Iacobus Leodiensis [Iacobus de Montibus, Iacobus de Oudenaerde]

(d) Performing practice and musical structure.

All players of a Balinese gamelan work together with extreme precision, held together by a network of leading instruments that provide aural and visual cues. Characteristic features of Balinese music are the rapidity of melodies and rhythms played in close coordination with one another and sudden shifts of tempo and dynamics, from slow, lyrical extended melodies to fast, highly dramatic, short ostinati. The stratified texture in Balinese music generally consists of a slow-moving skeletal melody (pokok) played on the lower, single-octave metallophones (calung or jublag, ornamented by penyacah metallophones tuned an octave higher), usually in evenly-spaced beats divisible by two. This is punctuated by even lower metallophones (jegogan) and ornamented by a multi-octave, leading metallophone (ugal or giying). Elaboration of this melody in interlocking style occurs on higher metallophones with a two-octave range (gangsa) and a 12-kettle gong-chime played by four musicians (reyong). Another gong-chime (trompong), lower in pitch than the reyong, is played by a soloist as a leading melodic instrument in certain types of pieces. The form of the piece is marked by a group of gongs in graduated sizes with the largest marking the end of each cycle and the smaller ones subdividing the cycle. The ensemble is led by one or two drummers who play interlocking parts on wadon (female, larger, lower in pitch) and lanang (male, smaller, higher in pitch) drums, cueing introductions, tempo, dynamics, transitional passages, endings etc. Over this texture floats a melody played on suling and sometimes rebab.

Most melodies are cyclical and in multiples of two or four, with the stress falling on the final beat of a group (rather than the first beat); sometimes this coincides with a gong. The music played on elaborating instruments is highly syncopated, often juxtaposing three-beat groupings against duple rhythms.

Indonesia, §II, 1(ii): Balinese musical principles

(e) Kotekan.

The gangsa and reyong players play interlocking figuration (kotekan, also called candatan) consisting of two complementary parts, the polos (the basic, main part, usually playing on the beat) and the sangsih (‘differing’, fitting between polos notes). When polos and sangsih are sounded together the composite melody has a faster tempo than any single player could produce, usually four or eight times as fast as the pokok melody. In order to play kotekan the musicians involved must hear their parts in relation to each other rather than as isolated units.

Further timbral distinction between the low, slow-moving parts and the figuration is achieved with the mallets themselves (panggul). The gangsa panggul are hard wooden hammers producing a sharp attack, whereas the lower instruments (penyacah, calung or jublag and jegogan) are struck with padded mallets, producing a softer, warmer sound. The damping technique can be very complex in playing kotekan, as every note struck by the right hand must be damped with the left precisely when the complementary part strikes. Instruments that are played with two panggul, such as reyong, have an even more difficult damping technique, requiring the musician to stop the sound with the mallet after striking without producing another sound.

There is little room for improvisation, since many of the parts are in pairs that are dependent on precise figuration in order to interlock properly. The leading melodic instrument has some leeway for improvisation, but because of its role as leader, it must remain connected to the pokok, anticipating, following and embellishing.

There are many types of kotekan, from rhythmically simple to highly syncopated. Each type is associated with specific genres, forms, melodies, ensembles and moods. Some are closely tied to the pokok, reinforcing, surrounding or anticipating its pitches, while others are independent (ex.1); in kebyar compositions these types are often combined.

Augmentation and diminution frequently occur in compositions. When a skeletal melody is played at its ‘basic’ tempo it is known as panca periring, and when played twice as slow it is called wilet; the result is similar to the Javanese irama ratios: as the pokok is played slower, other instruments fill in with their own faster figurations.

Interlocking drum patterns employ a number of strokes specific to genres, gamelan types and drum size. Drumming styles range from melodic to percussive, and their intricate patterns add a variegated texture to the ongoing ostinati. Panggul (mallet) drumming for the gong gede ensemble is heavy and powerful; drumming for gambuh and palegongan ensembles (ex.2) employs delicate hand strokes that ring melodically, while kebyar drumming is a display of rapid virtuoso percussion.



Indonesia, §II, 1(ii): Balinese musical principles

(f) Form.

