Friday, June 1, 2007
Barong and Rangda Dance
Barong is probably the most well known dance. It is also another story telling dance, narrating the fight between good and evil. This dance is the classic example of Balinese way of acting out mythology, resulting in myth and history being blended into one reality.
The story goes that Rangda, the mother of Erlangga, the King of Bali in the tenth century, was condemned by Erlangga's father because she practiced black magic. After she became a widow, she summoned all the evil spirits in the jungle, the leaks and the demons, to come after Erlangga. A fight occurred, but she and her black magic troops were too strong that Erlangga had to ask for the help of Barong. Barong came with Erlangga's soldiers, and fight ensued. Rangda casted a spell that made Erlangga soldiers all wanted to kill themselves, pointing their poisoned keris into their own stomachs and chests. Barong casted a spell that turned their body resistant to the sharp keris. At the end, Barong won, and Rangda ran away.
Somebody can die or get seriously injured in a Barong dance. It is said that if Rangda's spell is too strong, a weak soldier may not be able to resist it, even with the help of Barong. He may end up hurting himself with his own keris.
The masks of Barong and Rangda are considered sacred items, and before they are brought out, a priest must be present to offer blessings by sprinkling them with holy water taken from Mount Agung, and offerrings must be presented.
Regularly scheduled dance performances are available throughout the year.
Article source http://www.indo.com/culture/
Monday, May 28, 2007
The music of Bali is extremely complex and vibrant
The music of Bali is extremely complex and vibrant. The original purpose of music here again is to serve religious beliefs, accompanying dances or wayang theaters. The traditional Balinese orchestra, known as gamelan, is composed of various forms of percussions, with notes overlapping and criss crossing among the various kinds. There is a number of string and woodwind instruments, but most of the players, which can range from a few to several dozen, sit behind various kinds of metallophones, gongs, and xylophones. Each gamelan has its own tuning, preventing instruments from being interchanged from one gamelan to another.
The music of Bali has inspired well known composers from all around the world. Bela Bartok titled his No.109 piece "From the island of Bali." It is also said that Debussy, after having met a Balinese musician and seen a Balinese orchestra performed in Europe, is very impressed and affected, and that much of his later works contain distinct colors of Balinese music.
But Colin McPhee (1900-1964), a Montreal-born author and musician, was probably the one most affected as well as most influential in Balinese music. Story has it that his life-changing moment happened in New York, when he first encounter a vinyl of Balinese gamelan. He set sail, so to speak, to Bali, and immersed himself in learning about and contributing to Balinese music. His compendium of Balinese music is an extremely well-researched collection of the various aspects of Balinese music. His Tabuh-tabuhan: toccata for orchestra won him the coveted Pulitzer Prize.
Tabuh-tabuhan is a collective noun that literally translates into a collection of percussion instrument - the Balinese gamelan. It consists of three movements: Ostinatos, Nocturne, and Finale. McPhee's nuclear gamelan consists of two pianos, celesta, xylophone, marimba, and glockenspiel, with special Balinese gongs and cymbals added for certain sounds. Premiered in Mexico in 1936, this piece fuses Balinese motifs, melodies, and rhythms into a symphonic work. The signature of a Balinese flute melody inspires the Nocturne, unmistakably similar to what you can hear as you walk by the village temple today. The syncopated finale is kindred to the tapestry formed by the village orchestra accompanying a popular dance.
McPhee was also mostly responsible for the introduction of Balinese music and gamelan into the U.S. Many ethnomusicology departments in various U.S. universities today as well as performance groups have in-house gamelan, and fortunately, some of them even have Web sites that you can visit (if you know more, please send us email ):
Gamelan Sekar Jaya
This group is a non-profit organization that studies and performs Balinese music and dances, based in the San Francisco Bay Area and founded in 1979 by I Wayan Suweca, Rachel Cooper and Michael Tenzer.
Bali & Beyond
This is a group of Los Angeles artists performing programs related to Indonesian culture.
