On Thursday, December 1st, we were treated to a sneak peak of what is involved in the Gamelan Orchestra, a Balinese art.  We sat on cushions in a room filled with instruments like xylophones, metallophones, gongs, and drums.  The instruments were beautifully designed and looked expensive.  We were even instructed not to step over the instruments out of respect.  We were taught to play over-simplified tunes in order to give us some experience with the instruments; at times it sounded like noise, but it was still fun and I appreciated the different rhythms.

Then, on December 5th, our experience playing some of the instruments was followed up by the Gamelan Yowana Sari (orchestra concert) in LeFrak Hall. I was especially able to appreciate the performance because of the lesson we had had prior to the performance.   I loved how the director, Professor I Nyoman Saptanyana, led the different parts of the orchestra simultaneously with simply one drum; I can tell that everyone was paying attention to him carefully and that he mattered in the fluency of the pieces.

Everyone on stage was wearing a cultural costume, and during one of the pieces two women came out and did a dance to the music.  Seeing it performed in a cultural context added to my appreciation of it as an art as well.  The piece, Brayut, is interesting because it is the name of a husband and wife in Bali with 18 children; the family is poor now, but as they grow up, the family will acquire wealth.  Pendet Penyambutan also has cultural and traditional significance as it is a welcome dance for visitors to the island of Bali.  Overall, It was refreshing to see art with a cultural value.  Seeing performances and/or art in context has proved time and time again to be extremely important.

Here is a video I found of Balinese Gamelan music that shows a lot of what we learned (including one of the same beats we were taught on Thursday):