Program 2000

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University of Pittsburgh

Department of Music 

 

presents

   

 

A Concert of

 Sundanese Music and Dance

 

  

 

Gamelan Kyai Tirta Rukmi

Andrew Weintraub, Director

   

 

Guest Artists:

 

Laksmi Purwanti Margarani, dancer

Undang Sumarna, master drummer

Ben Archangel, dancer

   

 

 

Bellefield Auditorium

March 18, 2000

 

 

 

Introduction

 

          The University of Pittsburgh gamelan ensemble is a student group which studies, practices, and performs Sundanese music of West Java, Indonesia. Sometimes referred to as “Sunda,“ the western third of the island of Java is home to the approximately 25-30 million Sundanese, who make up the second largest ethnic group in Indonesia. More specifically, Sunda is a geographical, historical, and cultural construct which signifies “home” for the Sundanese people. While the majority of the population live in rural or semi-rural settings, large cities have become increasingly central to the creation of new artistic genres. Bandung, the fourth largest city in Indonesia, is home to a large number of Sundanese musicians, dancers, and professional groups. The national radio and television station, as well as many local radio stations, publishing houses, and the most prominent studios make Bandung the center for the mass mediation of Sundanese music.

          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. 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 University of Pittsburgh Music Department offers classes in gamelan and African music and dance as part of its program in Ethnomusicology.

 

Gamelan

 

          The 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. 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 for 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 is associated with one of four primary musical functions or roles, which contribute to the rich polyphonic layering or strata of sound. Instrumental function include 1) structural melody (saron I and saron II), 2) elaboration (panerus, peking, boning, rincik, and gambang), 3) punctuation (ketuk, kenong and goong) and 4) time- keeper (kendang). In vocal pieces, the instrumentalists play an accompaniment to the female vocalist (pesinden) and male vocalist (juru alok).

 

Dance

 

          In Sunda, the closest equivalent to the Central Javanese kraton (palaces) 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.

          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. During the early twentieth century, influential dancers and choreographers participated in a “renaissance” of Sundanese music and dance. Their efforts to systematize and consolidate Sundanese forms, particularly within the city of Bandung, have continued to the present day. Sundanese dance is performed at life-cycle celebrations, social events, and religious as well as civil holidays. Dance events are essentially communal and provide an opportunity to enjoy other activities as well.

 

 

 

Program 

 

1.   Instrumental piece: “Banjaran,” laras salendro 

“Banjaran” is one of the standard pieces in the gamelan salendro repertoire, used here to set a calm and peaceful mood. 

 

2.   Dance: “Ratu Graeni” (accompanying music: “Tumenggungan,” laras pelog) 

This dance, choreographed by R. Tjetje Somantri in 1953, depicts the majestic and powerful nature of Queen Graeni. The character brandishes a kris, a Javanese sword believed to possess magical powers, as a sign of her readiness to do battle. 

 

3.   Vocal piece: “Sekar Mawar,” laras salendro 

In this song, the singer uses the imagery of a rose (mawar) to describe the beauty and fragrance of his beloved. The rhythmic cycle is “punctuated” in a rather unusual manner for a Sundanesse piece, but typical for gamelan music of Central Java. A stroke of the large gong concludes each cycle (which corresponds to each verse of the song), but the kempul marks the mid-point of each verse. In addition, the relatively unornamented vocal style and relaxed drumming are modeled after Central Javanese gamelan practice.

 

4. Dance: “Gatotkaca Gandrung” (accompanying music: “Bendrong”--“Gunung Sari”--“Bendrong,” laras salendro/pelog)

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 which 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.

 

The dance is accompanied by a suite of two pieces, “Bendrong” and “Gunung Sari.” The pieces are played in different tuning systems (salendro and pelog, respectively), and have different temporal structures. In “Bendrong,” the large gong is struck frequently, whereas in “Gunung Sari,” the large gong is struck infrequently. One of Gatotkaca’s magical spells is contained within a song called “Waringin sungsang,” presented here as part of “Gunung Sari.”

 

5. Dance: “Kandagan” (accompanying music: “Renggong Gancang,” laras pelog)

In this dance, the female Princess Anjasmara disguises herself as a male warrior in order to meet her lover, Damarwulan, on the battlefield. The movements reflect both male and female movements and sensibilities. “Kandagan” was choreographed by R. Tjetje Somantri in 1959.

