Gamelan: Occident or Accident?

Author(s): Neil Sorrell

Source: The Musical Times, Vol. 133, No. 1788 (Feb., 1992), pp. 66-68
Published by: Musical Times Publications Ltd.
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/965846
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 Ethnomusicology today
Series consultant: Ruth Davis

2 - GAMELAN: OCCIDENT OR ACCIDENT? by Neil Sorrell

At an Ethnomusicology conference in America a couple orchestra is far more widely and densely distributed,
of years ago, someone quipped that nowadays any but the Indonesians did not have European imperialism
institution seeking credibility in the discipline had to to assist them. Restricting the argument to musical
possess a Gamelan. This dry wit was a have-not ruefully considerations, I propose four main areas of investiga-
contrasting his situation of waning respectability tion: research, performance, composition, and educa-
against the increasing number of haves. As any Ethno- tion. The scholarly interest in Gamelan music predates
musicologist knows, that which was conceived in the the others, and among Westerners reached a pinnacle,
Netherlands and developed in the United States will which has arguably never been surmounted, in the
eventually visit Britain. The Gamelan boom is probably work, some 50 years ago, of the Dutchman Jaap Kunst.
the best, and certainly the most colourful and vibrant His American student, Mantle Hood, developed this
example. work by emphasising the practical element, thereby
The first Westerners of note to have been attracted to introducing an increasing number of college students
the unique sight and sound of Javanese instruments to performance on real Gamelans, with tuition by
were not Ethnomusicologists (the discipline had not Javanese and Balinese musicians. We are all, to some
even been invented!). Drake's circumnavigation of the extent, heirs of Hood, aspiring to his ideal of bi-
globe brought him to Java in 1580, where an obviously musicality (a concept which is hopefully self-
delightful musical exchange with the local ruler took explanatory). American Gamelan scholars, and their
place. Raffles not only founded Singapore and European and Antipodean counterparts, therefore tend
governed Java (in place of the Dutch) during the latter to place as much emphasis on their understanding
part of the Napoleonic wars, but also brought Gamelan through performance as on the more usual materials of
instruments and shadow puppets back to England. The musicology. In Kunst's day this was not the case, but
Victorian mathematician A. J. Ellis is credited with since the 1950s it has been assumed that anyone
founding the discipline which later became Ethno- interested in Gamelan, be they scholars, composers,
musicology through his researches into, among others, educators, or whatever, will share the common factor of
the peculiar scales and tuning systems found in experience in performing.
Gamelans. Remaining in England, it was not until the The first great composer to have expressed his
1970s that any serious attempt was made to study the unequivocal love of Gamelan music (without any
actual music and instruments of the Gamelan. Until attempt at playing it himself) was Debussy. His
then, almost nothing was known by the British publicencounters
of with the music at the 1889 Paris Exhibition
are well documented, and have led to all kinds of
these exquisite sets of tuned percussion instruments,
speculation. The argument is that because he was so
principally from the Indonesian islands of Java and Bali.
An exhibition at Dartington (and their subsequent enthusiastic about the music, he must have been
acquisition, by the end of that decade, of a Balinese
influenced by it and somehow tried to copy it in his own
Gamelan) and the Durham Oriental Music Festivals compositions. After all, he also deeply loved the music
of Andalusia, and there is no doubt that it saturates
(1976, 1979 and 1982) provided the necessary impetus.
The Indonesian Embassy in London obtained a com- many of his pieces, and their titles prove that this was
plete Javanese Gamelan in 1977, which enabled me to
the intention. Yet he also worshipped Bach, and I have
begin workshops, and in 1980 to co-found the English
yet to come across attempts to show Bach's influence in
Gamelan Orchestra: a group of composers and per- his music, even if one could say that the inspiration is
on every page. The Gamelan connection is almost as
formers dedicated to the study, performance and com-
position of Gamelan music. At the same time, the elusive. The delicate nuances of Debussy's piano music
Gamelan began its long overdue assault on those very often are evocative of the gentle murmurings of
the Javanese percussion, and the counterpoint of
bastions of tradition, the University Music Depart-
ostinati found, for example, throughout La Mer, is
ments; first York and Durham, then Cambridge, Oxford
and London. With the large education programme similar in its way to the heterophonic stratification in
around the Gamelan at London's South Bank Centre,Gamelan music (a contrapuntal technique which,
and the dramatic rise in the number of sets either according to Debussy, made Palestrina's look like
privately owned or obtained by schools and education child's play) but the mere presence of the pentatonic
authorities, I must admit to having no longer the precise
scale does not indicate any debt to the five notes of the
number of Gamelans currently in use in Britain. In theJavanese slendro tuning. Pentatonicism is almost a lingua
Netherlands it runs into dozens, plus a few in France,franca of world music. Even if it may not quite have been
Germany, Austria and Sweden, while in North America as much a part of Debussy's culture as that of a
the number is well over 100, and we must not forget Javanese, he reflected this by using it throughout his
Australasia and Japan. works in combination with the other tonal systems of
Is there anything extraordinary in this apparent
his European tradition. When we hear the penta-
emergence of the Gamelan as 'world music'? No one
tonicism of Pagodes we may be excused for thinking of
would be surprised that the European symphony Chinese music, yet we are more likely to think of

