Week 3

Week 3: 04-19-2007
1. Go to www.youtube.com and watch two videos:
a. "Ratna Ayu," performed by the California Institute of the Arts' gamelan Balinese gamelan ensemble
b. "Gamelan Bali Nyepi"
2. In your blog, compare as many elements of the performance as you can. Particularly focus on the setting of the performance and how this influences the portrayal of gamelan.

I’d like to start this blog with the realization that struck me this week both with the presenters and with the different Philippine instruments that we learned about. My close-mindedness about music made me believe that only the drum, guitar, piano, violin, etc existed. I’m excited about doing my presentation about Mexican music now since now I know how it feels to learn about music one has never imagined or heard about!
As for the Ratna Ayu presentation I paid more attention to the dance than to the music for two reasons: the camera shot was shooting mostly to the center of the stage where the dancers were and also, this video gives the impression that the ritualistic dance is of more importance than the music itself since at one point, four of the five women pick up large blue umbrellas and carry one of the women as if she was of more importance or was more royal than the other four. I also noticed that for this dance, there were obviously only women dancing and these women, as well as the musicians, wore fancy embroidered clothing (Gamelan Bali Nyepi people didn’t). I guess this has to do also with the setting of the performance. Ratna Ayu looks like it takes place in a concert hall or little amphitheatre because it was spacious enough to even have dancers and an audience. As for the musicians, there were both men and women, and there were many of them! They too were wearing fancy clothing/robes. As for the music, I heard two different beats/rhythms, one louder and predominant than the other. I heard hand drums, a chimmy bell sound probably by the sound of the set of gongs, which were on either side of the dancers and looked like they were made out of bronze since they were really shiny. At around the 2-3 minute point the music was really slow and melancholic and the dancers reflected the rhythm of the music with their dance movements. The dance seemed sort of ritualistic, especially with the usage of the long white piece of cloth. The music gets faster then slower and also goes from soft to loud. The women are barefoot and they walk away at the end of the song with slow music.The Gamelan Bali Nyepi music was less formal than the Ratnu Ayu. The men wear simple white robes and they look like commoners or people from the village celebrating some sort of festivity or carnival. It takes place on the seashore and the men sit while there are people in the background that are either passers-by or are merely joining the celebration. I didn’t notice any main performers like there was with the women dancing. The camera is also closer so we get more detail of the musicians and their instruments. Some are playing the gong, others are playing hand drums, a set of hanging gongs (Agung or Gandinga?) which are used to communicate within tribes or used for competitions, and I also hear some sort of rain-stick or maraca like instrument. I may be mistaken but I see cymbals in some of the men decorated with yellow, red, and green pompom looking things. Again, like with the Ratnu Aya, I hear one main rhythm played by most of the men and a softer one in the background.