Aquarius Records: Search Results for Keyword: Vakebya2cd

Aquarius Records: Search Results for Keyword: Vakebya2cd

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album cover V/A Music of the Gamelan Gong Kebyar Volume 2 (Vital Records) cd 14.98
Early on in the 20th century a new genre of gamelan emerged in Bali and became known as Gong Kebyar (meaning "to burst" or "bloom"). Kebyar is a populist form born, ironically enough, out of the Dutch supplanting of the Balinese court. Accounts as to the actual creation of kebyar are sketchy, but the most oft repeated is the story of two gamelan groups engaging in a competition to the pleasure and amazement of thousand of gathered villagers. Said to have occurred in 1914, the two groups presented a program of wild and fast paced gamelan unlike what anyone had heard before. Arguments to the story's validity aside, the genre spread like wild fire throughout Bali and has exceeded the popularity of all the island's various gamelan forms (many groups even melted down their sets at the beginning of the century to have kebyar ones built.) Many early compositions were reworked repertoires from other genres, often borrowing from the sacred, but with its growing popularity it soon worked its way into religious ceremonies. Rhythmic precision within the kebyar ensemble is of utmost importance as many of the music's parts are composites that are dependent not only on their counterpart for the realization of their role within the gamelan, but the ensemble as a whole must respond as one to tempo changes, starts and stops -- often quite abrupt -- seamlessly as even the slightest deviations can be noticeable and disastrous. Imagine playing a difficult piece on piano, but first dividing up the notes so that you only play every other note while a partner plays the others, a sort of musical three-legged race of Olympic proportions. Kebyar has continued to increase in popularity in the brief 90 years since its inception and with regular public competitions the genre has spurred groups into increasingly faster tempos and stylistic flourishes as well as challenging young composers to be constantly vigilant and innovative in creating new works.
Whereas volume one featured a variety of works written throughout the genre's existence by various composers past and present, volume two focuses on one of Bali's up and coming stars, an inspired and prolific composer and performer named I Nyoman Windha. So popular are his works that it's not unheard of at kebyar competitions that two competing groups will both be performing compositions by Windha. The tracks on this disc were recorded in 1991 and 1994. All the tracks, like on volume one, were recorded live and most of the performances were connected in some way with a kebyar festival competition, either during a rehearsal or the competition itself (you can hear the audience's response to the gamelan's performance clearly on the first track.)
RealAudio clip: "Jagra Parwata (excerpt 1)"
RealAudio clip: "Jagra Parwata (excerpt 2)"
RealAudio clip: "Cendra Wasih (excerpt 1)"
RealAudio clip: "Cendra Wasih (excerpt 2)"

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