{"id":300,"date":"2017-01-13T21:24:15","date_gmt":"2017-01-13T21:24:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/vetter.sites.grinnell.edu\/gamelan\/?page_id=300"},"modified":"2024-05-13T14:40:03","modified_gmt":"2024-05-13T14:40:03","slug":"types-of-palace-gamelans","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/vetter.sites.grinnell.edu\/gamelan\/types-of-palace-gamelans\/","title":{"rendered":"Types of Palace Gamelans"},"content":{"rendered":"

The term \u201cgamelan\u201d (also\u00a0gangsa<\/em>\u00a0or\u00a0gongsa<\/em>) is used here to refer to a single unified set of instruments tuned to one of the two traditional Javanese musical scales (laras<\/em>) \u2013sl\u00e9ndro<\/em>\u00a0(a five-tone scale) and\u00a0p\u00e9log<\/em>\u00a0(a seven-tone scale). The two Javanese\u00a0laras<\/em>\u00a0are tuning models rather than tuning standards, so each gamelan is tuned to a unique realization of one of these models. Such sets typically include dozens of instruments of various types, including ones with metal keys (metallophones), wooden keys (xylophones), and metal gongs with deep in-turned rims and pronounced central knobs.<\/p>\n

The largest of these gongs in a gamelan, measuring a meter or more in diameter, is called the\u00a0gong ageng<\/em>\u00a0(the \u201cgreat gong\u201d), and several gamelans in the palace have two of these impressive instruments. (see the\u00a0Gamelan Instruments<\/a>\u00a0section of this site for an inventory of the various types of instruments in the gamelans of the Kraton Yogyakarta.) A gamelan also displays a singular decorative motif on its wooden casings and racks. The unique sonic and visual character of each palace gamelan is acknowledged through the bestowing of \u00a0a personal name preceded by the honorific kangjeng kyahi<\/em> (from \u201cingkang panjenengan kyahi<\/em>,\u201d \u201cthe venerable one,\u201d hereafter abbreviated \u201cK.K.\u201d).<\/p>\n

Several types of gamelans can be discerned among the twenty sets found today (2016) in the Kraton Yogyakarta. Similarities and differences in\u00a0instrumentation, tuning, repertoire, and ceremonial use will be drawn upon to\u00a0define these various types, beginning with the first-order distinction between \u201carchaic\u201d and \u201ccommon practice\u201d gamelans. Details about the history, repertoire, tuning, instrumentation, and utilization of these sets are presented in the\u00a0Kraton Yogyakarta Gamelans<\/a>\u00a0section.<\/p>\n

Archaic Gamelans<\/strong><\/p>\n

In this study, the qualifier \u201carchaic\u201d will be used in conjunction with gamelan sets that have well-defined ceremonial contexts of use, that are of great age, that include some instruments that are not found in common practice gamelans, that have limited repertoires, and the performances of which never include singing. Four types of archaic gamelans are found in the Yogyakarta palace:\u00a0gamelan monggang<\/em><\/a>,\u00a0<\/em>gamelan kodhok ngor\u00e8k<\/em><\/a>,\u00a0<\/em>gamelan sekati<\/em><\/a>,\u00a0<\/em>and low-pitch pre-modern gamelans (obviously not a Javanese designation, but a necessary one to articulate in order to group one particular set \u2014 K.K. Guntursari<\/a> \u2014 amongst the archaic gamelans of the palace). The archaic nature of these ensembles is consciously preserved and effectively utilized in the palace context to register the importance of the events for which they are sounded. The repertoire of \u00a0some types of archaic gamelans \u00a0is restricted to one or two pieces, each unique to that set alone. Other archaic types of gamelan might have larger repertoires, including gamelan pieces (gendhing<\/em>) that are part of the much larger contemporary repertoire of the common practice gamelan. However, when these pieces are realized on an archaic gamelan they are typically treated in special ways so as to lend them an archaic quality.<\/p>\n

There is one archaic palace gamelan that is somewhat of an enigma and which, ultimately, I have decided not to include on this site beyond this brief explanation. I first saw it in 1999, at which time it was identified as the\u00a0gamelan kodhok ngor\u00e8k<\/em>\u00a0<\/a>dating back to the reign of the First Sultan and used at the Prime Minister\u2019s residence, Kapatihan. There were a few curious features about this set, which as far as I know has not been used since being recently reconstituted. First, its two\u00a0gong ageng<\/em>\u00a0are constructed from sheet iron rather than being forged from bronze, which suggests\u00a0they are recent replacements. Second, it appears to have two\u00a0kenong japan<\/em>\u00a0rather than one, and two\u00a0kethuk<\/em>, an instrument not found in the complete palace\u00a0gamelan kodhok ngor\u00e8k<\/em>. Finally, it lacks a cymbal rhythmic instrument such as the\u00a0roj\u00e9h<\/em>.<\/p>\n

