Viii: Court Music Treasures

Gamelan, obviously, but of a very formal nature, as you may
have guessed from the precious title, "Court Music Treasures".
That being the case, the music moves slowly, refinedly,
sometimes to the point of making for difficult listening. The CD
actually grew on me a quite a bit between my initial near-
aggravation and my second-listen appreciation.

1. Sharp timbres due to flutes, the female lead sings prettily,
the male chorus heartily, but perhaps for Western ears, all tend
to amble around, never really settling on any particular melody
** 2. 11 or 12 minutes of slow to mid-tempo metallophone
pleasantry leads to a half-minute or so of slightly faster and
busier, though no less genteel malleting, quickly settling back to
status quo ante.
** 3. Here, slightly rusty viol joins the metallophones and the
still-wandering vocalist; about 12 minutes in, the so-called soft
instruments (strings, voice) drop out and the more typical bells
take over
*** 4. Said to be by an ancient ensemble, this piece is darker and
while more complex rhythmically, considerably simpler in more
or less doing away with supporting instrumentation, making do
with metal and drums; I was surprised to find it in the middle of
the other, more densely arranged and higher-pitched pieces
surrounding it.
** 5. The viol from track 3 joins the vocal ensemble from track
1 for what turns out to be a bit anthemic, a bit regal, a bit
beautiful