Program 2002

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The University of Pittsburgh

Department of Music 

 

presents

 

 

Music and Dance

Of West Java, Indonesia

 

 

 

University Gamelan

Andrew Weintraub, Director

 

  

 

Guest Artists:

Undang Sumarna

Yoseph Iskandar

Ben Arcangel

Henry Spiller

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bellefield Hall Auditorium

April 12 and 13, 2002

8pm

   

 

 

Introduction

 

          The modern nation of Indonesia consists of about 13,000 islands (of which a few thousand are populated), the fourth largest population in the world, hundreds of ethnic groups, and nearly as many languages spoken. The cultural and musical diversity of this modern island community is staggering. The University of Pittsburgh gamelan ensemble plays the music of the Sundanese people, an ethnic group that inhabits roughly the western third of the island of Java. The approximately 30 million Sundanese make up the second largest ethnic group in Indonesia. While the majority of the population lives in rural or semi-rural settings, large cities have become increasingly central to the creation of new artistic genres, including those represented this evening.

 

Gamelan

 

          Outside Indonesia, perhaps the most well-known musical ensemble type is gamelan. Gamelan refers to a set of predominantly percussion instruments including tuned gongs, metal-keyed instruments, and drums (as well as bowed lute and voice). Gamelan music is played as accompaniment to dance, drama, puppet theater, and martial arts, as well as for concerts of listening music. Gamelan is performed in conjunction with special occasions and to mark important life cycle events.

          Each gamelan has a unique tuning and character--instruments in one set are tuned to each other and are not interchangeable with instruments from other sets. Gamelan sets are often named to reflect their individual character. The University of Pittsburgh gamelan, which arrived in October, 1995, is named appropriately “Kyai Tirta Rukmi,” or “Venerable Rivers of Gold.” The gamelan is actually comprised of two sets of instruments, and each set is tuned to a different intervallic structure (laras). One set is tuned to laras salendro (a five-tone tuning system made up of approximately equidistant intervals), and the other set is tuned to laras pelog  (a seven-tone tuning system with large and small intervals). For salendro pieces, the musicians face forward; for pelog pieces, they face to one side.

          Each instrument in the ensemble is associated with one of four primary musical functions or roles, which contribute to the rich polyphonic layering or strata of sound. The “structural melody,” usually played on the metal-keyed instruments, is the basic underlying melodic foundation for each piece. “Elaboration,” played on the rebab (bowed lute), gambang (xylophone), and bonang (small kettle gongs on a rack), refers to melodic variation and ornamentation based on the structural melody.  The player of the rebab reinforces the vocal line of the singer in a heterophonic manner. “Punctuation,” played on the large and small hanging gongs and kenong (large kettle gongs on a rack), refers to the temporal marking of important points in the rhythmic cycle. Finally, the “time-keeping” function is realized by the drummer, who signals the beginning and ending of pieces, directs tempo changes, and controls the dynamics of the music.

          The University of Pittsburgh gamelan group is composed of students as well as community members. The participants in the gamelan program are encouraged to use Sundanese processes of learning as much as possible; oral transmission of musical parts is preferred over written notation and working together as an ensemble is more important than developing individual talent. Students are also encouraged to learn and play more than one instrument and to learn the relationships among them. Therefore, in our concerts, the musicians move from one position to another in order to put into practice what they have learned.

 

 Dance

 

          In Indonesia, dance has developed in conjunction with ceremonial and religious rituals, popular entertainment, court culture, modern drama, and avant-garde artistic expression. Classical dance forms are part of elaborate dance drama productions in which dance functions to distinguish different types of characters, ranging from refined to course characterizations. Dancers use elaborate costumes and masks to portray different character types. Javanese classical dance appears rather abstract, but the movement patterns are all designed to contribute to the portrayal of characters.

          Sunda did not have kraton (palaces) like its Central Javanese counterpart. In Sunda, the closest equivalent to the Central Javanese kraton were the kabupaten (provincial government seats), which had neither the resources nor the influence to maintain, develop, and preserve dance traditions such as those of the Central Javanese kraton. Dance was performed in the kabupaten and patronized by the bupati (governors), but limited resources necessitated bringing artists in from the surrounding community to perform in the kabupaten. As a result, music and dance traditions were developed within artistic families rather than in the courts.