In 2016 I was told it might be a\u00a0gamelan carabalen<\/em>, yet another type of archaic gamelan more strongly associated with the court city of Surakarta (Solo) than with Yogyakarta. References in palace manuscripts and publications do support the existence of\u00a0a\u00a0gamelan kodhok ngor\u00e8k<\/em>\u00a0at Kapatihan (and another such ensemble at Kadipaten, the residence of the Crown Prince)\u00a0<\/em>before the middle of the 20th century, but the instrumentation of that set does not match that of the enigmatic gamelan now on display. I have long heard references\u00a0to parts of old gamelans being stored in various locations around the palace, and perhaps this assemblage of instruments constitutes an attempt on the part of the palace performing arts division to make something of at least part of this inventory. I have therefore decided to treat this set as a museum display rather than a functioning ensemble, and to omit it from \u00a0the inventory of palace gamelans on this site.<\/p>\n

Common Practice Gamelans<\/strong><\/p>\n

Common practice gamelans are those sets that from the time of their manufacture could be used for the performance of the large repertoire of central Javanese gamelan pieces (gendhing<\/em>) and its associated performance practice. These ensembles have always been used to accompany dance and puppet theater \u00a0and to provide music for listening pleasure. Their tuning is such that singing can be, and usually is, incorporated in their performance. Although some palace common practice gamelans have been in existence for centuries, not all of these sets have come down to the present with their original instrumentation. For this reason, it is useful to articulate three distinct forms of common practice gamelans: pre-modern, modernized, and modern. The use of \u201cmodern common practice gamelans<\/strong>\u201d in the Kraton Yogyakarta here denotes \u00a0sets that were\u00a0constructed<\/u>\u00a0with the following instrumentation:<\/p>\n

gong ageng<\/em>\u00a0(1 or 2)
\ngong siyem\/suwukan<\/em>\u00a0(3 for\u00a0sl\u00e9ndro<\/em>\u00a0gamelans; 3 for\u00a0p\u00e9log<\/em>\u00a0gamelans)
\nkempul<\/em>\u00a0(5\u00a0sl\u00e9ndro<\/em>; 6\u00a0p\u00e9log<\/em>)
\nkenong jaler<\/em>\u00a0(5\u00a0sl\u00e9ndro<\/em>; 6\u00a0p\u00e9log<\/em>)
\nkenong japan<\/em>\u00a0(1\u00a0sl\u00e9ndro<\/em>; 1\u00a0p\u00e9log<\/em>)
\nkethuk<\/em>\u00a0(1\u00a0sl\u00e9ndro<\/em>; 1\u00a0p\u00e9log<\/em>)
\nkempyang<\/em>\u00a0(1, only\u00a0p\u00e9log<\/em>)
\nbonang penembung<\/em>\u00a0(1\u00a0sl\u00e9ndro<\/em>; 1\u00a0p\u00e9log<\/em>)
\nbonang barung<\/em>\u00a0(1\u00a0sl\u00e9ndro<\/em>; 1\u00a0p\u00e9log<\/em>)
\nbonang penerus<\/em>\u00a0(1\u00a0sl\u00e9ndro<\/em>; 1\u00a0p\u00e9log<\/em>)
\nsaron demung<\/em>\u00a0(2, 3, or 4\u00a0sl\u00e9ndro<\/em>; 2, 3, or 4\u00a0p\u00e9log<\/em>)
\nsaron ricik\/barung<\/em>\u00a0(4, 6, or 8\u00a0sl\u00e9ndro<\/em>; 4, 6, or 8\u00a0p\u00e9log<\/em>)
\nsaron peking<\/em>\u00a0(1\u00a0sl\u00e9ndro<\/em>; 1\u00a0p\u00e9log<\/em>) (not all palace gamelans include this instrument)
\ngend\u00e8r penembung\/slenthem<\/em>\u00a0(1\u00a0sl\u00e9ndro<\/em>; 1\u00a0p\u00e9log<\/em>)
\ngend\u00e8r barung<\/em>\u00a0(1\u00a0sl\u00e9ndro<\/em>; 2\u00a0p\u00e9log<\/em>)
\ngend\u00e8r penerus<\/em>\u00a0(1\u00a0sl\u00e9ndro<\/em>; 2\u00a0p\u00e9log<\/em>)
\ngambang kayu<\/em>\u00a0(1\u00a0sl\u00e9ndro<\/em>; 1 or 2\u00a0p\u00e9log<\/em>)
\nclempung\/celempung<\/em>\u00a0(1\u00a0sl\u00e9ndro<\/em>; 1\u00a0p\u00e9log<\/em>)
\nsiter<\/em>\u00a0(1)
\nrebab (1 or 2)
\nsuling<\/em>\u00a0(2 or 3)
\nkendhang ageng\/gendhing<\/em>\u00a0(1)
\nkendhang ketipung<\/em>\u00a0(1)
\nkendhang alit\/batangan<\/em>\u00a0(1)
\nbedhug<\/em>\u00a0(1)<\/p>\n

