On April 3, 2019, I attended the UBC Balinese Gamelan concert. The pieces were performed at the Barnett Music Hall. The backdrop was absolutely stunning- it was set up to represent Bali in Indonesia as that is where Gamelan music originates from. I noticed everyone that all the performers were dressed in all white and had red headbands and they were also barefoot. We were given a brief introduction by the Professor who explained to us that Gamelan is the traditional ensemble music of Java and Bali in Indonesia. It made up predominantly of percussive instruments. The most common instruments used are metallophones played by mallets and a set of hand-played drums called kendhang which registers the beat.
The first piece that was performed was Lengker- these compositions belong to the repertoire of the gamelan semar formerly of the Balinese royal courts. It was served to lull the royal family to sleep when it played in the late evenings in the inner sanctum of the palace. It is also considered to be a refined sweet style of music. The music was quite fast past in this and had a lot of sudden changes in tempo and dynamics. There was a heavy incorporation of metallophones and gongs, I also recognized an instrument that resembled a tabla- an instrument commonly played drum set in Asia. The ensemble included other various small percussion instruments similar to sleigh bells and finger cymbals, and a row of small kettle gongs that played the melody.
The next piece that was performed was the Sunaren; these were melodies featuring the gong-row. The repertoire came from Bali’s northern district Bulelend. This music would be played during temples at rituals in order to entertain deities who descended into shrines. I noticed that this particular type of music was quite repetitive, it may have been to symbolize some sort of prayer that was consistent and because of this, there was a consistent beat throughout the performance of this piece. This piece created several overlapping harmonies that were beautiful to listen to.
The next piece that was performed was the Sekar Gendot this repertoire of music of the gamelan was an ensemble that accompanied shadow plays, cremation processes, tooth filing ceremonies, and other traditional events. It was so interesting to see how different types of music were played for different ceremonies. For this particular piece, there was a swirl of elaborated patterns followed by expanded melodies of irregular size, shape, and intricacy. The performers used metallophones with the addition of gong strokes during this piece.
The last piece that was performed was the Tabuh Pisan Bebaronga- this music in the bebarongan repertoire is associated with barong, a mythical dragon-like creature distantly related to the Chinese lion. Barong masks and costumes were extremely sacred and kept in temples in most inner courtyards. This particular piece was quite complex but still very vibrant and rich in melody and texture. There were a number of metallophones, gongs, and xylophones all being played, this particular piece was also much louder and swifter than the other pieces performed. There was a melodic percussive beat resembling rises from the drums and xylophones. All in all, this was such a unique and beautiful performance, I truly enjoyed learning about traditional Bali music.