          Sundanese classical dance, while based on Javanese forms, has its own unique style and repertoire. One of the most important features of Sundanese dance is its close connection to the drumming, which is loud, dynamic and exciting. All Sundanese dance genres share certain traits including the prominent drumming, manner of stepping, and graceful arm gestures. In dance music, the drummer accompanies the movements of the dance by playing corresponding sound patterns for each movement.

          Sundanese dance has been greatly influenced by a genre of mask dance called Topeng Cirebon. Topeng literally means “mask,” and Cirebon is a coastal city on the north coast of Java. Cirebon, the home to one of the oldest Islamic kingdoms in Java, is culturally and artistically a blending of Javanese and Sundanese traditions. A performance of Topeng Cirebon consists of a series of five dances, each portraying a different character. The masks cover the entire face (the dancer has limited vision as he or she can see only through slits cut under the lower eyelids of the mask-face). The dancer bites on a small leather strap affixed to the inside of the mask to hold it in place.

          During the early twentieth century, influential dancers and choreographers participated in a “renaissance” of Sundanese music and dance. Improvised solo dancing at parties and other social events was an important social skill for well-heeled aristocratic men at that time; some of the better dancers created set choreographies to make it easier for less gifted men to learn to dance.  These keurseus ("course of study") dances, as they came to be called, became the core of the Sundanese "classical" dance tradition.  In keurseus dances, the dancer portrays several abstract character types in sequence.

 

 

Program

 

1. Instrumental: “Bubuka”

A traditional opening piece for a concert.  

 

2. Dance: “Gawil” (Music: “Gawil” – “Sari Kaya”)

Keurseus (“course of study”) dances are considered to be the core of the Sundanese “classical” dance tradition.  In keurseus dances, the dancer portrays one of four abstract character types in sequence. In tonight's performance, the dancer portrays the character types nyatria (a young, impetuous man) and monggawa (more mature, aggressive, and confident). In keeping with the “social” origins of keurseus, the dancer's costume is reminiscent of a well-dressed 1930s aristocrat.  The accompaniment for Sundanese dance features virtuosic drumming that matches the dance gestures with specific drumming patterns. The drummer also “translates” the dancer's musical cues – for example, when to change accompanying pieces – into an audible form the musicians can follow. 

 

 3. Vocal: “Tonggeret” 

“Tonggeret,” a kind of cricket in West Java, is named after the sound it makes. This song was the title track for one of the most popular commercial cassettes in West Java during the early 1980s. Interlocking parts between sets of instruments in the ensemble (saron I and saron II; bonang and rincik) add to the rich polyphonic texture that accompanies the song.

 

4. Dance: Ibing Gatotkaca (Music: “Bendrong”--“Gunung Sari”--“Bendrong”)

Gatotkaca is one of the most beloved figures in Javanese mythology and a nationalist hero since the birth of the Indonesian nation in 1945. He is brave, clever, alert, tenacious, agile and determined. His sense of responsibility has no rival. In the wayang (puppet theater), he speaks in gruff tones, and does not bow down to anyone. Gatotkaca possesses magical powers that enable him to fly. He is a fierce warrior, but never uses a weapon in battle. Like an eagle, he can swoop down from the sky and break his enemy’s neck with his bare hands. This dance is accompanied by a suite of two pieces which are played in different tuning systems (salendro and pelog, respectively), and have different temporal structures. In “Gunung Sari,” the large gong is struck infrequently, whereas in “Bendrong,” the large gong is struck frequently. These modal and temporal structures correspond to different moods and facets of the character in this dance.

 

5. Dance: “Tepak dua” – “Tepak tilu”

Penca Silat refers to a variety of martial arts forms in Indonesia. Students learn to strengthen their minds, bodies, and souls by practicing fighting techniques, meditation, and dance. This dance, and its stylized movements, belong to a style of Penca Silat called the Mande Muda  (“Mande” is from Cimande, a place in West Java, and “Muda” means “new” or “young”). The Mande Muda style of martial arts, which combines 17 different styles from around West Java, was created by Uyuh Suwanda and his wife Mimi Rukmini in 1951. The dance is accompanied by a musical ensemble of rebab, drums, and gong.

 

 Intermission

 

6. Instrumental: “Sinyur” – “Kaji-kaji” – “Sampak Sewu”

A suite of pieces that illustrates the two main tuning systems: the first two pieces are played in the pelog tuning, and the last piece is played in the salendro tuning.

