The Balinese Gamelan: Music From The Morning Of The World by David Lewiston Nonesuch (H-72015) Publication date 1967

 Nonesuch Records’ EXPLORER SERIES probes a world whose horizons have been

dramatically expanded by today’s technology. Propelled by a spirit of creative ad-
venture, man’s awareness of this earth’s great human resources has grown wider as
long-locked doors swing open to the age of the television camera, the tape machine,
the jet, and the rocket.

The Nonesuch Explorer Series is directed to the voices and rhythms pulsating from
every corner of our globe. Music that has existed for centuries, and music just now
being born out of newer societies, comes to us straight from the heart of peoples
everywhere — telling us about their lives in the most expressive and dynamic way
possible.
The thrilling sound of the Balinese orchestral style known as gamelan gong
kebyar—which begins this record—is justly famous, for in no other music does _
one find such shimmering brilliance and tempestuous rhythms. _ :

But it is less widely known that gamelan gong kebyar is only one of many
beautiful musical styles found in Bali, which in its small area (only 2,147
square miles) contains a cornucopia of artistic wealth which would do honor
to a country ten or twenty times its size. : &
Jawaharlal Nehru called Bali “the morning of the world” with good reason, _
for its some two-and-a-half million inhabitants lead unusually harmonious,
satisfying lives refreshingly free of the tinsel that less wise countries mistake
for civilization. For example, a farmer who works during the day in the lush
rice paddies with which Bali's hillsides are terraced may play an instrument
in the village gamelan at night. His seven- or eight-year-old daughter, now _
playing a noisy game with her friends in the street, may at the very next
moment emerge in the temple forecourt—which serves as a stage—as one of
the gamelan’s star dancers. :
SIDE ONE E Pe
1. Gamelan Gong Kebyar: a) Baris b) Gambang Betjak (7:25)

Baris is a powerfully masculine war dance. Gambang betjak is an instrumental piece.

This kebyar style is audible proof that Balinese music is a dynamic evolving form, for —
it was first heard early in this century and only came to full flower in the last two or
three decades. s

Gamelan gong kebyar instruments include metallophones (somewhat resembling xylo-
phones or marimbas) with bronze keys suspended over hollow bamboo tube resona-
tors; gongs ranging in pitch from deeply sonorous bass to sweetly ringing altos and
tenors; double-headed drums played with the hands; cymbals; flutes; 20-30 musicians in
a typical group. Scale: Pelog, one of the two principal Balinese scales, approximately
2. Sekehe Genggong: a)Pemungkah b)FrogSong c) Flute solo (5:10) <
While gamelan gong kebyar requires elaborate organization and extensive rehearsal,

genggong is much less formal. A few villagers can get together, whittle their genggong

(instruments like the jew’s harp; see photo 2) from wood, and enjoy themselves. A

typical genggong group (photo 3) also includes a flute (suling), small drum (kendang),

cymbals (chengcheng), and slit drum called guntang (photo 4).

3. Sekehe Gambuh: Sekar Leret (2:30)

One of the great classical styles of Balinese music is that used to accompany the tradi-
tional gambuh plays. The music of the sekehe gambuh (sekehe means association) has
a notably vocal quality, thanks to a stringed instrument called the rebab and three long
suling (flutes). Like gamelan gong, the gambuh ensemble also uses the pelog scale. (See
photo 5.) :

4. Gamelan Gong: Barong Dance (excerpt) (5:15)

Another remarkable spectacle is the barong dance, in which a mythological beast called
the barong overcomes the evil witch Rangda (see photo 6). Since two men are required for
the barong, one for the front and the other for the hind legs, great skill is needed to
coordinate the animal's movements.

The hypnotic barong music places main emphasis on gongs, drums, and cymbals. Pelog
scale. (See photo 7.)
SIDE TWO 2
1. Lullaby (1:43)

Bali also has ravishing songs, as the young girl heard singing here makes abundantly
clear.

2. Gamelan Angklung: Margepati (7:55)

Two kinds of gamelan are in special demand for festivals and other celebrations:
gamelan gong, which we heard on Side One of this record, and gamelan angklung. Both
produce a rich, brilliant sound from gongs, drums, cymbals, flutes, and metallophones
akin to xylophone or marimba. Both types are famous for their dancers.

The most noticeable difference to the Western ear is the scale used by each group: the
gamelan angklung heard here uses a four-tone scale  
This is aversion of the sléndro scale, whose complete five-tone form is
The latter is the second of the two principal Balinese scales. (See photos 8 and 9 taken
at a dance rehearsal.),

3. Ketjak Dance (excerpt) (4:17)

As dusk falls, 200 men gather at the village meeting-place, squatting close together in a
circle on the ground. Silence falls, and then suddenly they begin the thrilling chant of the
ketjak, or monkey dance~a re-enactment of the Ramayana episode in which the monkey
king Hanuman and his subjects helped the noble King Rama defeat the evil King Ravana.
{see photo 11.)

4. Gender Wayang: Ansarun (6:35)

Gender Wayang is the musical accompaniment for the wayang kulit-the Balinese ver-
sion of the traditional Southeast Asian shadow play. Intricately pierced and painted
puppets of parchment, manipulated by a dalang (puppeteer), cast shadows on a large cloth
as they re-enact incidents from the Mahabharata and other popular Balinese tales. It's
usual for two pairs of gender to accompany these plays. Gender is one of the Balinese
instruments that remind Westerners of xylophone or marimba. It has sweetly ringing
bronze keys suspended above tuned bamboo tube resonators. For wayang accompaniment,
gender use the five-tone sléndro scale. (See photo 10.) DAVID LEWISTON
NONESUCH RECORDS, 15 Columbus Circle, New York, New York 10023