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Scotland when we hear the same 'black notes' in La fille in the Gamelan, as peculiarly European. Their approach
aux cheveux de lin. (In either case, the best thing anyway tends to be much more forthright and unashamed: not
is to think of music, which happens to be by Debussy!) only might they adopt some of the procedures but they
Funnily enough, some Scots who were recently often feel compelled to write for the Gamelan itself, and
exposed to the Gamelan when Glasgow acquired a set, of course most will play the instruments, unlike
remarked on how the music sounded Scottish. Perhaps Debussy, Messiaen or Britten. Much has been made of
our ears, while always being excited and refreshed by Steve Reich's experience of learning to play in a
new, exotic sounds, will always seek out the familiar, Balinese Gamelan and how this affected his music,
the common ground as a means of grasping and especially of the mid-1970s. Yet, in his way, he is just as
comprehending the novelty. For this reason, the clear determined to disavow any direct influence, especially
tonal organisation and melodic phrasing of Gamelan in the crudest sense of copying, as the quintessential
music, which can be quickly understood, at least at a European, Boulez, with his post-Debussy, post-
basic level, seem nearer home to the average Westerner Messiaen Le Marteau sans Maitre. Reich may strive to
than atonal music which is far closer from the geo- think like a Balinese composer, but never to sound like
graphical and historical point of view. Debussy's subtle one. So-called 'minimalism' is pejorative enough in the
use of elements which, if not actually derived from case of Reich and other Western composers; if applied,
Gamelan music, nevertheless mirror its procedures to a by mistaken association, to the complexities of
large extent, created a new kind of tonality, without Gamelan music it becomes downright libellous.
putting the clock back to the 19th century. Significantly, John Cage and Lou Harrison, two American pioneers
it is for those composers since who have maintained of a generation before Reich, both developed new
some kind of tonality that the Gamelan has had its approaches to composition and instrumentation
greatest appeal. through the special affinity with Eastern cultures found
Messiaen, for whom there is no real distinction on America's West Coast. Cage has only attempted one
between major and minor, tonality and atonality, composition, the Haikai, for an actual Gamelan, and it
clearly acknowledges his debt to the Gamelan, unlike uses none of the techniques found in traditional
Debussy. It is the timbre of a large section of tuned Gamelan music. Harrison, on the other hand, has
metal percussion instruments, rather than the penta-moved to a position where he feels completely at home
tonicism, which attracts Messiaen, to the extent of not only with the instruments but also with the
borrowing the name 'gamelang' to refer to that part of concepts of the Gamelan. Many of his compositions use
the huge percussion section in the Turangalila- Javanese titles and terminology and are intended for
Symphonie. Even some of the polyphonic methods performance on his home-made aluminium Gamelan in
commonly found in Gamelan music are laid bare in, for Just Intonation. He has also used Western instruments
example, the ninth movement of the Symphony, where in combination with these Javanese imitations, and, to
a tune repeats, against other ostinati derived largely permit myself a Harrisonesque superlative, in my
from its augmentation and diminution. opinion the first movement of his Double Concerto for
The timbre of the Gamelan is, of course, one of its Violin, Cello and Javanese Gamelan (1981) is the finest
main features, not to mention its visual beauty, and the composition by a Western composer for Gamelan, or
emancipation of the percussion is one area at least otherwise in the style of it. The work is built on a
where the music of the 20th century has undoubtedly Gamelan composition which is organised according to
prevailed over that of the past. Messiaen, Debussy, traditional methods: a central melody, punctuated by
Bart6k, Stravinsky and Varese have all created new gongs in the manner of the Javanese ladrang form, and
sound worlds from this hitherto maligned department, simultaneously elaborated by the bonang gong-chimes.
owing more or less to the example of the Gamelan as This repeats in a circular form, and it is played in a fast
supreme percussion orchestra, yet none attempted to tempo, then in a slow one (about half the speed) and
imitate it directly. Perhaps the only composer to have finally in the fast tempo. Above this quasi-Javanese
done so, or at least with any degree of success, is foundation, the violin and cello weave more linear and
Benjamin Britten. His ballet The Prince of the Pagodas Western melodies in D minor. West and East, both in
came straight after a tour of the East in 1956, which Harrison's idiosyncratic style, meet in a ravishingly
included a visit to Bali. Letters and sketches show that beautiful, unselfconscious and unforced way.
Britten was captivated by the Gamelan music he heard An associate of Lou Harrison, Jody Diamond pro-
there, and in the ballet he not only uses actual Balineseduced at about the same time another imaginative
material, but orchestrates it with such skill that we arecombination of Javanese and American elements in a
almost convinced we are hearing a real Balinesemore overtly didactic composition entitled In that bright