Many compositions have several movements with contrasting gong structures, melodies and tempi, combining cyclic repetition with linear progression. Likened to parts of the body, pieces often open with the gineman (head), a metrically and rhythmically free introduction played by one or a few instruments and joined by the drums, which cue the entrance of the rest of the ensemble; this is sometimes followed by a kawitan (‘beginning’) section; the main body of the piece (pangawak, ‘body’), is the longest, slowest section; finally, the pangecet (legs and feet) usually consists of a short gong cycle in a fast tempo. Repeating sections of pieces are sometimes linked by non-repeating transitional passages. The basic model of gineman–pangawak–pangecet is often expanded to encompass other movements. Usually there is recurring thematic material, giving the composition cohesion.

The cycles, divided and marked by one or more gongs, are associated with particular drum patterns. Forms range from cycles of two beats (often a short ostinato) to 256 beats (extensive melodies). They are closely associated with theatrical and dance genres, even when taken out of their original context and incorporated into multi-sectional kebyar compositions. In theatrical music a single gong cycle may be repeated many times to support the drama; when a new mood or character piece is needed, there is a switch to another melody with a differing gong framework. Pieces with shorter gong cycles accompany highly dramatic or action scenes, articulated by the frequency of gong strokes, whereas long, extended cycles usually accompany calmer scenes or refined character dances.

The repeated cycles are enlivened by angsel, syncopated rhythmic accents or breaks in the melodic figuration, played while the beat and colotomic pattern continue (ex.3). These are borrowed from (but not restricted to) dance music, in which movement is tightly coordinated with the gamelan via drum cues. There are many types of angsel rhythms, articulating movement, marking tempo or pitch changes, closing phrases or linking sections etc. In certain styles of dance (usually accompanied by solo drum) the dancer decides when to initiate an angsel, cueing the drummer, who cues the musicians. Other dances have a set choreography with angsel built into the composition, which are memorized by the musicians and dancers.

Forms are highly contextualized to specific types of gamelan and associated repertories, although repertory is often transferred from one type of gamelan to another in order to fulfil ceremonial and aesthetic functions. The form of a piece is usually named after the genre or melody with which it is most closely associated, even when it is has been transferred to another genre or melody (Table 3). Forms are marked by different types of gongs, depending on the instrumentation of the ensemble. In the court ensembles (gambuh, semar pagulingan and palegongan), the largest gong marking the end of each cycle is the medium-sized kempur, and divisions in the cycle are articulated on kemong (a small hanging gong struck with a hard mallet wrapped with string, also called klentong), kajar (small horizontal gong with a flat boss, held in the lap and struck with a wooden beater) and klenang (the smallest horizontal gong, playing the off-beat). Forms are also distinguished by drum patterns.

TABLE 3: Some colotomic forms

k = kajar or kempli t = klentong P = kempur G = gong

Form

Structure

Batel

x

x

k

G

Bapang

x

x

x

x

x

x

x

x

P

t

P

G

Bapang Gede

·

x

·

x

·

x

·

x

(augmented pokok, twice

t

G

as slow as Bapang)

Gilak (Baris)

x

x

x

x

x

x

x

x

8 or 16

G

P

P

G

Kalé (same form as Gilak but pokok consists of repeated note)

Gabor Sisir

x

x

x

x

x

x

x

x

t

P

Gegaboran

x

x

x

x

x

x

x

x

x

x

x

x

x

x

x

x

P

t

P

G

Forms range in size and scope from the fast, two-beat batel in gamelan gambuh to lalambatan (‘slow’ music), which are stately, grand pieces played in the temple during the odalan (temple ceremony). Traditional lalambatan pieces are the longest and perhaps most difficult to memorize of all Balinese music. Most have several movements, beginning with a slow, free introduction played on the trompong, moving through many long, slow sections and ending in a compressed section in a fast tempo. Associated with the huge gamelan gong gede (which has a deep range and timbre), they are commonly played on the standard gamelan gong ensembles with the addition of a group of large, hand-held cymbals (ceng-ceng kopyak) that play interlocking rhythms. Lalambatan compositions are venerated and old but are also frequently adapted to the flashy kebyar style. The cycles are marked by much larger gongs than those of gumbuh-derived ensembles. In gong gede, instead of the kempur there are two large gongs, a male (lanang) and a female (wadon); often only one gong is used in gamelan gong. The cycle may be subdivided by the kempur and the kempli (equivalent to the kajar but larger, with a raised boss).

Indonesia, §II, 1: Bali