Gamelan Galak Tika
Housed at MIT, Gamelan Galak Tika was founded in September 1993 by director Evan Ziporyn, Associate Professor of Music at MIT, for the purpose of studying and performing both traditional and modern Balinese music and dance.
The Gamelan Gunung Sari of Peliatan, Bali is making a US Tour this year. Check their schedule here, and if it's coming near you, go see it!
The music of Bali has inspired well known composers from all around the world. Bela Bartok titled his No.109 piece "From the island of Bali." It is also said that Debussy, after having met a Balinese musician and seen a Balinese orchestra performed in Europe, is very impressed and affected, and that much of his later works contain distinct colors of Balinese music.
But Colin McPhee (1900-1964), a Montreal-born author and musician, was probably the one most affected as well as most influential in Balinese music. Story has it that his life-changing moment happened in New York, when he first encounter a vinyl of Balinese gamelan. He set sail, so to speak, to Bali, and immersed himself in learning about and contributing to Balinese music. His compendium of Balinese music is an extremely well-researched collection of the various aspects of Balinese music. His Tabuh-tabuhan: toccata for orchestra won him the coveted Pulitzer Prize.
Tabuh-tabuhan is a collective noun that literally translates into a collection of percussion instrument - the Balinese gamelan. It consists of three movements: Ostinatos, Nocturne, and Finale. McPhee's nuclear gamelan consists of two pianos, celesta, xylophone, marimba, and glockenspiel, with special Balinese gongs and cymbals added for certain sounds. Premiered in Mexico in 1936, this piece fuses Balinese motifs, melodies, and rhythms into a symphonic work. The signature of a Balinese flute melody inspires the Nocturne, unmistakably similar to what you can hear as you walk by the village temple today. The syncopated finale is kindred to the tapestry formed by the village orchestra accompanying a popular dance.
McPhee was also mostly responsible for the introduction of Balinese music and gamelan into the U.S. Many ethnomusicology departments in various U.S. universities today as well as performance groups have in-house gamelan, and fortunately, some of them even have Web sites that you can visit (if you know more, please send us email ):
Gamelan Sekar Jaya
This group is a non-profit organization that studies and performs Balinese music and dances, based in the San Francisco Bay Area and founded in 1979 by I Wayan Suweca, Rachel Cooper and Michael Tenzer.
Bali & Beyond
This is a group of Los Angeles artists performing programs related to Indonesian culture.
Gamelan Galak Tika
Housed at MIT, Gamelan Galak Tika was founded in September 1993 by director Evan Ziporyn, Associate Professor of Music at MIT, for the purpose of studying and performing both traditional and modern Balinese music and dance.
The Gamelan Gunung Sari of Peliatan, Bali is making a US Tour this year. Check their schedule here, and if it's coming near you, go see it!
Monday, April 2, 2007
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
Bali Exotic Temple Spa
Provided By:
kimokekahuna
Kimo and the Aloha Show in Bali. A week at private Villa for meditation and exclusive spa therapy in the rainforest. Princess Bali-Sali and Sumana are invited to Legong dance full moon royal performance at the Palace in Ubud. Legong is ancestor to Mu, Tahitian and Hawaiian Hula.
Exclusive footage inside exotic ancient temple spa as the Princess gets all day treatment with Balinese massage, sauna hair treatment and lunch. The outdoor spa which was hand carved from a jungle cliff by temple caretakers over 2,000 years ago..
See exclusive footage of lost Hindu temple.
Shot on location in Bali 2006 by award winning director Kimo Kekahuna. Be one of the first to subscribe to this new channel today. Aloha is universal and will change your life.
kimokekahuna
Kimo and the Aloha Show in Bali. A week at private Villa for meditation and exclusive spa therapy in the rainforest. Princess Bali-Sali and Sumana are invited to Legong dance full moon royal performance at the Palace in Ubud. Legong is ancestor to Mu, Tahitian and Hawaiian Hula.
Exclusive footage inside exotic ancient temple spa as the Princess gets all day treatment with Balinese massage, sauna hair treatment and lunch. The outdoor spa which was hand carved from a jungle cliff by temple caretakers over 2,000 years ago..
