The University of Pittsburgh
Department of Music
presents
Contemporary Indonesian
Music and Dance
University of Pittsburgh Gamelan
Andrew Weintraub, Director
Guest Artists:
Ismet Ruchimat
Ati Sumiati
Henry Spiller
Bellefield Hall Auditorium
April 15 and 16, 2005
8pm
Introduction
The recent tsunami and loss of life in Aceh have made people aware of the modern island nation of Indonesia. But many people do not know that Indonesia consists of about 13,000 islands, 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.
Students at the University of Pittsburgh have the opportunity to learn about Indonesian music and culture by participating in the University Gamelan. Established in 1995, the gamelan performance program at Pitt has introduced hundreds of students to new ways of thinking about, practicing, performing, and composing music. During the past four years, guest artists from Indonesia have been invited to the university to teach, present workshops and lecture-demonstrations, and perform in large-scale gamelan concerts for the university community, as well as for the larger Pittsburgh community. The concerts not only demonstrate traditional forms of music, dance, and theater as they are performed in Indonesia, but they also provide an opportunity for musical and theatrical experimentation.
The University of Pittsburgh gamelan ensemble 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.
The 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
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 for special occasions and to mark important life cycle events.
The University of Pittsburgh gamelan owns two gamelan sets. The first set, which arrived in October, 1995, is named “Kyai Tirta Rukmi,” or “Venerable Rivers of Gold.” This gamelan is tuned to laras salendro (a five-tone tuning system made up of approximately equidistant intervals). 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 second set of instruments, which arrived in March, 2005, is named “Ligar Pasundan” (“Fragrance of Pasundan”). This gamelan is tuned to laras degung (a five-tone tuning system made up of large and small intervals). A typical gamelan degung comprises seven instruments: bonang; jengglong (6 tuned hanging gongs); goong/kempul (2 hanging gongs); panerus (metal-keyed instrument); peking (metal-keyed instrument); kendang (set of 3 drums); and suling (bamboo flute). A gambang (xylophone) and kacapi (zither) are also common nowadays. Unlike the Sundanese gamelan salendro, music for gamelan degung is more heterophonic; that is, the musicians realize one main melody in different ways. The majority of instruments (bonang, panerus, peking, and suling) are all played in a heterophonic manner. The jengglong and goong/kempul are used to punctuate the melody, and the kendang functions as a time-keeping instrument.
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.
West Java did not have kraton (palaces) like its Central Javanese counterpart. In West Java, 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.
Program
1. Gamelan Salendro (Instrumental): “Gonjang”
“Gonjang” is used as a traditional opening piece for a concert.
2. Dance: “Tari Merak” (choreographer: Irawati Durban)
“Tari Merak” portrays the dynamic and graceful movements of the peacock. It is a relatively recent dance choreographed by the well-known dancer Irawati Durban during the 1980s. 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 into an audible form that the musicians can follow.
3. Gamelan Salendro (Vocal): “Sorban Palid”
“Sorban Palid” begins with an instrumental melodic introduction (pangkat) played on the bonang. The arrangement consists of four sections and each section has three parts: Part 1: instrumental section (sawilet)--Part 2: verse (duawilet)--Part 3: chorus (sawilet). The lyrics for the chorus of “Sorban Palid” compare the confused feelings of a man in love to a suling (flute) that is out of tune.
4. Gamelan Degung klasik (Instrumental): “Palwa”
Gamelan degung was created for local Sundanese regents (bupati) of West Java during the early 20th century. These regents administered the Dutch cultivation system (Cultuurstelsel) for the province of West Java. The cultivation system provided that a village set aside a fifth of its cultivable land for the production of export crops (primarily tea and coffee in West Java). These crops were to be delivered to the government in lieu of tax. Regents promoted the performing arts for the entertainment of their family and other aristocrats of the Dutch colonial state. In its classic form (pre-independence) gamelan degung is entirely instrumental.
5. Gamelan Degung moderen (Instrumental): “Dadalati” (composer: Ismet Ruchimat)
This melody is based on the Sundanese solfege syllables “da-da-la-ti,” which are similar to the European solfege syllables “doh-doh-la-ti.” “Dadalati” represents recent innovations in composion for gamelan degung. Recent innovations include the use of harmonic “chords” in the bonang part; kacapi accompaniment; extended techniques (dampening the keys of the metallophone); and improvisation (bonang).
6. Kacapi Suling (Instrumental): “Kapati-pati”—“Eros”—“Senggot”
The genre “Kacapi Suling” refers to the instruments kacapi (18-string zither) and suling (bamboo flute). The repertoire for this instrumental genre is based on tembang Sunda, a genre of vocal music. Pieces are grouped together in suites, progressing from unmetered pieces to metered pieces. Improvisation has a prominent role in the music. Kacapi Suling is best suited to intimate gatherings of fellow artists, friends, and music aficionados. Most of these gatherings take place in the evening and sometimes last until early the next morning. These occasions provide the opportunity to express one’s feelings in music, away from the hustle and bustle of everyday life. Tembang Sunda may also be played in conjunction with hajat, ceremonial feasts to celebrate a wedding, circumcision, or other life-cycle event. The pieces played tonight are thought to express a heightened emotional quality and are best sung around midnight.