 

7. Vocal: “Asa Tos Tepang” – “Pras-Pris” (arr. A. Weintraub)

Two songs from the genre of contemporary Sundanese popular music, or pop Sunda: “Asa Tos Tepang” (“Feels Like We’ve Met”) and “Pras Pris” (“Drizzling Rain”).   These songs are played in special arrangements (arransemen) specifically designed for the Pitt gamelan. The tuning, made possible by combining tones of the pelog and salendro tuning system, approximates yet a third tuning system called degung.

 

8. Dance: “Topeng Klana”  

“Topeng Klana” belongs to a genre of mask dance called Topeng Cirebon. Topeng literally means “mask,” and Cirebon is a coastal city on the north coast of Java. A performance of Topeng Cirebon consists of a series of five dances, each portraying a different character. A performance of the five dances can last nine hours, and builds in intensity from refined to course characters.Klana is the fifth and final character. Klana, also called Rahwana, is greedy, lawless, and wild; his dark red mask symbolizes unrestrained passions. Though the character has negative and demonic connotations, it represents an important side of human existence. His dance, which is the most energetic and exciting of the five, is also the most popular one among audiences.

 

9. Instrumental: “Rampak Kendang” (composer Undang Sumarna)

This piece features the dynamic rhythmic patterns of the kendang, a set of three drums made up of one large drum and two small drums. These standard rhythmic patterns are arranged and coordinated to create a feeling of excitement. 10. Instrumental: “Kebo Jiro”The traditional ending piece for Sundanese gamelan music performances. In West Java, audiences have usually departed by the end of this piece. However, we hope you will stay until the end of the concert. 

 

Featured Artists

 

Undang Sumarna comes from a lineage of famous drummers and musicians. His grandfather and main teacher, Abah Kayat, helped to develop and crystallize a style of dance drumming during the 1950s that incorporated influences from the music of Central Java, Bali, Cirebon, and various Sundanese regional styles.  Undang began studying drumming as a child and quickly developed into one of the most sought-after dance drummers in Bandung, West Java. He has taught gamelan at KOKAR (High School for Indonesian Performing Arts) and ASTI (College of Indonesian Arts) as well as UC Berkeley and UCLA. Undang Sumarna currently teaches at UC Santa Cruz, a position he has held since 1974. 

 

Ben Arcangel studied at the music and dance conservatory in West Java during 1998-99 under the auspices of a student fellowship from the Indonesian government. He was recently awarded the most Outstanding Performer in the Southwest Regional Competition of the American College Dance Festival in Arizona. Ben is currently pursuing an M.A. in Asian Studies at the University of Hawai‘i. 

 

Henry Spiller is Assistant Professor of Music at Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio.  He has conducted extensive research on music and dance in Indonesia, most recently under a Fulbright scholarship. He has taught at UC Berkeley, Mills College, San Jose State University, Santa Clara University, UC Santa Cruz, Cal State San Luis Obispo, and the University of Hawaii. 

 

Andrew Weintraub is a scholar, teacher, and performer of Asian music, particularly the music of Indonesia. He holds degrees in music from UC Santa Cruz (B.A.), University of Hawai‘i (M.A.), and UC Berkeley (Ph.D.). As a practitioner of Indonesian gamelan and martial arts, he has performed in the U.S., Canada, Asia, and Europe. Weintraub joined the faculty of the University of Pittsburgh in Fall 1997. He teaches graduate and undergraduate courses in ethnomusicology and popular music.   

 

The University of Pittsburgh Gamelan Musicians 

 

Collene Anderson

Malik Barrett

Darinda Congdon

Nicole Mannino

Richard Pelikan

Sarah Perone

Elizabeth Perri

Karen Ricco

Eric Riemer

Ann Schattle

Matthew Schult

Brenda Spencer 

 

Please visit our website at http://www.pitt.edu/~anwein/gamelan 

 

Acknowledgments 

 

University of Pittsburgh Department of Music, Asian Studies Program, College of Arts and Sciences, Pitt Arts, Associate Dean Patricia Beeson, Jen Saffron, Bell Yung, David Brodbeck, Dorothy Shallenberger, Phil Thompson, Undang Sumarna, Yoseph Iskandar, Ben Arcangel, Henry Spiller, Alex Reed, Darinda Congdon.

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