, Waridi (listen)
2. Sekaten gendhing RAMBU, pelog lima 11:56
Bonang panembung: Supardi
3. Ladrang MIJIL LUDIRA, pelog barang (gendhing kemanak) 12:17
Gerong (male chorus): Darsono, Rustopo, Waridi
4. Sekaten gendhing RANGKUNG, pelog lima 12:44
Bonang panembung: Supardi
5. Ketawang MIJIL DHEMPEL, slendro sanga (gendhing kemanak) 10:44
Gerong: Darsono, Rustopo, Waridi

See other recordings in this series: Gamelan of Central Java

From the record label:
In this fourth instalment of the series, our journey in search of the myriad facets of Central Javanese gamelan music focuses on the close ties that exist between that music and the religion of the area.

This CD in fact completes and extends the selection of music presented on Ceremonial Music (vol. II, fy 8042) with five pieces of rare beauty and intensity which modern studio recording has rendered yet sharper and more richly nuanced.

Though attitudes of younger generations on the island are gradually shifting towards a more secular appreciation of music, no longer regarding it as exclusively the province of mysticism and religion, a spiritual notion of music-making nonetheless persists in the region. And while the gamelan may have fallen under the hegemony of islamic culture it continues to draw the interest of other faiths and creeds who recognise its capacity to bring both listener and players close to the realm of the divine

Evident from the first track Turun Sih, on which we hear two singers immersed in a muezzin-like invocation of the deity, is the atmosphere of sublime quietude the gamelan instils combined with a sense of mystical quest.

The second and fourth piece on the CD, Rambu and Rangkun, date back to the 16th century and were composed for the Islamic festival of Sekaten celebrating the birth and death of the prophet Mohammed during which gamelans are played throughout the whole day. On this superlative recording, even removed from its religious context one is immediately struck by the rarefied, almost abstract sense of spirituality that the musicians manage to draw from the instruments.

Tracks 3 and 5 Mijil Ludira and Mijil Dhempel feature a three voice male choir (known as a gerong) together with an ancient and oddly banana-shaped instrument fashioned in bronze, the kemanak. We hear the choir declaim two poems while the music played by the gamelan (in two separate scales, pelog and slendro) refers to that which normally accompanies the Bedhaya dance of the Kraton (royal palace) of Surakarta.

To a Western listener accustomed to considering music in terms of pure enjoyment, these recordings may be of particular value since they amply demonstrate how gamelan music can attain a level beyond that of pure aesthetic pleasure, reaching towards a mysticism.