Customer Reviews

Bali: Gamelan Semar Pegulingan: Gamelan of the Love God

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Bali  Gamelan Semar Pegulingan: The Gamelan of the Love God

The famous gamelan heard on this recording was kept in composer/ethnomusicologist Colin McPhees house in Bali during the 1930s, when he was collecting material for his authoritative work, Music in Bali. It is pictured therein, as well as in McPhees charming autobiography about those days called A House in Bali. McPhees chauffeur and musical guide was I Made Lebah, one of Balis greatest musicians, who directs the present ensemble.

In the early 1960s, some of Dr. Mantle Hoods graduate students at UCLA, who had studied with Colin McPhee in the last years before his death in 1964, found their way to Bali and became acquainted with Lebah. Inevitably we all began to ask about the famous Semar Pegulingan, wondering what had become of it. Anak Agung Gde Mandra, a member of the local nobility who owned the instruments and who had been the groups drummer in the 1930s, conceived the idea of restoring the gamelan after some thirty years of neglect, and the instruments were collected (some, famously, from beneath Made Lebahs bed!), refurbished, and Mandera sent them to a banjar in the south of Pliatan village, where Lebah recruited a group, largely of young men in their teens, to start learning the old repertoire.

Those men are now aging, but the group, which visited Europe and Japan in its heyday, continues to play. The present recording, however, the first ever made of the group in 1971, reflects the youthful vigor of the players in its early days. More than that, the repertoire recorded here is what Made Lebah had played at McPhees house in the 1930s. This recording, then, is a kind of time warp back to that wonderful period in Bali before the Second World War, when such people as McPhee, Margaret Mead and Gregory Bateson, Miguel Covarrubias, Walter Spies, and others were creating the legend of a paradise on earth called Bali.

Later on, one of the senior players in the group, Made Grindem, along with others, decided to update things by adding pieces in a newer kebyar-influenced style to the repertoire, and Made Lebah departed. However, the pieces he brought to the group, some of them from the old palace musician, Guru Lunyuh of Payangan village, McPhees informant, and from McPhees friend, the composer I Lotring of Kuta village, are still played as Lebah taught them, and remain the foundation of the Teges repertoire as it exists today.

On this recording are old pieces like Tabuh Gari and Sinom Ladrang, Lotring's famous evocation of the syncopated music of the gambang xylophone ensemble, and the complete music for a legong, Bali's reknowned classical dance, usually performed by three highly trained little girls. In this case it is the music for the Playon story, not the Legong Lasem, which is most frequently heard today. Although the legong music is now more often played on the larger gong kebyar gamelan, the more delicate gamelan pelegongan, which adds two gender instruments to the semar pegulingan ensemble, is the instrumentation for which is was conceived, and conveys its spirit most perfectly.

I feel proud to have made this recording of the rare and exceedingly beautiful Gamelan Semar Pegulingan from Teges village, and can recommend it as an aural link to the past world of the late Colin McPhee, my teacher, and the late Made Lebah, my dear good friend, sorely missed.

Dr. Robert E. Brown
Center for World Music
San Diego, California...

I came to own this album by an amazing stroke of luck. One day, while fishing around my favorite music store, I walked into the world music section for the first time. Feeling disgruntled with my extensive (though musically shallow) CD collection, I figured it was time to spice things up a bit. I left the store with this CD. Popping it in my car's CD player, I made it through the first ten minutes (and halfway home) when I turned around, went back to the store, and bought four more discs from Nonesuch's Indonesia series. Such is the power of the Gamelan of the Love God.

The music presented here will capture your mind and your spirit, and will whisk them away to a time and place far removed from the doldrums of everyday life. No matter where you are, or what your situation, you'll feel that warm tropical breeze overtaking your senses from the first notes, to well beyond the triumphant finale. The well-written liner notes afford tremendous insight into the Balinese gamelan style, both from a technical and a cultural vantage point. Finally, the digital remastering is a work of art that makes the music shine on even the worst stereo systems.

I now own the entire Nonesuch Indonesia series, and am currently halfway through the Africa series as well. Thanks to this CD, I've been turned on to a music that I had never heard of in my 25 sheltered years of life. However, I'll be collecting gamelan extensively from now on. If you're only going to own one disc in the Explorer series, this is it.

Gamelan Semar Pegulingan! This has got to be the most refined all Balinese gamelan orchestras for sure! The sounds and the tones as well as the textures are so delicate and wonderful to hear. The vibration and the tinkling of the sounds of the metallophones is enough to make one think of the splendid orchestras which once served the Balinese rajas back in the old feudalistic days when it was considered divine music from the God of Love: Semara. This type of orchestra disappeared when the Dutch took over Bali in the early part of the 21st Century. Many of the gamelans which belonged to wealthy patrons and kings, often the orchestra fell into dis-use and disrepair. Due to the no patronage or anyone willing to finance such huge orchestras which would have cost a fortune to maintain back in the old days before the Dutch took over. While others soon where reforged into the more popular style known as gamelan gong kebyar which was taking Bali by storm in the early 1910s.

