Gamelan Nyai Saraswati

Gamelan Nyai Saraswati is an ensemble of the Department of Music, College of Arts and Sciences at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

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Group:  Gamelan Nyai Saraswati


Performance: 7 April 2004 "Molak-Malik"  (other performances:  7 June 2001,  8 December 2001,  18 January 2002 "Gamelan Gala",  20 March 2003,  23 November 2003 ("New Music Concert") ,  21 November 2004 "World Music Concert" ,  22 April 2005 "World Music Concert" ,  13 November 2005 ,  2 April 2006 "Reinventing Black Mountain" ,  19 November 2006 ,  25 April 2007 "World Music Concert" ,  26 April 2009 "An Evening of Javanese Music and Dance" ,  21 November 2010 "Music in the Galleries" )


Gamelan Nyai Saraswati
presents
Molak-Malik:
An Evening of Musical Transposition
April 7, 2004, 8:00 PM
Person Recital Hall
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

The traditional repertoire for Central Javanese gamelan includes many pieces that can be played in several different modes and both the pelog and slendro scales. Working in the same scale, this kind of transposition process involves playing the same melodic contour at a different pitch level, making the melody seem higher or lower but still perceivable as the same melody. When scale switching occurs, the piece generally stays at the same pitch level. Shifting scales, however, is aurally more radical as the intervals between similarly positioned notes in the two scales are different. Even though the contour and the pitch level of the melody is the same, the sound and, in particular, the feeling or affect of the piece can be altered significantly when shifting scales.

With the exception of one, all the pieces we will perform for you involve scalar or modal shift in some way in the context of the entire concert.


Available audio files (how do I listen to these recordings?):

Ladrang ELING-ELING kalajengaken Ketawang SIH pelog lima

[mp3](14.17MB)
[ogg](12.29MB)

This short suite involves an old melody, Eling-Eling and one, Sih, that has been recently composed by Sudharsono Adi Negoro. Eling-Eling will appear again in the program in the piece Gendhing Bandilori minggah Ladrang Eling-Eling Kasmaran in the same scale but a different mode. The core melody, or balungan, is the only part notated in Javanese music. We include notation for both Eling-Elings for your comparison.

Ladrang Eling-Eling pelog lima Ladrang eling-Eling Kasmaran pelog barang
 
(5)(2)
6 5 3 2  1 2 3 5)3 2 7 6  5 6 7 2)
6 5 3 2  1 2 3 5)3 2 7 6  5 6 7 2)
1 1 . .  1 2 3 5)3 5 . .  5 6 7 2)
3 2 3 1  3 2 3(5)7 6 7 5  7 6 7(2)
 
. 6 . 5  . 2 . 1  . 3 . 2  . 6 . 5) . 3 . 2  . 6 . 5  . 7 . 6  . 3 . 2)
. 6 . 5  . 2 . 1  . 3 . 2  . 6 . 5) . 3 . 2  . 6 . 5  . 7 . 6  . 3 . 2)
. 2 . 1  . 2 . 1  . 3 . 2  . 6 . 5) . 3 . 5  . 6 . 5  . 7 . 6  . 3 . 2)
. 3 . 2  . 3 . 1  . 3 . 2  . 6 .(5) . 7 . 6  . 7 . 5  . 7 . 6  . 3 .(2)

Ladrang DIRADAMETA slendro nem

[mp3](10.07MB)
[ogg](8.82MB)

This piece is traditionally used in wayang or shadow puppet theatre performances during battle scenes. The name translates to something like 'angry elephants' and is meant to evoke the sound and fury of elephants ridden by warriors.

Gendhing LOBONG minggah KINANTI molak-malik slendro manyura pelog nyamat

[mp3](14.54MB)
[ogg](12.36MB)

The prominent mixed chorus in the second section of this piece makes it a wonderful example to use in demonstrating the different affects of the two scales. After singing through the chorus twice in slendro, we will switch to pelog. The contour and pitch level remain the same, but the sound is radically different. We leave it to you to determine how the shift effects the affect of the melody.

Gendhing BANDILORI minggah ladrang ELING-ELING KASMARAN

[mp3](15.78MB)
[ogg](12.93MB)

Ladrang Eling-Eling returns as the second section of the piece. As you listen see if you can recall the first Eling-Eling

Ladrang WILUJENG pelog barang

[mp3](6.13MB)
[ogg](5.03MB)

Two separate performances of this ladrang in two different scales reveal the delightful angularity of pelog barang...

Ladrang WILUJENG slendro manyura

[mp3](5.89MB)
[ogg](4.85MB)

...and the mellifluousness of slendro manyura.


Contact:
Director: Daniel Guberman (email: guberman@email.unc.edu)
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