See exclusive footage of lost Hindu temple.
Shot on location in Bali 2006 by award winning director Kimo Kekahuna. Be one of the first to subscribe to this new channel today. Aloha is universal and will change your life.
Ritual Bali
http://www.thevillas.net/images/bali/culture/ritual.jpg
LIFE Each stage of Balinese life is marked by a series of ceremonies and rituals known as Manusia Yadnya. They contribute to the rich, varied and active life the average Balinese leads.
BIRTH The first ceremony of Balinese life takes place even before birth. Another ceremony takes place soon after the birth, during which the afterbirth is buried with appropriate offerings. The first major ceremony takes place halfway through the baby's first Balinese year of 210 days.
NAMING The Balinese only have four first names. The first child is Wayan or Putu, the second child is Made or Kadek, the third is Nyoman or Komang and the fourth is Ketut. The fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth and ninth will be another Wayan, Made, Nyoman, Ketut and Wayan again.
COMMUNITY LIFE Balinese have an amazingly active and organized village life. You simply cannot be a faceless nonentity in Bali. You can't help but get to know your neighbors as your life is so entwined and interrelated with theirs.
Bali History
THE HISTORY OF BALI is a journey through time when Hinduism was introduced from far away India and adopted by the Majapahit Javanese - the dominant force of the time. In the 9th century, Bali was conquered and fell under the influence of the Majapahit empire. Expansion was followed by decline and in the 14th and 15th centuries the influence of the Javanese began to wane. In 1540, Bali was united under Dewa Agung (God King), a powerful and charismatic ruler who briefly ruled parts of Java.
The Dutch came and sailed away in 1597, not returning for a further 250 years. Unable to exert any real influence on the defiantly individualistic Balinese, the island nation was left alone. During the Napoleonic Wars, Sir Stamford Raffles visited the island, but his plans for a trading station came to nought as in 1817 the colony was handed back to the Dutch.
The Dutch tried to invade again in 1846 and 1848, but were defeated by the Balinese. However, after fierce battles they gained control over much of the island but continued to face resistance from the Balinese which culminated in the mass suicides of the royal families of the Raja of Badung in 1906 and Dewa Agung in 1908.
The Dutch came and sailed away in 1597, not returning for a further 250 years. Unable to exert any real influence on the defiantly individualistic Balinese, the island nation was left alone. During the Napoleonic Wars, Sir Stamford Raffles visited the island, but his plans for a trading station came to nought as in 1817 the colony was handed back to the Dutch.
The Dutch tried to invade again in 1846 and 1848, but were defeated by the Balinese. However, after fierce battles they gained control over much of the island but continued to face resistance from the Balinese which culminated in the mass suicides of the royal families of the Raja of Badung in 1906 and Dewa Agung in 1908.
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
Bali dancers are the best, so beautiful and hypnotic.
Bali dancers are the best, so beautiful and hypnotic.
Gamelan Java
The group Marsudi Raras from Delft performing Asmarandana on the 100-yr old gamelan Kyai Paridjata (www.marsudiraras.org)
I love it this ...!
I love it this ...!
Monday, March 19, 2007
Balinese music
Balinese music
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Balinese music represents, to a large extent, a survival of the pre-Islamic music of Java. It was taken to Bali by Hindu Javanese in the 15th cent. and uses the tonal systems of Javanese music , of which pelog is by far the more important in Bali. Balinese music sounds impetuous and noisy, in contrast to the soft, tranquil music heard currently in Java. Few gamelans, the orchestras of tuned percussion instruments, play in Java today but they flourish, their archaic forms preserved, in modern Bali. The gamelans of the princes are no longer important in Bali, but have left their influence on the village societies for music making. There are also the ceremonial gamelans of the temples.
