Customer Reviews

World Kulintang Institute: 3rd Century Gong/Ensemble Music From The Southern Philippines

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This was my first introduction to Kulintang. I have been addicted to gamelan music for a couple of years, especially Balinese gamelan, so I wanted to hear more metallaphone music. I was disappointed with the brevity of the tracks (12 out of 19 are under two minutes). I have done no further research and do not know if this is a characteristic of the music. The liner notes are sparse and not easily readable (tiny print over photo). All in all this is a fine introduction to a musical form that is worth further study.

Those interested in the musical traditions of Southeast Asia will be enlightened by this recording of the music of the Moslem South of the Philippines. Here one discovers the family ties with Indonesia and Malaysia and the kulintang's obvious shared heritage with the gamalang. Listeners should be forewarned, however, that this music is not as engaging or varied as that of other SE countries and will probably interest the specialist more than the popular audience. Nevertheless, it gives an interesting insight into Philippine musical culture before and separate from subsequent Spanish and American influence.