Search - Gamelan from Central Java :: Gamelan from Central Java

The Isle of Serene Ecstasy

D. Mitchell | San Diego, CA USA | 10/20/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Central Javanese music takes its place among others in the world as most beautiful (serene, well formed, of highest craftmanship). It is often performed in environments that the ear can manage and sort out quite well, but problematic to microphones. A few of the tracks on this CD do suffer from lack of microphone "understanding" caused by the recording-acoustic environment, but some of them are rendered quite well. When recording, one has to acoustically balance the decorating instruments against the melodic and punctuating ones in Indonesian music, and this can be difficult when the space or musicians cannot cope with this.



True, most all of acoustic-based music is best heard live, and this is especially true of Indonesian music, especially Javanese court music, and Balinese temple music as well. Nothing beats being there--hearing, seeing and feeling it. Still, this recording by John Noise Manis gives a good overview of central Javanese musical fare. Also true, some Javanese court music does not move from point A to point B in a "goal oriented" manner like we Westeners expect (from Gregorian chant, Mahler, Duke Ellington, the Beatles, and beyond). But this does not bother the likes of Philip Glass, Steve Reich, Terry Riley, John Adams, LaMonte Young, the Trance club music assemblers, et al. What is especially delightful on this CD is the last track (12), a 14+ minute composition for Javanese (and other) instruments and voices by Joko Purwanto. I approached the track with some dread ("Oh no, another SE Asian Fusion mess to listen to!"). But 180 degrees to the contrary. It is a well crafted and formed piece that can stand with any other examples of sonic beauty found in the history of manipulating sound throughout the world, and the recording engineering of Track 12 is top quality and will put any high-end audio setup to the test.



Danlee Mitchell"

A very accessible and varied introduction to Javanese music

D. Quinn | northern britain | 07/06/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Despite its lovely cover, I have to admit that this release didn't raise my expectations too highly when I ordered it. I thought it would be an average, budget-price compilation put together without much thought. Infact, it turned out to be a fabulous collection of gamelan recordings, from purely traditional to experimental contemporary work, and with fascinating sleevenotes. In my opinion this is easily one of the most accessible recent releases of Javanese music. That's quite an achievement given that Indonesian music can often sound almost alien to unfamiliar Western ears!

The album is effectively divided into segments by three sunny pieces in `slendro nem' (describing the scale and mode). These pieces normally accompany the world-famous shadow puppet play `wayang kulit'.

The very refined second track has some unusual elements in it, not least the ancient instrument that looks a bit like a bronze banana skin (there's even a photo in the booklet) called the kemanak and an insistent cricket that actually enhances the ambience of the recording!

The next piece is the spacious and gentle Gadhung Mlati, apparently rarely performed due to its legendary powerful connotations. It's an absolutely tranquil recording, superb background music, but incredibly rewarding for more detailed listening, a characteristic of much Javanese music. Another particularly notable piece here is a short recording of a stone gamelan or `goa tabuhan' - music played on stalactites and stalagmites in a Javanese cave!

The finale comes in the form of a contemporary piece by Joko Purwanto entitled Lebaran. Over the course of 14 minutes the moods and timbres shift considerably, in a seemingly effortless manner. It even occasionally hints at the ferocious Balinese gong kebyar style. In addition to the traditional instruments, it also features violin and several experimental objects.

Listening to the cd from beginning to end really is like taking a delightful holiday - I mean that in the least- New Age way possible! If I was compiling a best of Indonesian music, several tracks from this release would be on it. What more can I say? A great place to start.

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