Bali: The Music Man

In 1929, the life of a young American composer was changed forever after listening to a rare gramophone recording of some Balinese Gamelan music. From that moment, he lived for the day when he could set foot on the fabled island from where this unique music originated. Two years later, Colin McPhee realised his dream; he moved to Bali, built a house and proceeded to make an intense study of the complex metallic music that had captivated his heart.

Scouring the Island's palaces, temples and remote villages, he developed an intimate knowledge of all the musical genres of Bali, documenting them on paper in Western notation. Tape recorders had not yet been invented. It was an experience that would prove to be magically rewarding; later engagingly described in his book, 'A House in Bali'. Back in New York, it took McPhee twenty-five years of labour to produce a book from his fieldwork, a musicological masterpiece called 'Music of Bali'. Long out of print, it still remains the leading reference on Balinese music.

Today, much of the lesser-known Balinese gamelan groups, instruments and sounds are in danger of disappearing forever. Australian musicologist, Richard Kaal, is a modern-day Colin McPhee, who has made it his mission to preserve and keep alive the island's ancient traditional music.

A professional musician, singer and songwriter for over thirty-five years, Richard Kaal has a background in classical music. During his travels, he stopped off in Bali – his first visit was as a surfer in 1970 – instantly falling in love with the people, the culture and the music. "In Bali you are naturally accepted and respected as a musician; quite the opposite from the West. Here it is part of the culture, which is how it should be." In 2005, he finally moved to the island with his wife, Rebecca, and their two daughters, and built a house in a breathtaking setting, fifteen kilometres up the slopes of Mt Batukaru near the village of Sarinbuana, in the Tabanan regency.

Richard's passion for recording music drew his attention to the fact that there are over one thousand different genres of musical ensembles in Bali that most people never get to hear. Looking around, he observed "a lot of old people were playing music but not many young people were learning". An experienced recordist with his own recording studio, Richard decided to capture some of the vanishing Gamelan sounds from villages, and start a library of Balinese music. In the course of his research, he purchased a lot of CDs of traditional music, and realised that the quality of the recordings was "pretty average". So, after helping set up a foundation – Yayasan 'Bali Kharisma' – with Nyoman Sumartana, a friend from the neighbouring village of Megati, he started work on his project. "It's not an easy task to get a Balinese group into a studio, so I made a mobile facility and went out to the villages". Richard has surprised everyone with some quite incredible recordings, producing thirty-five CDs of music in less than two years. "I want to continue recording because I'm aware that I've only just scratched the surface. The plan is to make the library available through the Internet to universities around the world. The CDs will be accompanied by a book, presenting some of the stories behind the music and the villagers who play it. These old-time fables are a truly fascinating part of the culture, but are also in great danger of getting lost and forgotten".

One group that Richard has recorded is a 'Gambang' group from Dlod Pangkung in Sukawati, "they are all old men in their seventies and eighties, and they play from memory from way back; there is nobody in the village learning the Gambang, so within twenty years this group could be gone". The problem is that the younger members of the village, attracted by a modern lifestyle, are no longer interested in carrying on the tradition. Richard is passionate about raising the status of the Balinese musician so that the kids will want to get back into it, and the Yayasan is therefore in need of support, assistance and funding. He considers it, "vital, on a global scale, for Balinese music to continue. Music sends a vibration around the planet; it is universal and an essential part of every culture".

Another project supported by the Yayasan is the translation and documentation of the traditional village singing; styles known as 'Pupuh', 'Kakawin', 'Kidung', 'Geguritan', sung at ceremonies in old dialects and translated simultaneously into modern Balinese or Indonesian. The songs tell stories from the Hindu epics, the Ramayana and the Mahabaharata; tales of intrigue and conflict among kings, demons, gods and sages. Pak Nyoman Ardhana Riasa from Bajera in Tabanan is translating a lot of these stories into books, which will be complemented by Richard's recordings in the form of lesson-time cassettes or CDs for easy learning. The books and recordings will be available for the Balinese to purchase at affordable prices through the Yayasan.

Richard is aware that it's hard for Westerners to actually listen to traditional Balinese music. He laughs, "It has been described as a truck full of chimes running into an alleyway full of garbage bins", and explains "in an Angklung or a Gamelan there is more than one melody going on. It depends on where you are standing as to which one you hear; in fact, you can walk around the orchestra and hear different music. His latest love is fusion music, an initiative that has been made possible by fellow-musician, Ketut Suardana, a successful silversmith from Celuk, whose love of Balinese music has led him to form Yayasan 'Suara Dana'. He has also bought the instruments for two complete 'Salonding' ensembles, a 'Gambang' ensemble, a 'Gender Wayang' and a rare 'Saron Luang' ensemble.

