Concertzenderprogramma ‘Metamorfosen’, uitgezonden op 21 oktober 1993. Aflevering: Traditionele muziek en hedendaagse composities voor de bronzen gamelans van Bali. Presentatie: Agnes van der Veld. Samenstelling: Pieter de Rooij en Leontien van der Vliet.
Tag Archives: Balinese gamelan
What a wonderful sound! John Cage for Balinese gamelan
I like to hear more of this ‘John Cage for Balinese gamelan’-project. Sounds wonderful!
IGFA 2010 was een muzikaal feest voor oog en oor!
De afgelopen week verkeerde ik in gamelansferen. Dat kwam door de 2e editie van het International Gamelan Festival Amsterdam – het IGFA 2010 – dat plaatsvond van 2 tot en met 11 september in het KIT Tropentheater. Ik heb alle avondvoorstellingen bezocht.
Was de eerste editie van het IGFA in 2007 al een groot succes, het IGFA trok in 2010 nog meer nationale en internationale belangstelling en alle avondvoorstellingen in de schitterende Lichthal van het Tropenmuseum (met 550 zitplaatsen) waren nagenoeg uitverkocht. Balinese en Javaanse topensembles verzorgden oorstrelende en oogverblindende concerten die je op Nederlandse podia hoogst zelden en eigenlijk alleen maar op dit unieke festival zult aantreffen. Amsterdam mag zeer trots zijn op dit wondermooie festival van wereldformaat. Ik zie al weer uit naar de 3e editie van het IGFA! 🙂
Als bonus hier nog even de Balinese groep Semara Ratih, hier in een laatste repetitie op Bali van het schitterende stuk Lapanbelas, dat zij op 9 september op het IGFA in premiere brachten. Dit is het eerste deel…
Balinese gamelan: Lotring tribute video with footage + music from 1972
I guess with the upcoming second edition of the IGFA (International Gamelan Festival Amsterdam) in september 2010, gamelan is more on my mind these days – and btw, in the past I played Balinese and Javanese gamelan for almost twenty years – maybe that explains why I couldn’t resist making this Lotring-tribute video 🙂
The video contains footage of legendary Balinese musician I Wayan Lotring (1898-1983) dancing and playing in 1972. I combined this footage with a segment of Lotring’s composition ‘Liar Samas’, played by himself and his orchestra in 1972. You can find the complete recording on a marvellous 2cd-album, released by Ocora, titled ‘Hommage a Wayan Lotring’, an album I highly recommend, a very worthwhile buy if you like gamelan music from Bali.
In the 1920’s and 1930’s Lotring was an absolute sensation on Bali, revolutionising musical form of gamelan pieces on kebyar, pelegongan and gender wayang, and in so doing paving the way for others on Bali to take gamelan into new directions.
I would expect Canadian composer Colin McPhee to have filmed him in the 1930’s but haven’t seen that footage (I’ve only seen a few photographs of Lotring by McPhee). In his book ‘A House in Bali’ McPhee meets Lotring and even devotes a chapter to him. A nice read that brings you in the midst of musical history on Bali.
Balinese Gamelan: unique footage of legendary composer I Wayan Lotring
Recently published on YouTube in two videos: selected segments of unique footage from 1972 of the legendary Balinese composer, musician, dancer I Wayan Lotring (approx.1898-1983).
Lotring is arguably Bali’s most influential gamelan composer/musician of the twentieth century. And of course a great dancer as well. We see Lotring at old age dancing and playing his own compositions with fellow musicians. When playing, we see Lotring mostly as the leader of the ensemble, playing the kendang (drum). Segments are shown of the famous 1972 performances that have been published on Ocora in 1974 (rereleased in 1989). Below you’ll find part two. At 2’40” in this video the famous piece ‘Gambangan’ is played and from 6’16” there’s my very favourite piece ‘Liar Samas’ 🙂
Great as this footage of Lotring might be, there are also two regrettable minuses regarding this material:
1. It’s in black and white (filmed from a black and white tv screen?). I can’t imagine (ethno)musicologist Jacques Brunet shot this material in black and white. Moreover, his recordings of these sessions are presented on Ocora along with colour photos in the cd booklet.
2. Sound and image are not sync. It would be very easy to correct this. I’m always surprised to see this. Why do uploaders not correct this before they publish? As a consequence we don’t get to see the real artistic beauty of Lotring’s dancing along with the music and of his (drum)playing with the orchestra. Ooooww!!! 🙁