Gamelan Of Central Java - I. Classical Gendings
SKU
08-FY8041
Dunya's multiethnic catalogue would not be complete without a section dedicated to Javanese music: Now thanks to the release of this record that gap has been filled. Classical Gendings is the first in a series of CDs which feature the finest expression of the traditional music of Java, Indonesia, a musical culture whose rich and complex history dates back more than a thousand years and which first began to fascinate Western ears at the end of the 19th century. The three pieces featured on this album form part of the repertoire of the central region of the island, in particular that of the Surakarta (also known as the Soko) court. This music is quite different from that played in the court of Yogyakarta and even more so from the style typical of the Western Sundanese region. Listeners to Classical Gendings are sure to be enchanted by the circularity of the sounds produced by the gamelan orchestra as well as by their timbral qualities and the polyphonic patterns they create. Even those who at first have difficulty in attuning themselves to the music will soon marvel at having discovered such a rich and fertile musical world. [Dunya]