For inquisitive pianistsÑeither solo or in duets/duos/triet or multiple piano ensemblesÑto discover, step into, and explore music for gamelan orchestra from the Indonesian island of JavaÑwhat it is, how it works, and how to begin to play it.
Karawitan is the classical music of Central Java. Gamelan ensembles consist of between c.5 and c.20 musicians on a range of tuned metal percussion and gongs, xylophone, plucked zithers, bowed string lute, bamboo flute, singers and drums. Almost every aspect of this intriguing concert musicÑits richly heterophonic texture, end-weighted metre, colotomic structures, part-learned/part-improvised layers, approach to tempo, array of rich instrumental sounds, tunings, scales, and aural traditionÑis conceptually a world away from notated western classical music.
This book is a deep dive into a single well-known composition in the Central Javanese repertoireÑKetawang PuspawarnaÑcomposed by Prince Mangkunegara IV of Surakarta in the 1800s. Its layers have been systematically taken apart and transformed into several individual stand-alone (or perform-together) piano pieces. This has both an educational and artistic purpose. Each piano ÔpieceÕ demonstrates one or more layers from within the gamelan ensemble, and how the core theme (the 'skeleton melody') may be fleshed out by each player. They give interested pianists a performerÕs insight into how this music is built, by being able to explore some of the intricacies of the musical construction of each instrumentÕs line, as far as it is possible on a pianoÑalong with the backing track (a free mp3 download from www.pianoraga.com).
As gamelan music is fundamentally music for ensemble, each piano adaptation is designed to be played both on its own and also in any combination with any of the othersÑwith multiple possible duet combinations (and a triet) at one piano, or duos or multiple-duets at two (or up to seven) pianos.
Learning to perform Javanese gamelan music requires an approach and mindset entirely distinct from the European classical canon. This book takes its own approach too, designed for its specific audience of pianists. It seeks to provide pianists with an accessible window into this extraordinary music, using appropriately comprehensible western terminology and staff notation. It goes into just enough detail to get a feel for how the music worksÑhow the notes are chosenÑand enough to begin to explore it practically on a piano.