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Gamelan (/ ˈ ɡ æ m ə l æ n /) (Javanese: ꦒꦩꦼꦭꦤ꧀, Sundanese: ᮌᮙᮨᮜᮔ᮪, Balinese: ᬕᬫᭂᬮᬦ᭄) is the traditional ensemble music of the Javanese, Sundanese, and Balinese peoples of Indonesia, made up predominantly of percussive instruments.
5 days ago · Learn about gamelan, the indigenous orchestra type of Java and Bali, consisting of gongs, metal instruments, and drums. Discover the different types, scales, modes, and styles of gamelan music and its role in Javanese culture.
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Learn about the origins, instruments, scales, forms and composers of gamelan, a Javanese/Indonesian ensemble of bronze gongs, metallophones, drums and stringed instruments. Explore the influence of gamelan on western music, from Debussy to Reich, and listen to a podcast with Yale composer Ingram Marshall.
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- Origins of Gamelan
- Classical Era Gamelan
- Music and The Introduction of Islam
- European Incursions
- Dutch Colonization and Gamelan
- Gamelan in Post-Independence Indonesia
- Sources
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Gamelan seems to have developed early in the history of what is now Indonesia. Unfortunately, however, we have very few good sources of information from the early period. Certainly, gamelan seems to have been a feature of court life during the 8th to 11th centuries, among the Hindu and Buddhist kingdoms of Java, Sumatra, and Bali. For example, the ...
During the 12th to 15th centuries, the Hindu and Buddhist kingdoms began to leave more complete records of their doings, including their music. Literature from this era mentions the gamelan ensemble as an important element of court life, and further relief carvings on various temples support the importance of metal percussion music during this peri...
During the 15th century, the people of Java and many other Indonesian islands gradually converted to Islam, under the influence of Muslim traders from the Arabian peninsula and south Asia. Fortunately for gamelan, the most influential strain of Islam in Indonesia was Sufism, a mystical branch that values music as one of the pathways to experiencing...
In the mid-1400s, the first European explorers reached Indonesia, intent on elbowing their way into the rich Indian Ocean spice and silk trade. The first to arrive were the Portuguese, who started out with small-scale coastal raids and piracy but managed to capture the key straits at Malacca in 1512. The Portuguese, along with the enslaved Arab, Af...
In 1602, a new European power made its way into Indonesia. The powerful Dutch East India Company ousted the Portuguese and began to centralize power over the spice trade. This regime would last until 1800 when the Dutch crown took over directly. Dutch colonial officials left only a few good descriptions of gamelan performances. Rijklof van Goens, f...
Indonesia became fully independent of the Netherlands in 1949. The new leaders had the unenviable task of creating a nation-state out of a collection of different islands, cultures, religions, and ethnic groups. The Sukarnoregime established publicly-funded gamelan schools during the 1950s and 1960s, in order to encourage and sustain this music as ...
Gamelan: Venerable Lake of Honey, University of MichiganSpiller, Henry. Gamelan: The Traditional Sounds of Indonesia, Volume 1, ABC-CLIO, 2004.Learn about the origins, development, and features of gamelan, the most popular form of traditional music in Indonesia. Explore how gamelan evolved from court life, religious influences, and European incursions to become a national art form.
Listen to a performance by the gamelan ensemble of the Indonesian Institute of the Arts, featuring bronze gongs, xylophones, vocals and fiddle. Learn about the structure, form, scale and mode of Javanese gamelan music and its cultural context.
Mar 27, 2024 · Learn about gamelan, a type of percussion ensemble that originated in Indonesia and has various styles and instruments. Discover the history, sound, and culture of gamelan, and how it is influenced by Hinduism and Buddhism.
Aug 3, 2022 · Learn about the history, culture, and types of instruments of the Javanese gamelan, a traditional ensemble of bronze, wood, and skin instruments. Discover how the gamelan produces cyclical, colotomic time cycles and two scales: pelog and slendro.
