Luminous Gamelan
LINKS TO GAMELAN PAGES
MUSIC IN THE COMMUNITY
Luminous Gamelan are one of several independent organisations within the
membership of Gamelan Naga Mas that offer workshops for general and special
educational needs. We encourage the direct study of traditional music, as well
as the use of gamelan instruments and resources for creative purposes in
education and contemporary music.
catalogue
We have developed two types of essential foundation workshops for gamelan, in
conjunction with Gamelan Naga Mas. These hands-on sessions are available to
primary, secondary, adult, family and additional needs groups. They provide a
valuable experience in world music for the secondary schools curriculum. These workshops include:
On this website there are many excerpts of new and traditional gamelan music to
listen to.
Music notation for gamelan, music samples and publicity photos of Gamelan Naga
Mas.
The Luminous Music online catalogue of CD’s includes the much sought after recordings:
TRANCE GONG by Gamelan Pacifica. This recording features a wide range of gamelan works by
contemporary composers such as John Cage, Jarrad Powell, Jeff Morris, and Jon
Keliehor.
ADRIFT AND AFLOAT, a collection of new works for Gamelan Naga Mas, looking deeply into attitudes,
environment and events surrounding the Indonesian Tsunami of 2005.
education
WHY GAMELAN?
Luminous Music have developed gamelan programmes for young persons and adults
that offer a learning challenge. They provide an opportunity for pupils to
explore the elements of ensemble music making and skill building on a unique collection of
Indonesian instruments. Our programmes offer traditional gamelan music skills
as well as voyages of creative exploration. They are like a looking glass,
helping us understand the culture from which the instruments have come.
What makes gamelan so interesting? The instruments themselves are fascinating. They simply sound amazing. A first
time encounter with the gamelan brings the individual into a world of new
instruments, metallic sounds, a carefully tuned orchestra of chimes and gongs.
Learning gamelan music is like trying to solve a wonderful puzzle. There are
unusual problems that require interesting solutions. As pupils learn to play
the music many special skills are acquired in each session.
Shadow puppets, masks, songs, dances and helpful methods of learning music can
presented in the course of a session, or during special workshops. Visiting
artists often bring traditional insights from their own culture and family
traditions, and we try to pass these along.
For more information on these programmes, follow the links to the left.
performance
NEW MUSIC
We are interested in creating new music for gamelan performance and are keen to
help in the development or recording of new gamelan music by composers and
ensembles throughout the world.
What is the role of new music in the gamelan? Gamelan music is as vital and innovative as any other form of music in the
world. It’s instruments and concepts have inspired composers in ever growing numbers, in
all cultures worldwide. New music provides a unique pathway for technical and
creative achievement. The technical challenges within traditional music open
doors to a wealth of knowledge.
There are many different approaches to contemporary gamelan music. Some
compositions develop close to traditional music models; some in conjunction
with other art forms, dance or shadow puppets, and some is just created for it’s own sake. Mixed together or separate, new or old, music can vary from highly conservative
to highly experimental; some insightful or challenging, serious or humorous. It
has become acceptable for Indonesians to see gamelan performed by outsiders; to
travel to various parts of the world to teach various aspects of traditional
music.
In Scotland, composers Jon Keliehor, J. Simon van der Walt, Katherine Waumsley,
Margaret Smith, Barnaby Brown and Alan Govan are developing new music performance for the group Gamelan Naga Mas, using
mixtures of gamelan instruments, non-gamelan acoustic instruments and
electronic processing tools.
This site provides music samples to help describe various new approaches to
gamelan music, and to inform possibilities for collaboration with others.
Follow these links to hear samples of