“Sindhen” refers to the solo part in a gamelan, usually sung by a woman pesindhen (soloist). In this collection, part of the extensive series produced by John Noise Manis on the gamelan of Central Java, we are presented with two innovative vocal works with an instrumental piece in between.
Gendhing (“composition” in Western terms) Budheng-Budheng as presented on this disc is a revision of a classical piece dating from the late eighteenth-early nineteenth century. The major innovation in this revision is that the sindhenan, the solo part, normally indeed a solo, has been re-composed for three singers, each following a separate vocal melody. If this sounds like a recipe for chaos, rest assured: it is a richly textured work, both ethereal and majestic, and those passages that are in fact sung by a single soloist appear in high relief by contrast. It also builds a subtle momentum that is so immediate that one needs to back away for a bit to recognize it. Like so many gamelan, it’s tremendously evocative, image-laden music and at just over thirty-three minutes, by far the longest piece in the disc.
The instrumental Sawung Galing is a low-key piece, also highly evocative, in this case, strangely enough, of silence. Not the absolute silence that denotes the absence of sound, but the kind of silence that one hears in the world in the hour before dawn, perhaps, or just after a rain, when the world is at its most quiet — the world never being absolutely silent. This observation may be colored by the fact that when I got up this morning at my usual early hour, it had just finished raining. It’s just that kind of peace that this music evokes.
Kembang Kacang begins as a seeming continuation of Sawung Galing, but the vocalist soon make their entrance and infuse a much higher level of energy into the music. The “revision” of this piece includes the introduction of triple time into the last section. There is a layered effect in the vocals, as soloists and chorus weave around and through the instrumentals, leading to some tremendously engaging details: at about the halfway point there is an unaccompanied solo passage that is startling in its clarity, almost leaping out of the rich, textured soundscape that preceded it. Indeed, the music develops an almost to and fro feeling as various elements are highlighted. It’s fascinating to listen to.
The disc is accompanied by commentary on the vocal works by Pak Suraji, who recreated the vocal works. A note of warning: the comments are heavily laced with Indonesian musical terminology. You’ve been warned.
For our review of Volume XI, go here.
(Felmay, 2008)
