VA - Degung Instrumental Bali Vol 1 & 2

Indonesia is culturally diverse, and every one of the 18,000 islands has its own cultural and artistic history and character. This results hundreds of different forms of music, which often accompanies dance and theater. The musics of Bali have been documented and recorded, and research by Indonesian and international scholars is ongoing.

The Osinger minority in Java are known for social music for weddings and other celebrations, called gandrung, as well as angklung, played by young amateur boys, which is very similar to Balinese gamelan. The most popular form of music in Indonesia is the gamelan, which originated in Java, Bali, and Lombok. Because of Indonesia's cultural diversity, there are hundreds of forms of music (often accompanying dance and theater). The subject of the music of Indonesia is a vast and complex one.

This type of music is played in many places but one never notices it as it is at almost a subconscience level. The arrangements are varied and well constructed. The sound of the group is sweet. All the tracks are fast in tempo and cheerful in mood.

In Bali, almost all religious rituals include gamelan performance. Gamelan is also used in the ceremonies of the Catholic church in Indonesia.Certain pieces are designated for starting and ending performances or ceremonies. When a "leaving" piece (such as "Udan Mas") is begun, the audience will know that the event is nearly finished and will begin to leave. Certain pieces are also believed to possess magic powers, and can be used to ward off evil spirits.

In Bali, the Gamelan instruments are all kept together in the balai banjar, a community meeting hall which has a large open space with a roof over top of it with several open sides. The instruments are all kept here together because they believe that all of the instruments belong to the community as a whole and no one person has ownership over an instrument. Not only is this where the instruments are stored, but this is also the practice space for the sekaha (Gamelan orchestra). The open walls allow for the music to flow out into the community where the rest of the people can enjoy it.

The instrumentation of gamelan degung is quite flexible. It may include:
* Bonang/kolènang: two rows of seven small bulbous gongs. It differs from its Javanese counterpart in that the rows are each placed on either side of the player.
* Saron/peking: a high-pitched bronze metallophone with fourteen keys.
* Panerus: another bronze metallophone, similar to the peking but pitched an octave lower.
* Jengglong: six bulbous gongs suspended from the same frame.
* Goong ageung: a large gong.
* A set of kendang, consisting of one large and two small double-sided drums.
* Suling degung: a four-holed bamboo flute.
* Gambang: a wooden xylophone.
In classical degung, the bonang serves as a conductor for the whole ensemble. Except in certain modern compositions, it is rarely absent.

All tracks in degung is without vocals (unless you sing along). Different instruments carry the melody in different tracks, but there are always at least ornamentation from the bamboo flute (suling).

These albums ar wonderful listening, a 'softer' variant of Gamelan, with a few different instruments, a bit different from the jangle of Barong or Legong Gamelan. Great listening.

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