News
Gamelan Repaired and Retuned
The Gamelan Kyai Madu Laras (Venerable Sweet Harmony) is a Javanese gamelan orchestra. It was donated to the Faculty in 1985 by H E Sudjarwo, Minister of Forestry of the Republic of Indonesia through the Embassy in London. It comprises about 55 instruments including gongs, drums, metallophones, flutes and string instruments. Since being donated it has seen extensive use in University teaching. It is much in demand by visiting school groups as part of the National Curriculum world music programme. Additionally it is regularly used by the Oxford Gamelan Society, a (non-University) community group, who have featured in many local activities such as the Oxford Folk Festival, the Nuits de Musees and Oxford Inspires.
It gives the Music Faculty and the University a unique, long-term link to local schools and community groups and has proven a real asset in teaching about musical cooperation.
The recent works have been undertaken by a team of Javanese gamelan experts. These technicians spent four days working in the Music Faculty. The work consisted of tuning, regulating and repairing various of the gongs and other components. They used specialist cutting and filing equipment for the task but tuning was done entirely by ear according to traditional techniques.
It was important for us that the works should not remove any of the idiosyncratic playing qualities of, what is a unique collection of instruments. Following the work the Gamelan has now been brought back into tune with itself. As such it now can be played with a higher level of the subtle harmonizations characteristic of this type of musical tradition.
Photographs and a full specification can be found on the Bate Collection website.