7. Dance: “Tari Ceurik Banondari” (choreographer: Ati Sumiati)
This modern dance portrays the character “Banondari” from the Javanese/Sundanese version of the Ramayana, the great Indian epic narrative. Dance movements are based on classical dance. The song “Ceurik Banondari” (“Banondari Weeps”) reflects the sadness that Banondari feels after being rejected by her husband Rahwana, who has fallen in love with another woman, Sita (Sinta).
Intermission
1. “Milenium Ritual” (composer: Ismet Ruchimat)
In this modern composition, the melody is accompanied by a repeating structural melody. The instrumentation and arrangement were designed specifically for the Pitt gamelan.
2. Gamelan Degung kawih (Vocal): “Hariring Bandung”
During the post-independence period, many Indonesian composers created songs for the ensemble and popularized the new genre of vocal music (Degung kawih). In its modern form, gamelan degung also incorporates the musical style of gamelan salendro, a more popular village-based genre of gamelan. The song “Hariring Bandung” (“Humming in Bandung”) consists of an instrumental section followed by a vocal section; the entire piece is repeated several times in this evening’s performance.
3. “Sweet Talking” (composer: Ismet Ruchimat)
This composition utilizes pitches that are shared by the Western diatonic and degung tuning systems. In this modern composition, the melody is accompanied by a repeating structural melody.
4. “Hariring Kuring” (composer: Ismet Ruchimat)
“Hariring Kuring” (“Humming to Myself”) combines instruments of the gamelan degung with guitar. The piece originally appeared on a recording of reggae music, all composed by Ismet Ruchimat and performed by his group Sambasunda.
5. Dance: “Jaipongan” (choreographer: Gugum Gumbira)
Jaipongan is a music and dance form created in Bandung, West Java, during the 1970s. The genre is rooted in Sundanese village performing arts, particularly the instrumentation, repertoire, and drumming style of ketuk tilu. Jaipongan’s most influential creative figure is Gugum Gumbira, the founder and director of the group Jugala. Dancers: Dorcinda Knauth and Brandi Neal
6. Dance: “Keser Bojong” (choreographer: Gugum Gumbira)
This dance is one of the staples of the Jaipongan repertoire. The musical song that accompanies this dance is entitled “Daun Pulus” (“The Pulus Leaf”), which refers to green paper money.
7. Gamelan Salendro: “Rampak Kendang”
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.
Featured Artists
Ismet Ruchimat (b. 1969) belongs to a musical family that is deeply rooted in traditional music of West Java. Ismet received his bachelor’s degree at ASTI, the college-level music conservatory in Bandung, and his master’s degree at Gadjah Mada University in Yogyakarta. After graduating from ASTI in 1990, he became the musical director for JUGALA, the leading Sundanese music and dance performance group in West Java. In 1995, Ismet founded Sambasunda, a 17-member group of experimental performing artists.Sambasunda has collaborated with international artists including 3 Mustaphas 3, recording artists based in England, and Hariprasad Chaurasia, the great bansuri flute player from India; the group recently performed in Malaysia at the Rainforest World Music Festival 2004. Ismet Ruchimat has been invited to teach at the University of Oslo in Norway on three separate occasions. Today, he is considered one of Bandung’s leading young composers and teachers of traditional performing arts.
Ati Sumiati (b. 1970) specializes in the jaipongan style of dance, which she learned from Gugum Gumbira. She has performed and taught in the U.S., Malaysia, Iceland, Sri Lanka, Laos, and Taiwan. She was a member of Irawati Durban's dance troupe that toured the United States as part of the Festival of Indonesia in 1989. Ati currently teaches at the music conservatory in Bandung (STSI Bandung).For more information on Sambasunda, please visit < http://surf.to/sambasunda>
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 Hawai‘i. His most recent book is entitled Gamelan: The Traditional Sounds of Indonesia (Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO). http://www.abc-clio.com/products/overview.aspx?productid=108950&viewid=4
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 is Associate Professor of Music at the University of Pittsburgh, where he teaches graduate and undergraduate courses in ethnomusicology and popular music, and directs the University of Pittsburgh gamelan program. His most recent book, with accompanying cd-rom, is entitled Power Plays: Wayang Golek Puppet Theater of West Java (Ohio University Press and Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, 2004). http://www.ohiou.edu/oupress/FW2004/weintraub/index.htm
The University of Pittsburgh Gamelan
Musicians and Dancers
Eric Belcastro
Ryan Durkopp
Candice Feldman
Kim Frost
Neil Gaines
Dorcinda Knauth
Lauren Masi
David Matthews
Brandi Neal
Hillary Overberg
Sarah Papperman
Jasmine Pogue
Ross Reilly
Dennis Snyder
Andrew Stryker
Please visit our website at
http://www.pitt.edu/~musicdpt/performance/gamelan.html
This concert is dedicated to the memory of our teachers
Ibu DjuwitaSamin
Atik Soepandi
RI Maman Suryaatmadja
Ait Suhana
Acknowledgments
University of Pittsburgh Department of Music, Asian Studies Center, Pitt Arts, Bell Yung, Deane Root, Maxine Bruhns, Sharon Berk, Dorothy Shallenberger, Phil Thompson, Undang Sumarna, and Henry Spiller.