Thank you for coming to our Christmas with gamelan in Grugu village, Wonosobo, Ladies!
Even when you still haven’t yet received the invitations. News came to me from my postal doves that some of their colleagues died in service while crossing the Atlantic and Pacific. And some still cannot be located. Such holy spirits they are. I should’ve chosen the owls for the job, even when they’re more expensive.
Anyway, here’s the rehearsal take of what to me was our showpiece. A memento from your visit:
https://soundcloud.com/ike-harijanto/alleluia-manyura-solo-durma-palaran
Here I was instructed by the Mbah of the gamelan-for-Mass practice in Wonosobo. (“Mbah” is Javanese for “grandparent,” but it can also mean a revered figure in a field, usually one having a particular expertise or understanding, or who pioneered something.) In a moment of improvisation, the older, experienced members of the group started playing a gamelan standard from memory, which I haven’t learnt. While trying to catch up, the Mbah, mbah Darmi herself, suddenly approached my instrument and gave me a private instruction. I remember thinking, “Wow, what a privilege it is to be part of this tradition*.” Thanks to my sister who candidly captured this special moment.
Speaking about passing-on, a note on my flowery shirt: That is a traditional female blouse called kebaya, worn nowadays usually only on special occasions. All the female musicians were instructed to wear it, but I did not have one. Luckily, just sitting in my mother’s closet, was a kebaya she inherited from a grandma neighbor, died not long ago, which I consequently wore with honor.
And who can forget the delicious peasant food, served generously and gratuitously by the locals?
I hope you enjoyed the ritual, music, and our fang-baring hospitality. Your presence made our Christmas indeed merry! Did you get home intact? We loved having you here. Come again!
* As a side, T. S. Eliot wrote a thoughtful essay on tradition in relation to art appreciation. Find it in Tradition and Individual Talent.
Update:
I created this blog post as a Christmas card to send to my dear friends, you. It turns out that it generated interests in the form of questions, mostly sent via email. Which means that with your help, this has become an interactive Christmas card! Exciting! Thank you! Especial thanks to Shengyu for posting his question directly on the blog. We all can learn from his commendable example :-).
Q: What is the song about? What is its lyric?
A: The place of the song in the actual show (in this case, the Mass), is before the reading of the gospel. It usually contains, as in this instance, at least an utterance of the word ‘Alleluia’.
Lyrics:
Alleluia Alleluia Alleluia
Sumunar cahya suci (Holy light shines)
Ayo para bangsa (Come, all nations)
Sowana mring pangeran (come visit the king)
Wit cahya gung dina iki (Because today the majestic light)
Sampun tumedak (has come)
Alleluia, pinuji (Alleluia, be praised)
Q: Who was the singer?
A: The main singer is a daughter of mbah Darmi, ibu Endang. (‘Ibu’ is Indonesian for ‘mother’, but also a form of address to a woman, added before her name, to show the caller’s respect.) In the photo below she is shown in red kebaya, sitting closest to the camera and posing to it humorously. The row of women shown here makes up the female choir members.
Q: What was the instrument you played?
A: Slenthem. It is among the group of instruments that play the skeleton or frame of the melody (i.e., not all the notes in the melody). It has the lowest octave of the group.
Q: Was that people talking that I hear in the song?
A: Yes. Talking and laughing. Yes, the shrill laugh at the end was mine. Sorry, but bu Endang was dancing funnily next to me right after she finished her part. Blame her. This recording was of a practice session. Before, during, and after the piece was being played, the musicians were chatting when they weren’t singing, or joking around while hitting their instruments, while this player gives verbal instructions to that player, etc.
In Java the musicians’ approach to their own gamelan performance is a lot more relaxed, perhaps shockingly so, to the Western-minded audience. Here I have yet come across a “gamelan concert,” where the musicians are on stage while the audience are watching them play. A gamelan performance is usually part of a larger performance (say, shadow-puppet play) or rituals (e.g., wedding and Mass). Hence it is not important that they are visible to the audience; in fact they are often put to the side of or behind the main show, or covered completely behind a screen or a low fence, They also often sitting lower than the audience, on the floor or a low platform. Even when they are visible to the audience, it is a common to see during performance the “performers” texts, take selfies, chat with one another, eat and drink in between parts (including eating a small meal), greet someone in the audience, and most importantly, laugh. I myself have done several of the above and love this about playing gamelan. Performance anxiety is reduced to minimum when there is no performance to begin with. Is it a wonder that on average people live up to 175 years old here?
Do post any other questions you have! They are welcome.