In the USA

The greatest collection of instruments--mainly metallophones and bronze gongs of different shapes and sizes--and the epitome of the gamelan playing style are to be found in four princely courts, two each in the neighboring cities of Jogyakarta and Surakarta. This recording, typifying the musical style of one of these courts, the Paku Alaman in Jogyakarta, is an eminently worthy representative of one of the major classical traditions of Eastern art music. Western enthusiasts have often compared the static yet constantly moving state of gamelan music to a river running in its course, or to "moonlight poured over the field".

In the USA

The music of the great bronze orchestras of four royal courts defines the tradition and exemplifies the highest artistic standard for thousands of similar, if less resplendent, gamelans in the towns and villages of Central Java. Although the origins of these large ensembles of carefully fashioned gongs and metallophones are prehistoric, most derive stylistically from the 18th century, a period of internecine warfare and political unrest. The instruments heard in this recording and the particular musical heritage they represent reflect the unique position of the Mangkunegaran court as it developed over 200 years.

Recorded at the Istana Mangkunegaran, Sarakaria, by Robert E. Brown. Originally released in 1977.

In the USA

The music of the gamelans from the four courts of Central Java represents one of the great classical traditions of Asia. This recording presents the music of the Kraton Ngayogyakarta Hadiningrat, commonly known as the Kraton Yogyakarta, where the Yogyanese style is preserved in its most traditional form. The divisive policy of Dutch colonialism had the unforeseen effect of fostering the performing arts in the protected atmosphere of the courts. The new Yogyanese court strove to produce styles of music, dance, and shadow play that were distinctive from the Surakarta, while not diverging radically from the shared tradition.

Recorded in the Kraton Yogyakarta by Robert E. Brown. Originally released in 1979

In the USA

In the USA

Jaipongan emerged during the 1970s and was as much a pop craze as a traditional style. In it, a kittenish female singer-dancer, whose lyrics might deal with love, planting, prosperity, or the lack thereof, fronts a scaled-down combo of instruments typically heard during a gamelan (a large-scale court entertainment based on hypnotic cycles of drumming and chimes), such as gongs, metal xylophones, and percussion, plus a two-stringed fiddle called a rebab. Male backup musicians respond to the singer's comments with sympathetic or satiric ejaculations and melodic underscoring. Jaipongan was invented by Dr. Gugum Gumbira Tirasondjala, a producer-composer who moved with the times when Western influences were subject to government disapproval. His ensemble is heard here accompanying the delicately lovely voice of Idjah Hadidjah. The album also includes examples of kliningan, which calls for a woman vocalist, but adheres more closely to the gamelan structure and doesn't call for dancing. --Christina Roden

In the USA

In the USA

In the USA

Part of Sound of the World Series.

In the USA

In the USA

Music Of Indonesia (Smithsonian Folkways Series)

In the USA

Folk music, as opposed the music of the courts.

In the USA

In the USA