Gamelan Sekaten
The Gamelan Sekaten (or Sekati) is a ceremonial
The ensemble is said to have been created by Java's first Muslim prince,[2] or one of the Wali Sanga, in order to convert reluctant Javanese to the Islamic faith. However, it almost certainly already existed, though the music was probably used to propagate the faith.[3] The style of the Sekaten ensemble is very loud and majestic, because it seeks to attract people to the mosque.[1] It was said that if a saron player was able to play so hard that he broke one of the bronze keys, he would get a reward from the sultan.[3] The gamelan sekaten includes neither singers nor the soft instruments, unlike most Javanese ensembles.[4]
The ensembles are kept in the royal palaces. Two sets dating to the 16th century are found in each of the
The pitches of the Sekaten ensemble is in pelog, but lower than standard ensembles today.[3] According to Benjamin Brinner it is the lowest pitched, largest, and loudest ensemble in Java.[4] In recent times the gamelan at ISI Surakarta commissioned a special Sekaten set that would be compatible with their other gamelan, to be used in new experimental compositions.[6]
Historically, the Sekaten ensemble is notable in the development of the gamelan because it marked the change from the use of the bonang as the most important melody instrument, as it is in the earlier Munggang and Kodokngorek ensembles, to "leading" the ensemble by playing the pitches in anticipating patterns.[7] In the ensemble, players sit on opposite sides of the bonang, which may have led to the modern configuration of pots, which is aimed at making octaves comfortable.[8]
See also
Further reading
- Sumarsam. "The Musical Practice of the Gamelan Sekaten" Asian Music, Vol. 12, No. 2 (1981), pp. 54–73. Available online from JSTORa
References
- ^ ISBN 0-19-580413-9. Page 46.
- ISBN 1-85828-017-6. Page 418
- ^ a b c Lindsay 1979, 47.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-19-514737-7.
- ^ "Explore - Sekaten". Archived from the original on November 13, 2007. Retrieved 2007-01-11.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link). - ^ Roth, A. R. New Compositions for Javanese Gamelan. University of Durham, Doctoral Thesis, 1986. Page 96-97
- ^ Roth 1986, 8.
- ^ Roth 1986, 14.