garap (realization, performance practice)
group realization in gamelan music: in Javanese, multiple simultaneous realizations, with a balungan as a skeleton; in Balinese, greater explicitness and more complex and meticulous composition/learning
polyphonic stratification
Relatively unchanging roles of assorted parts – metallophones playing balugan while gongs punctuate and bonangs elaborate, for example
balungan
“Skeleton” single octave central melody, like a cantus firmus
cantus firmus
a pre-existing melody forming the basis of a polyphonic composition
punctuating gongs
gongan
A section of a piece between subsequent gong strokes
gatra
4 tone “measures” wherein 2 and 4 are the strong beats
seleh note
4th tone of a gatra
irama
a binary system of time relationships, balance of slow/fast. A slower irama means more “fill-in” elaborating notes
loud playing
balungan and gongs most prominent, like in “Kemban Pacar”
soft playing
elaborating instruments and vocal more prominent than balungan, like in “Wilujeng”
pathet
like a mode or a raga, notable examples being slendro and pelog, with associated times and emotions – cadential and melodic patterns just like in ragas
slendro
a type of pathet/mode, older than pelog, which is basically a pentatonic scale; the name “slendro” comes from the name of a dynasty
pelog
a type of pathet/mode with seven tones, although many ensembles only have keys for 5 of the pitches; the word “pelog” comes from Javanese for “beautiful”
Sanskrit
a historical Indo-Aryan language, the primary liturgical language of Hinduism and a literary and scholarly language in Buddhism and Jainism.
Ramayana
The Ramayana is one of the two great epics of India, the other being the Mahabharata. It depicts the duties of relationships, portraying ideal characters like the ideal father, ideal servant, the ideal brother, the ideal wife and the ideal king. The Ramayana consists of 24,000 verses in seven books and 500 cantos.
Mahabharata
One of two big Sanskrit epics, the other being the Ramayana. Besides its epic narrative of the Kurukshetra War and the fates of the Kauravas and the Pandava princes, the Mahabharata contains much philosophical and devotional material, such as a discussion of the four “goals of life” or purusharthas. Includes the Bhagavad Gita.
wayang kulit
hadow puppets, are without a doubt the best known of the Indonesian wayang; stories are usually drawn from the Hindu epics the Ramayana, the Mahabharata or from the Serat Menak
dhalang
the puppeteer in an Indonesian wayang performance; In addition to moving the puppets and speaking their lines, the dalang is also responsible for giving cues to the gamelan. This is done principally by playing the kepyak, a metal plate or set of plates played with his foot
mana
kotekan
Kotekan is a style of playing fast interlocking parts in most varieties of Balinese Gamelan music
organology
the study and classification of musical instruments