Collections of themed recordings curated by John Noise Manis
1 – 15:40 Sekaten gending – played on Gamelan Sekati GUNTUR MADU of Kraton Surakarta
2 – 20:32 Sekaten gending – played on Gamelan Sekati GUNTUR SARI of Kraton Surakarta
3 – 7:08 Gending Munggang – played on Gamelan MUNGGANG of Istana Mangkunagaran
4 – 6:13 Gending Kodok Ngorek – played on Gamelan KODOK NGOREK of Istana Mangkunagaran
5 – 10:25 Gending Carabalen – played on Gamelan CARABALEN of Istana Mangkunagaran
Collection: Gamelan of Central Java, Original Series
I want to thank you for making this beautiful stately ceremonial music available. Especially the piece ‘Munggang’: I have a recording of it from around 1970…. It’s very nice to have such a fresh sounding recording of it. But also the other numbers are very beautiful.
Cees Bonhof, by email
Ware auf der vorliegenden CD nicht auch noch jede Menge grossartiger Musik, man musste sie schon wegen ihrer charmanten Atmosphare als Referenz fur eine Auffuhrungspraxis heranziehen, bei der sich die hehre Kunst mitten im Leben absspielt.
Walter Bast, Folker!
Gamelan music is challenging for Westerners. It is not easily understood. But even without knowledge of the various instruments, scales and musical formats, its beauty is immediately apparent. The beauty may even be enhanced by the feeling of mystery it imparts to listeners on this side of the world.
Dave Howell, Rambles
Superbly recorded and played, this disc is a fine document.
Allan Evans, Global Rhythm
Sekaten is a week-long religious Islamic festivity falling in the month of Mulud of the Javanese calendar (the Javanese year is eleven days shorter than the Western one). Ceremonies celebrate the birth and death of the Prophet Mohammed; and the gamelan in Central Java takes a very special sound – a sound that is mystical and powerful at the same time.