Gamelan Sekar Petak in concert at the University of York
AN introduction: “The University of York instruments – named ‘Sekar Petak’ (‘White Flower’) in honour of Yorkshire’s white rose symbol – was the first purpose-built Javanese gamelan in a British university. The instruments were first assembled and played in 1981, having been commissioned by the Department of Music’s Dr Neil Sorrell from master craftsman Bapak Tentrem Sarwanto.”
The concert opened with a traditional Javanese gamelan welcome, Ladrang Wilujeng. The beautiful ensemble of instruments – metallophones (saron, slenthem and gender), a variety of gongs, drums (kendhang) and string and wind instruments with Neil Sorrell sitting centre stage performing the exquisite rebab – made up the Sekar Petak.
They were joined by the student-run chamber choir, Animas, and string ensemble, Eoferwic Strings. As the work unfolded, I was reminded of North Indian Classical, both melodic frameworks (ragas) and rhythmic cycles (talas).
Not that the music sounded the same. The melody was pentatonic and the rhythmic cycle a 32-beat structure, which was clearly defined by striking of the gong. Once my well-tempered Western ears became used to the lack of absolute pitch and simply embraced this quite complex, exotic sound world, the experience was a deeply moving one.
Although more processional in nature, this was pretty much true of the following Gendhing Kemanak Ketawang Pangkur. Having said that, I did feel the piece outstayed its welcome, even sounding somewhat dirge-like.
The first half closed with David Hammond’s arrangement of the traditional Kinanthi Juru Demung and was based on an earlier piece in the programme, Inggah Kinanthi Juru Demung. It opened with a lovely soprano solo, answered by the tenors and bass.
To be sure, the first part had echoes of the gamelan music, but the second half clearly embraced the Western choral tradition. And the final section, a simple solo and accompaniment. This was not, however, one of those irritating crossover compositions, but rather one where the composer not only demonstrated a very real understanding of traditional gamelan music, but respected it. Animas’ performance was very good and rewarding.
The first-half highlight was Lou Harrison’s Double Concerto for Violin, Cello and Javanese Gamelan (First Movement). Harrison uses a pélog scale, which he helpfully describes as “minor sounding with small intervals and a complicated tuning system”. It still messed with my Western ears, but in a beautiful way.
The piece opened with simple, “hazy”’ ostinatos, creating a welcome introduction to the violin (Lilian Hetherington) and cello (Liv Dow). Rather than dialogue, as such, the duo played a series of patterns, sometimes decorated (on violin) but mostly a lyrical meandering, with no direction home. The ending was a beautiful sign-off. I would love to hear the whole work.
The final piece, Neil Sorrell’s arrangement of IM Harjito’s Ketawang Dhandhanggula Tlutur, was even more affecting. Like the earlier Double Concerto, the piece seemed to embrace two simultaneous levels; a vocal (Animas) all-female line with Neil Sorrell on rebab and a chorus line – gamelan orchestra and Eoferwic Strings. Both used a distinct mode (sounded minor-ish to me again), with the orchestra sounding the happier of the two. This layering was clearly evident right from the off.
The first section opened with lovely soprano singing followed by an animated, percussive section. I was struck by the independence of the orchestra, which bubbled along quite happily, giving a sense of the timeless. The music didn’t end or cadence, it simply stopped.
The second featured musical conversational chanting. This, and the echoes and repetition, added to the texture. The closing acceleration worked well. The third section was just so calming. A beautiful vocal line acted as a continuum, around which a gently hazy instrumental chorus wrapped it in reassurance: all very poignant and enriching.
Review by Steve Crowther