The most important gamelan instruments are xylophones, which may be made of bronze or bamboo. Bronze xylophones are of two basic types— gangsa, whose keys are supported over a wooden resonance box, and g'ndér, whose keys have individual bamboo resonators. These instruments sometimes play the melody and sometimes they provide a brilliant figuration. Gongs, suspended singly, are used for metrical accentuation; there are also gong chimes, which are of two types. The trompong, a set of 10, is a solo instrument, and the réyong, a set of 12, is played by four men, supplying figuration. Flutes, in two sizes, are made of bamboo and are used in theatrical music. Although the name of the rebab, a two-string spike fiddle, is Persian-Arabic, the instrument probably originated in S China and is used in the music of the gambuh play. Cymbals, bell rattles, and drums supply the all-important elaborate rhythmic background. The anklung is an archaic, tuned bamboo rattle. It is not known in all parts of Bali, but gives its name to the anklung gamelan, a ceremonial gamelan which may at one time have always included anklungs.
The instrumentation and the repertory of a particular gamelan depend on its function. Each of the various forms of dance and drama has a gamelan which specializes in its music. The most recent musical development is kebyar, a restless, explosive music which discards the highly developed, balanced forms of the older music. Kebyar clubs compose their own music, often taking themes from older music. The wealthier clubs include a dancer—a young man who performs seated on the ground, dancing from the waist up. Balinese notation was invented by the Javanese who brought the music to Bali. It gives no indication of the rhythm and is little used. Music is learned by rote; it is not improvisation, however, but a sophisticated, composed art form. Balinese music has had some popularity in the West, mainly sponsored by the composer Lou Harrison , founder of the modern American gamelan movement.
Bibliography: See D. A. Lentz, The Gamelan Music of Java and Bali (1965); C. McPhee, Music in Bali (1965
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Balinese music represents, to a large extent, a survival of the pre-Islamic music of Java. It was taken to Bali by Hindu Javanese in the 15th cent. and uses the tonal systems of Javanese music , of which pelog is by far the more important in Bali. Balinese music sounds impetuous and noisy, in contrast to the soft, tranquil music heard currently in Java. Few gamelans, the orchestras of tuned percussion instruments, play in Java today but they flourish, their archaic forms preserved, in modern Bali. The gamelans of the princes are no longer important in Bali, but have left their influence on the village societies for music making. There are also the ceremonial gamelans of the temples.
The most important gamelan instruments are xylophones, which may be made of bronze or bamboo. Bronze xylophones are of two basic types— gangsa, whose keys are supported over a wooden resonance box, and g'ndér, whose keys have individual bamboo resonators. These instruments sometimes play the melody and sometimes they provide a brilliant figuration. Gongs, suspended singly, are used for metrical accentuation; there are also gong chimes, which are of two types. The trompong, a set of 10, is a solo instrument, and the réyong, a set of 12, is played by four men, supplying figuration. Flutes, in two sizes, are made of bamboo and are used in theatrical music. Although the name of the rebab, a two-string spike fiddle, is Persian-Arabic, the instrument probably originated in S China and is used in the music of the gambuh play. Cymbals, bell rattles, and drums supply the all-important elaborate rhythmic background. The anklung is an archaic, tuned bamboo rattle. It is not known in all parts of Bali, but gives its name to the anklung gamelan, a ceremonial gamelan which may at one time have always included anklungs.
The instrumentation and the repertory of a particular gamelan depend on its function. Each of the various forms of dance and drama has a gamelan which specializes in its music. The most recent musical development is kebyar, a restless, explosive music which discards the highly developed, balanced forms of the older music. Kebyar clubs compose their own music, often taking themes from older music. The wealthier clubs include a dancer—a young man who performs seated on the ground, dancing from the waist up. Balinese notation was invented by the Javanese who brought the music to Bali. It gives no indication of the rhythm and is little used. Music is learned by rote; it is not improvisation, however, but a sophisticated, composed art form. Balinese music has had some popularity in the West, mainly sponsored by the composer Lou Harrison , founder of the modern American gamelan movement.
Bibliography: See D. A. Lentz, The Gamelan Music of Java and Bali (1965); C. McPhee, Music in Bali (1965
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