Gamelan playing it. This obvious example, which in its world. Taking the premise that Gamelan music uses
way outdoes anything by any other composer, includ- vocal melodies and texts which are familiar to the
ing the great expert on Balinese music, Colin McPhee, Javanese and which form the basis of the instrumental
was no mere passing whim. Even if Britten never again skeletal melody and its heterophonic elaborations,
attempted such a direct copy of Gamelan music, its Diamond chose an American folk tune and its (English)
heterophonic structures find unmistakeable echoes text as the basis for a similar treatment. The Javanese
and resonances throughout his oeuvre, especially thetreatment of melody is thus clearly discernable through
stage works, from Paul Bunyan to Death in Venice. It the is use of this recognised basic tune. Diamond has also
almost as though he allowed himself one indulgence used Gamelan a great deal in teaching. Her experiences
but then reverted to a more Debussyian stance in which have been borne out by similar work in this country.
the affinity with Gamelan music seems unmistakeable Quite apart from the impetus given to the study of
but cannot be identified precisely and indubitably. musics outside the Western classical tradition by the
Such elusiveness would, I suspect, be viewed by the new GCSE courses, teachers are discovering the bene-
majority of American composers with a special interest fits which playing Gamelan can so quickly bestow. It is
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ideal for work involving special needs, and is the ideal Indonesian than the Indonesians themselves. Authen-
mixed ability situation. Many of the instruments are ticity, insofar as it can be discussed in this context, is
easy to play, others are considerably harder, and a few impossible, and it is best to accept that from the
demand years of dedicated practice. Yet none is more beginning. Gamelan in the West cannot be the same as
important than another, and none can be played Gamelan in Indonesia. The players are different of
without an awareness of the others. Gamelan music is course, but then so are their audiences, and the whole
always an aural tradition: notation exists, but the music context of learning and performing is altered almost
should be learnt by ear and performed by reactionsbeyond of recognition. What we are witnessing, then, is
varying complexities to what everyone else is playing. the slow development of a new tradition of Gamelan,
Confidence in playing and, within defined limits, im- taking root in the West, differently in England from
provisation, is therefore quickly built up, and there America,
is differently even in York from London or
also the sheer delight in responding to the seductive Boston from Berkeley, and so on. This, rather than
qualities, both to the ear and to the eye. notions of a museum culture or a collective, stan-
As the number of Gamelans increases, plus the dardised adherence to the indigenous model, is what
number of children and adults of all ages and walks of promises a future all the more exciting for its
life who come into contact with them, be it as one-off unpredictability.
samplers, or more dedicated students, or even as
teachers, more questions are bound to be asked as to
Suggestions for further reading
the value of the exercise, and even the ethics. Is this a
Kunst, Jaap, Music in Java, 2 vols, Martinus Nijhoff, 1973.
new form of cultural imperialism? The question is Still the most comprehensive work on the topic in English.
sometimes raised, but it is not clear which way round Lindsay, Jennifer, Javanese Gamelan, Oxford University Press,
the supposed imperialism is operating! Some see it as 1979.
another instance of the jaded West seeking rejuvena- A short introduction, more on the background than the
music.
tion and new inspiration by plundering other cultures.
McPhee, Colin, Music in Bali, Yale University Press, 1966.
Yet a healthy foreign interest, not to mention increased A classic, detailed study from a composer's point of view.
patronage, can benefit a culture and regenerate it from Sorrell, Neil, A Guide to the Gamelan, Faber and Faber, 1990.
within as well as without. Those who believe the Most of the ideas in this article are developed in this
Gamelan to be sacrosanct and who are shocked by introduction to the instruments, music and worldwide
modern experimental works should be reassured that influence of the Javanese Gamelan. There is also a longer
reading list, and suggestions for listening.
whatever is tried in the West has already been tried in
For those wishing to find out more about Gamelan activities
Java and Bali. The Indonesians are less likely to be upset
in this country, there is the newsletter called Pelog, published
by honest attempts to work within our Western limita- three times a year and edited by Bill and Sandra Martin, Lint
tions than by arrogant notions of becoming more Growis, Foxearth, Sudbury, Suffolk CO10 7JX.

BENJAMIN FRANKEL
is published by Novello

Since he began writing symphonies Frankel has developed from

an able to an outstanding composer - doubtless our most
eloquent symphonist.
The Times, 24 March 1969

This is no ordinary Violin Concerto... Frankel has conveyed a

mood of agonised poignancy that is deeply moving, almost
stupefying in its impact. Not a work we can afford to forget
Records and Recording, March 1980

Beautiful music for its own sake

Liverpool Echo, 26 November 1969

Promotion Department, Novello & Co. Ltd.,

4000"'
8-10 Lower James Street, London W1R 3PL
Tel: 071 287 5060, Fax: 071 287 0816

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