2010 review
The rough guide to Bollywood Gold, RGNET 1182CD (various performer)
[Review of ]. Asian Music : Journal of the Society for Asian Music, 41(1), 175–178.
open access via muse.jhu.edu (publisher PDF)section is performed in irama wilet and rangkep (also with andhegan, and at times even including “naughty” treatment of certain passages led by the drummer). Th e above are not the treatments of wayang accompaniment. Th ere are a few examples of sulukan, a song by the dhalang primarily to set and/or heighten the mood of a scene. For the other wayang music examples, an older dolanan (play song) is given, rather than a newer one, and its use for the clown scene is explained. Two most popular jineman, a genre featuring the melodic dexterity of the pesindhen, are also presented: “Uler Kambang” and “Gathik Glindhing.” About the latter, it was already mentioned in 19th century gamelan literature, thus was not composed by a recent musician as suggested in the liner notes. Th is CD set indeed represents the richness in content of the style, musical treatment, and mood of the gamelan repertoires. A few pieces are highly attached to the court tradition (e.g., “Ela-Ela Kalibeber” and “Laler Mengeng”), but most pieces are well-known in and outside of the court. I have been using this set for listening assignments in my class on Indonesian music and theater, but I reconfi gure the order of the pieces according to the needs of the class. For example, to simulate a typical klenengan, in which mood and pathet (modal) progression is an important aspect of the presentation, I choose the following pieces in order: “Kombang Mara,” “Titipati,” “Gambir Sawit,” “Jineman,” and “Pangkur.” I choose pieces with short gongan structure (“Gegot” and “Subakastawa”) to illustrate gamelan musical structure as well as to explain a variety of musical treatments and rhythmic variety. All in all, Marc Benamou and Rahayu Supanggah should be commended for producing this excellent gamelan box set.