Gamelans with the above instrumentation were being constructed in central Java probably by the beginning of the 20th<\/sup>\u00a0century and have remained the standard up to the present day for new gamelans in the Yogyakarta region. However, only two gamelans currently found in the palace can be said to be of this type: Kyahi Sangumukti and Kyahi Sangumulya, both the most recent additions (1998) to the palace\u2019s inventory of gamelans.<\/p>\n

No fewer than 12 other palace single laras<\/em>\u00a0(either\u00a0sl\u00e9ndro\u00a0<\/em>or\u00a0p\u00e9log<\/em>) gamelans possess the\u00a0instrumentation as listed above. Notably, none of them were originally constructed with this instrumentation. Most of these sets include instruments no longer in common use today such as the\u00a0slentho<\/em>\u00a0and the\u00a0gambang gangsa<\/em>\u00a0(although these instruments \u00a0still exist, they are usually not included when their ensemble is set up for performance). Additionally, all these sets began life with a smaller pitch selection for their\u00a0kenong jaler<\/em>\u00a0and\u00a0kempul<\/em>\u2014additional gongs of these types have been added at some time. Finally, almost all of these gamelans did not originally include\u00a0gend\u00e8r penembung\/slenthem<\/em>\u00a0and\u00a0gend\u00e8r penerus<\/em>\u00a0because these instruments did not exist at the time these sets were constructed. Because these 12 palace gamelans are today modern common practice gamelans in instrumentation but were constructed in the 18th<\/sup>\u00a0and 19th<\/sup>\u00a0centuries to different instrumentation standards, I will refer to them in this study as \u201cmodernized common practice gamelans<\/strong>\u201d.<\/p>\n

Only a single palace gamelan, constructed in the second quarter\u00a0of the 19th<\/sup>\u00a0century, retains its original period instrumentation. The sl\u00e9ndro\u00a0<\/em>gamelan\u00a0K.K. Pusparana<\/a> is the sole example of what will be referred to here as a \u201cpre-modern common practice gamelan<\/strong>\u201d. This set still includes its original slentho<\/em>\u00a0and\u00a0gambang gangsa<\/em>, has a very limited pitch selection of\u00a0kenong jaler<\/em>\u00a0and\u00a0kempul\u00a0<\/em>gongs, and does not include either a\u00a0gend\u00e8r penembung\/slenthem<\/em>\u00a0or a\u00a0gend\u00e8r penerus.<\/em><\/p>\n

The distinctions made above between various types of common practice gamelans serve to remind us that, although \u201ccommon practice\u201d music making on palace gamelans has been occurring continuously since the founding of the Kraton Yogyakarta in the 1750s CE, this tradition has not been static in terms of either its musical performance practice or the hardware on which music was being realized. Just how much and in how many ways the current palace gamelans have changed over time can be surprising, and this topic will be explored in some detail in\u00a0a later chapter<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The term \u201cgamelan\u201d (also\u00a0gangsa\u00a0or\u00a0gongsa) is used here to refer to a single unified set of instruments tuned to one of the two traditional Javanese musical scales (laras) \u2013sl\u00e9ndro\u00a0(a five-tone scale) and\u00a0p\u00e9log\u00a0(a seven-tone scale). The two Javanese\u00a0laras\u00a0are tuning models rather than tuning standards, so each gamelan is tuned to a unique realization of one of these … Continue reading “Types of Palace Gamelans”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-300","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vetter.sites.grinnell.edu\/gamelan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/300","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vetter.sites.grinnell.edu\/gamelan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vetter.sites.grinnell.edu\/gamelan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vetter.sites.grinnell.edu\/gamelan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vetter.sites.grinnell.edu\/gamelan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=300"}],"version-history":[{"count":27,"href":"https:\/\/vetter.sites.grinnell.edu\/gamelan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/300\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2835,"href":"https:\/\/vetter.sites.grinnell.edu\/gamelan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/300\/revisions\/2835"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vetter.sites.grinnell.edu\/gamelan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=300"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}