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ACTIVITIES
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The
complete slendro/pelog Central Javanese gamelan “Kaduk
Raras Raras Sari” sits ready to be played in its
own pendopo. But the Group of the Impermanence is consistent
with its name. Thus, the rather sporadic nature of playing
at Montebello has given rise to a number of alternative
activities around the gamelan and gamelan music.
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The most relevant of such activities is probably
the recording and selective publication of traditional
gamelan music from Central Java. YANTRA PRODUCTIONS
has a growing number of recordings published by
international labels. In carrying out such activity
- which for YANTRA is strictly non-profit - the
basic goal is to address the broad public of music
lovers and to present the gamelan music that may
best meet the unaccustomed ear, so as to increase
the number of appreciators. This number is way below
the level that the incredibly rich world of gamelan
deserves.
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Said goal is pursued essentially through choice of styles
and compositions, clarity of recorded sound, quality of
performances. Published - as well as private - recordings
are listed in the YANTRA PRODUCTIONS page. Extensive info
(reviews, booklet notes, substantial mp3 excerpts) on
published CDs are included in the www.gamelan.to
website.
Other activities are or have been centered in a sound
studio and its electronic equipment. One early idea was
to create an aid for beginners into gamelan playing. That
is, to have them play their part along with a prerecorded
base - a sort of music-minus-one tool.
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electronic device called sequencer and sampled gamelan
sounds allow great flexibility in terms of which parts
to play and at which tempo.
A number of pieces were prepared. Their various versions
make up a useful tool for learning to play the simpler
instruments. I grant there could be objections to this
practice, but, not living in Java, there are not many
alternatives.
The use of a sequencer and of sampled sounds lead inevitably
to the idea of re-orchestrating Western classical compositions
with gamelan timbres. The result of one stage of this
process was assembled in a CD: “The Tempered Gamelan
(and some Gamelaned Temperament)”. A more detailed
discussion of this project appeared in Seleh Notes, the
British gamelan publication, November 2001 (“Gamelan
Sounds in Western Music” by John Noise Manis).
Another project using the electronic means tries to fulfil
the dream of the Western curious mind and ear - to know
how a Javanese piece of music sounds on different gamelans.
The curiosity stems from the fact that each gamelan in
Java and elsewhere has its own tuning, and the differences
in pitches and intervals between any two gamelans can
go from slight to dramatic. Pitches and intervals of many
important Javanese gamelans had been measured by Jaap
Kunst first, and by Surdjodiningrat/Sudarjana/Susanto
more recently. Using these measurements, the project permits
to hear the well-known piece “Puspa Warna” played
in the tuning of a number of existing gamelans (as well
as some imaginary ones, including Partch’s Olympo
Pentatonic and Debussy’s black keys of the piano).
One result of this project is a CD titled “ Warna
Suara Warna Laras”, which makes possible an immediate
musical comparison of 19 gamelans, each one sounding its reported tuning (but no
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stretching of octaves!)
One project particularly dear to the writer
was the “reconstruction” of the
venerable LP of 1963 by Philips, which has
the two gendhing Kombang Mara and Tukung.
The worn-out portions of my vinyl were rather
seemlessly replaced by more recent recordings,
obviously made on location with the same
gamelan, Kaduk Manis of Kraton Surakarta.
It is rather interesting to hear the two
beloved gendhing unwind through somewhat
different styles and sonic atmospheres.
Still another project aimed at having a
duet of pesindhen (female singer) instead
of a single vocal part.
In “Gamelan Vocal Duet” Nyi Cendaniraras
sings Kombang Mara and Mandulpati in duet
with herself.
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The normal gendhing were recorded at Kraton Surakarta,
while the second solo vocal parts were recorded
at the Lokananta studios. Studio arrangements
may be interesting, but the real thing is something
else. Happily now YANTRA can present a real version
of the last two projects - Kombang Mara and Tukung
played in the same setting of the old Philips
LP and Kombang Mara performed with two pesindhen
at STSI Surakarta (see the published CDs 'Kraton
Surakarta' and 'Edge of Tradition' in the Felmay
gamelan series).
A quite recent project explores the possibility
and the outcome of a listening situation where
selected classical gamelan pieces are put next
to and alternating with selected pieces by J.
S. Bach. These are meant to be "thought-and-pleasure-provoking
compilations". 'Bach&Gamel 1' and 'Bach&Gamel
2' are two limited-edition CDs whose content is
listed in the Yantra Production page. The idea
is that listeners culturally belonging to each
of the two music worlds may find the "other" world not so foreign after all. Listening may be had at www.yantraproductions.eu
Finally, in 2005 all the sounds of the Montebello
Gamelan, 'Kaduk Raras Raras Sari', have been professionally
recorded. The 549 sounds take seven audio CDs
when assigning one track to each sound. By pooling
and assigning one track per instrument, most part
of this 'gamelan sounds library' stays in one
CD. This CD was published in 2008 - see "A Javanese Gamelan Sound Library".
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