In collaboration with Suardana and Made Subandi, who Richard describes as a "musical genius", together with a group of local villagers and family members, Richard has been writing Western songs, and fusing the melodies with Balinese music. "Subandi and I are a good team because I bring the Western influence into the music while he maintains the traditional sounds". The salonding ensemble includes a huge metallaphone or 'jegog', which is like a bass. Then there is the tiny little 'njong-njong', producing high tingly notes, while the bigger njong-njong plays the elaboration – the amazing traditional sound of Bali's music. The Music Man uses the jegog to create bass lines that could almost be Western, adding guitar, saxophone, tabla (Indian drums) and the Balinese drums known as 'kendang'. At every rehearsal they seem to pop out another song! Richard believes, "it will be a good way to introduce Westerners to certain types of Balinese music, and will hopefully give us a chance to tour these groups overseas at some stage". The Yayasan is taking a small 'Gender' group from Celuk, to Queensland Australia, to promote Bali at this year's Wintermoon Festival.
In their effort to share and promote the performing arts of Bali, Richard and his wife Rebecca, together with accomplished musician, Jay Bishoff, are currently developing 'Music Lovers Retreats', inviting others to experience firsthand the spirit of Balinese music through performances, workshops, jam sessions, compositions with local musicians and combined performances. Recording facilities will be available and guests will be accommodated at the couple's mountain retreat on the slopes of Mt Batukaru.
www.musikaal.com

Balinese music, dance, and traditional entertainment part 2

Baris
A dance of war, the Baris is strong and masculine, yet also displays strong sensitivity in the myriad of moods and expressions displayed within the dance. The Baris Gede, a sacred dance usually only performed during ceremonies, consist of ten or more elegantly dressed warriors with distinctive triangular white headdresses and bearing weapons, either spears, spiked shields or swords. They dance in line, posing aggressively before each other in simulated battles.

Kecak
Out of the male chorus chant, which produces the trance of the Sanghyang ceremony, has developed a new dance; the Kecak, Usually over 100 men participate. Providing their own orchestration with a counter pattern of vocal sounds that complement their rhythmical movement, creating a living circular stage for the reenactment of an excerpt from the Ramayana story by flickering torchlight.

Legong Keraton
Perhaps the most exquisite of Balinese dances is the classic Legong, a dance traditionally performed as entertainment for the King. Young girls wrapped from head to ankle in hand-painted gold brocades, with glittering gold mirrored head-dresses topped with trembling frangipani flowers, glide with delicate movements which portray the ancient story of King Lasem and his unsuccessful love suite. The dancers seem to be the essence of all that is feminine and beautiful.

Sanghyang
Sanghyang traces dance have only in recent years become publicly performed as entertainment. Their essential function is religious, an exorcism of the spirits that is supposed to promote peace and health within the village. Specially selected boys and girls are “Sung” into a trance by a group of women who sing the special repetitive Sanghyang Dedari, the dance of the angles. The tiny girls who have never danced before are able to give accomplished performances of the Legong. In the Sanghyang Jaran, the horse dance, the men in a trance snort and canter unflinchingly over red hot coals.

Topeng
The Topeng, or mask dance is one of the most demanding of dramatic talents requiring the actor’s skill and adaptability of mannerism and behavior to suit each picturesque mask. Topeng stories are tales combined from ancient literature and local history, blended with a contemporary interpretation personal to each actor. The characters are caricatures of all that is human, both virtue, folly, and slapstick comedy is the key to the drama.

Other Dances:
There are numerous other forms of Balinese dance icluding; Tekekan, Leko & Janger, Bimanyu, Gabor, Mahabrata the Epic, Raja Pala, Calonarang, Ramayana, Frog Dance, Parwa Ramayana, Joget, Janger, Genjekan and Debus.




Shadow Puppet Show
Known as Wayang Kulit, these shows are an important part of traditional Balinese life. They convey modern ideals and current news and are instrumental in holding on to the past and teaching the young about important aspects of their lives to come. Many of the stories told in the form of Wayang Kulit are from Hindu epics such as the Ramayana. In the shows flat puppets made of stiff leather are manipulated behind a thin white screen that is back lit with an oil lamp. The action of the puppets are accented by voices that correspond with the character and an orchestra of gamelan.

Balinese music, dance, and traditional entertainment

In Bali no temple festival or ceremony is complete without entertainment for the gods, attending guests and local people. Temple anniversaries are occasions for all night dramatic and dance performances, with different types entertainment on each consecutive night, sometimes lasting until morning. The basic accompaniment to any such performance is provided by the local gamelan orchestra, a group of brass instruments, metal phones, tuned gongs, cymbals and hand drums, the village generally owns the instruments, as they are extremely expensive and they are stored at the village Banjar meeting hall and taken great pride in. No Balinese music has been written down or recorded until recent years. It has been passed down from generation to generation purely by memory. Each particular dance and dramatic performance has its own special combination of instruments to suit, melodious bamboo flutes, reedy two-stringed rebab violins and twanging Jew's harp like gengong are all used to provide their own special effects.

Arja and Drama Gong

A performance of Arja Balinese Folk Opera can hold an entire village engrossed from late evening until nearly sunrise. Love stories drawn from the classics of the ancient kingdoms of Java are reenacted with all the tragic, comic and romantic ingredients guaranteed to appeal. The royal characters move in a slow stylized dance and sing and talk in a high falsetto using high Balinese, which is translated into common language by the comedians. Arja has lost some of its popularity in recent years in favor of the Drama Gong, which has less music and dance and therefore is much more easily understood by the masses.

Barong and Rangda

The endless metaphysical battle between good and evil is symbolically reenacted time and time again by two weird characters, Barong and Rangda, who by their very performance reinforce the magic power of the village and restore the balance between good and evil. The Barong, representative of the right, white magic and the good forces of nature is a strange long swaybak creature that takes two strong men to animate. His adversary Rangda is Queen of the Witches, an ugly creature with long nails, tongue and fangs. The dual strength of their magic power is enough to drive men crazy as they clash. The Barong’s followers attack the terrible witch with their Kris daggers, only to find their weapons turned black against themselves by an evil spell. However the good is not to be overwhelmed, the Barong’s white magic is strong enough to protect his crazed followers from harm.