Gamelan of Central Java 3

Artist: Surakarta Music Conservatory
Album: Gamelan of Central Java: III. Modes and Timbres

Indigenous classical music from java, featuring bells, gongs, flute, and stringed instruments. This CD is a primmer on the elements of gamelan music, with stripped down arrangements demonstrating the “modes” instruments used. To a non-expert, the music sounds great, and the intellectual content is probably not apparent. The liner notes are excellent, and feature careful descriptions of the tracks. Recommend 1, 7.

1) 60 bpm. Mellow, flowing bells, xylophone and flute. Increases tempo toward end.
2) 66 bpm. Bowed and plucked string instruments, + bells. More like Chinese classical, with a bit more tension.
3) 70 bpm. Xylophones, gongs, a bit more energetic than (1). Several shifts in tempo.
4) Female voice, bells, xylophones. Loose and flowing.
5) Bowed instrument, clear mezzo-soprano female voice.
6) 66 bpm. Xylophones, bells, and flute. Very calm.
7) 65 bpm. Plucked and bowed string instruments, minimal bell accompaniment.
8) 85 bpm. Bells and xylophones. Slow in the middle, more energetic than previous tracks.

Alex D.