 

Inrermission 

 

6. Instrumental: “Paksituwung,” laras pelog 

“Paksituwung” (“Bird in Flight”) is one of the “large” pieces in the Sundanese gamelan repertoire. There are 64 beats within each rhythmic cycle, which gives the “elaborating” instruments, such as the gambang (xylophone), more room to improvise. 

 

7. Vocal: “Kembang Ligar,” laras salendro 

Kembang Ligar is a flower that has lost its leaves. Although not as colorful or striking as other flowers, it remains attractive and beautiful. Like most Sundanesse poetry, the text uses allusion, metaphor, and symbolism. The hidden message of this text asserts that person’s spiritual and mental being is more important than one’s material wealth 

 

The composition uses a common Sundanesse musical practice of juxtaposing two pentatonic (five-tone) tuning systems. The vocal melody is based on a pelog-type scale, which has large and small intervals. The song is accompanied by gamelan salendro, which is tuned to roughly equidistant intervals. The pelog and salendro scales used in this piece have three notes in common, but the vocal part includes two pitches that are not played by the fixed-pitch instruments of the gamelan. 

 

8. Dance: “Kencana Wungu”–“Menak Jingga” (accompanying music: “Gonjing Miring”—“Gonjing Dodoan”—“Sarung Ilang”—“Geder Kering,” laras salendro) 

This dance is fragment from an episode of the Damar Wulan tale, which describes the fall of the last Hindu-Buddhist kingdom (Majapahit) in the 16th century. The first dancer depicts the character Kencana Wungu, the Queen of Majapahit. The second dancer portrays the character Menak Jingga, the ogre king of Blambangan (in East Java), who is in love with Kencana Wungu. In the dance, Menak Jingga falls asleep and dreams of his beloved. Kencana Wungu reappears as a representation of Menak Jingga’s dream. He chases her, but she resists and fights off his advances. The setting of the choreography is by Nugraha Sudireja, one of the most important Sundanese dancer/choreographers of the post-war period.   

 

9. “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 invite you to take a closer look at the instruments and meet the musicians.

 

Guest 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 which 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. In addition to introducing thousands of American students to Sundanese music, he has toured throughout the United States as an “Ambassador of Sundanese Arts.” 

 

Laksmi Purwanti Margarani was born in Surabaya, Java, in 1966. At age two, she moved to the Sundanese city of Bandung and began studying dance at age seven. A year later, she began dancing in and around Bandung, capturing awards in local dance competitions. As a teenager she was invited to join some of the most prominent dance troupes in Bandung to perform throughout West Java, and, since 1979, receives regular invitations to perform at the Presidential Palace in Jakarta. She has participated in cross-cultural artistic and educational missions to Saudi Arabia (1982), Germany (1985), and the United States (1989). In addition to her accomplishments in Sundanese and Balinese dance, she holds a degree in biology from the Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB). During the last six years, she has been teaching dance and university courses in biology in Makassar, Sulawesi. 

 

Ben Archangel is currently completing his undergraduate degree in theatre and Indonesian studies at the University of California, Santa Cruz. Under the auspices of a student fellowship from the Indonesian government, he studied at the music and dance conservatory in Bandung, West Java during 1998-99. He will pursue a master’s degree in dance ethnology from the University of Hawai’i in the fall. 

The University of Pittsburgh Gamelan Musicians

Sebastian Albu

Michael Beuselinck

Lisa DiFilippo

Richard Easton

Miriam Greenberg

John Horstmann

Hee-sun Kim

Kristine Marshall

Nicholas Oscarsson

Sarah Pablo

Chris Peak

Elizabeth Perri

Eric Riemer

Nicole Sabourin

Gabriel Simon

Andrew Weintraub 

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

Acknowledgments 

University of Pittsburgh Department of Music, Dean Beverly Harris-Schenz, Max Brandt, Thomas Rimer, Diana Wood, Wolfgang Schloer, Maxine Bruhns, Balwant Dixit, Jen Saffron, David Brodbeck, Dorothy Shallenberger, Paula Riemer, Kevin Hanrahan, John Chenoff, Richard Pell, Undang Sumarna, Laksmi Purwanti Margarani, Ben Archangel, and Eleanor Jaluague.

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