Colin McPhee with a few handful of musicians kept the gamelan semar pegulingan alive and its so wonderful to see the music being preserved and handed down from teacher to student as well as father to son. Old compositions being handed down and taught so that it may never be lost. I found the music to be quite relaxing especially the tuning which made it very light and airy because of the jinggling of the metallophones, the wonderful sound of the flute which gave it a unique timbre making the music more alus "refined" as it is. This is the best music I have come so far in regards to gamelan semar pegulingan. The beating of the drums and the clatters of the cymbals gently swaying as the musicians play and ornamentate on the metallophones as well as the trompong (one single musician playing a set of kettle gongs mounted on a horizontal frame, played with beaters).

The music and tracks are very wonderful, each of them carefully explained about what the music is and what the purpose is though. I found it full of information and very helpful to read as well, there are some small photographs of the instrumentation and also some of the musicians too. I enjoyed many of tracks and they seemed to be popular compositions that I have heard on other cd recording of the gamelan semar pegulingan. The most well known version of a famous dance piece known as legong kraton is the most popular. There are different genres and also different version of it. In this recording the introduction is different from compared to the one recorded by David Parson in Vol. The Music of Bali: Tirta Sari - Legong Gamelan. Slightly shorter but the same theme running through the whole piece which I found every enjoyable. Though a little loud in this version, there is no narration of the story in kawi (Old Javanese langauge - which is used in Balinese dance drama or theatre). However it has retained that gracefullness that I see in the young little legong kraton dancers as the whole story is enacted though. The climax builds to the end of the story when the Prince Lasem goes and fights his enemy whom he had abducted Princess Langkasari or Rangkasari from. In the short and fast tempo cycle the music becomes very fast and one can hear the gender (metallophones played with two beaters suspended over bamboo resonators) ornamentate the music and also emphasize the sudden movements of the dance and the battle scenes. The gong agung punctate loud but short beats, creating heavy booming tones which is typical of Balinese music. Very wonderful piece composed in regards to this heavenly dance. Danced by young girls at the ages of 7-10. The legong dancers retire by the time they start puberty.

Other recordings contain pieces that have originated from gambuh dance drama like tabuh gari which a piece performed which signaled the end of a performance. This piece contains performances on the trompong which is the lead instrument as well, elaborating its melody above the core melody which I often enjoy the metallic gong ringing. There are other pieces that were composed by the great Wayan Lotring who said he often dreamt about compositions and melodies for the gamelan semar pegulingan music. While others were tradition pieces that have been around for generations, some pieces have been revived and given a whole new playing style even though the playing style maybe different. However the music itself is still good.

The closest music of gamelan semar pegulingan that I would have to say has the same instrumentation would have to be Music of Bali: Gamelan Semar Pegulingan from the Village of Ketewel recorded by Wayne Vitale, Gamelan Semar Pegulingan of the Village of Binoh from World Music Library. These three cds I would have to recommend in regards to wanting to hear some really good semar pegulingan music. The all come from different parts of Bali but their tuning is pretty different from each other which I like at least you get some variations on regards to the tones and pitches of each orchestra. I give this cd the thumbs up. Sweet and divine music from the Balinese God of Love is indeed sweet like honey straight from a beehive.

The music heard on this recording is probably my favorite out of all gamelan pieces I have come across, be it recorded or live. Track 2, Gamang, never ceases to captivate me. There is something new to listen to each time I put it on, and it never tires. Certain music, owing itself to human beginnings, eventually reaches a point where there is endless wonder that is beyond human, like a tree that could never be designed by man, but might have been planted and nurtured by one. Forgetting what science my assert, something must be said for musicians that actually believe the spirit of the gods is breathing through them as they play, rather than mortal self-expression of much of western pop culture. In my opinion this can be heard in recordings such as this (if you can't make it to Bali). As a musician myself, and gamelan member, this music -- showing mastery of both composition and performance -- provides much needed inspiration and affirmation.

My other favorite recording is one called "Best of Gamelan Bali," a 6-track CD. Despite the rather tacky title, it is actually quite amazing but not available on Amazon. I believe my father got it in Bali. If anyone has recommendations, I would greatly welcome an email: akuhn@berklee.net

This is NOT the same as Gamelan Semar Pegulingan...different material, and if there is any overlap the songs are cut drastically from the LP/CD original. Just so you know!!

This recording is great, but as an avid fan of Balinese music (and Indonesian music in general) I find it unfortunate that Nonesuch chose to re-release all of these old recordings en masse with new graphics, new titles in some cases, and at bargain prices, effectively flooding the market.
Many people will purchase these recordings online believing they are buying new ( " jan 28, 2003" ) recordings when in fact they are not. What's worse, the unsuspecting buyer may already have one or more of these discs in his or her collection under a different title. For example, "West Java: Sundanese Jaipong" is in fact "Tonggeret " by Idjah Hadidjah. Which, by the way, can be purchased for less right here on Amazon.
The real problem I have with Nonesuch's marketing strategy is that retailers have opted to stock this series in lieu of new recordings from different distributers. It is cheaper and easier.
I think this is a great recording. Actually, it's a classic in the genre. I'm panning it to show my dislike for Nonesuch's creation of market hegemony and the use of deceptive advertising ( to be fair, they do state that these recordings are re-releases on the back of the cd case, but if you are purchasing this on-line you obviously can't see that.)
This situation is to the detriment of fans of Balinese music and performers alike. Bali has an extremely vibrant musical culture. New compositions are being written all the time. In my opinion, the best compositions for Semar Pegulingan have been written recently.
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