Sounds from the Island of Bali! Vibrant tones and colour!
Kean Chhay Chang | Vic, Australia | 09/22/2001
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Beautifully recorded cd on a five tone semar pegulingan which I find so interesting and a little different from a few semar pegulingan orchestras that I have heard. This one is distinct and very lively in it's musical compositions and great information regarding each tracks and origin of the Legong Kraton dance as well as the Legong Dididari which I found very fascinating. The recording is sharp and crisp and what is important in the Balinese orchestra is the soul which is the gongs that punctuate through the tracks with it's hauntingly booming tones like a time that was once lost so long ago.The trompong featured at the cover of the cd is a very common site used in gamelan semar pegulingan and I found that it gives a very bubbly and tickling tones when played in track 2. While for track 5 is a different version of the legong kraton music with different themes added. This probably was the original music and has however developed through the decades to see the form that we hear and watch today. The legong dance music can vary like 16 minutes in this recording to 19 minutes or half an hour in some. Over all this is a great cd and I really enjoyed it full of colour and vibrant tones which sets it apart from the gong kebyar style that I have often heard in many cds. Something differen, in touch with the divine and courts of long ago which seems like a bygone era that is still hauntingly beautiful in the music itself. The notes are helpful as well which is covered in detailed and well researched making it easier for the listener to appriciate and understand this ancient and courtly tradition."
Track Listings (5) - Disc #1