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Gamelan of Central Java VI: Kraton Surakarta
$17.99

The sixth in a series of recordings which documents the most significant aspects of the gamelan tradition of Central Java. Here the repertoire is that of the court musiaians of Surakarta.

Musicians
Pesindhen (female singer): Nyi Cendaniraras
Musicians of STSI and of Kraton Surakarta.
Recording made 11 May, 2004, at the pendhapa Sasono Sewoko of Kraton Surakarta
Gamelan Kyai Kaduk Manis Manis Rengga

This is the sixth in a series of recordings which aims at documenting the most significant aspects of the gamelan tradition of Central Java. Again the repertoire is that of the court of Surakarta whose unmistakable style has for centuries been the inspiration for a great musical culture.

The sensations experienced on immersing oneself in the seemingly unending flow of crystalline sounds and timbres - sounds whose occurrence is marked by increasingly incisive rhythmic patterns - are once again hard to describe. Here we have a 'pure' art, a music that issues freely and unexpectedly from the instruments to at once envelop and merge with the surrounding landscape and which is even capable of conversing with birdsong, as it happens in the first of the three gendings on this CD, all of which probably date back to the beginning of the 18th century. The second and third gendings in the disc make a direct connection with a historic Philips recording, Song and Sound the World Around - Gamelan Music from Java, made in 1963 in the same place and with the very same gamelan. Not many listeners, unfortunately, will have the possibility to make a comparison, which would be quite interesting in several ways.

Other connections and interesting comparisons, however, can be made within our series, in that other versions of the three gendings presented in this CD - performed by different ensembles and in a different style - can be found in volumes I, V and VII.

In the present CD, the gamelan Kaduk Manis Manis Rengga is played by an excellent group comprising both court (Kraton) musicians and players from STSI, the Surakarta conservatory. Particularly impressive in the Kombang Mara gending is the female vocalist (pesindhen) Nyi Cendaniraras, counterpointed by Suraji's rebab, a two string instrument played with a bow. Prominent in the two instrumental gendings, Tukung and Danaraja, are Supardi on bonang barung and Rusdiyantoro on bonang panerus.

In our catalogue you can also find:
Gamelan of Central Java - I. Classical Gendings
Gamelan of Central Java - II. Ceremonial Music
Gamelan of Central Java - III. Modes and Timbres
Gamelan of Central Java - IV. Spiritual Music