That day was December 25th. All Christians went to the church on that morning including the member of this family; a family who lived in the western area of Bali, Jembrana regency. I little bit …

A weekend mini festival entitle Indonesia Spirit Festival will be held  December 7th to 9th, 2012 at The Yoga Barn, Ubud, Bali. The idea behind “Indonesia Spirit” is to attract social and …

On April 2, 2011,   people in Bali will be celebrating Tumpek Wayang, here is interesting article from a  Maria Bodmann and video interview

Tumpek Wayang, one of my favorite Agama Hindu Bali Holydays honors, respects …

A House in Bali, Evan Ziporyn’s dense syncretic opera, regales you with sounds, moves, images, and contradictions. It’s a little like visiting Bali for the first time. The strangeness can be overwhelming, but you’ll never …

Colin McPhee (March 15, 1900, in Montreal – January 7, 1964, in Los Angeles) was a Canadian composer and musicologist. He is primarily known for being the first Western composer to make an ethnomusicological study …

PieterdeRooijHolland | August 29, 2010

I made this tribute to Lotring on the 30th of August, 2010. [PdR] The video contains segments of wonderful and unique footage – from a 20-minute documentary published onhttp://www.youtube.com/user/jackusful by ‘Jacques’ – …

So many people, young and old, men and women, natives and foreigners came in flocks to see a unique ritual in Banjar Kaja, Sesetan village, South Denpasar, a day after Nyepi. The old men from …

Many westerners have become Balinese through the Suddhi Wadani ceremony and the Manusa Yadnya (ceremony for human) ceremony. Suddhi Wadhani ceremony can be paralleled with taking a vow ceremony. In this ceremony someone …

There may in fact be more than forty different types of gamelan in Bali, each one serving a different function. Here’s a rough guide to explain what gamelan ensembles you may see at different ceremonies …

When you hear Balinese gamelan and give an attention to the melody you will find the sound of suling (bamboo flute), the only wind instrument in the ensemble. Suling are made mainly of bamboo, a …

Listening to these recordings many Balinese musicians are struck by the impact of juxtaposition and re–combination as a defining feature of kebyar so early in its evolution—appropriating gendér wayang (music for shadow–puppet theater), gambang bamboo …

Ida Bagus Surya is credited as being the leader of the Bubunan gamelan, assisted by I Nengah Dangin, an expert in kakawin literature, translation and dance. Simpen goes on to describe the Bubunan dance at …

As twelve réyong are now omnipresent and taken for granted, the most common association with gamelan sekati is through the oncangan melodic figurations played by the gangsa section. Gamelan sekati is still performed in Bungkulan, …

Composed by I Dewa Putu Berata and Choreographed by Emiko Saraswati Susilo for Gamelan Sekar Jaya’s 30th Annniversary Season (2009). Featuring 8 Dancers (Nyoman Wenten, Emiko Saraswati Susilo, Kompiang Metri-Davies, I Made Moja, Sean Aquino, …

Kebyar came into being around the turn of the century and innovations were brewing between 1910 and 1915 in North Bali’s Buléléng region, the Dutch colonial administration center. Elders in Bungkulan have said that the …

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OFFERING DANCES: Pendet, Penyembrama, Gabor, Puspanjali, Sekar Jagat All of these are dances of welcome, originating in an offering to the gods,welcoming them as they descend into the shrines prepared for them by the …

Buleleng regency is rich with gamelan repertoires, Lelengoran is one of them. Lelengoran is a gamelan style that is considered as the prototype of the popular Kebyar style. Lelegoran was introduced for the first time …

In 1928 Bali was part of the Netherlands East Indies (now the Republic of Indonesia) but Bali’s rajas had not been entirely conquered until 1908. Kebyar emerged around the turn of the 20th century in …

These historic recordings were made in 1928 as part of a collection of the first and only commercially–released recordings of music made in Bali prior to World War II. This diverse sampling of new and …

Mekar Bhuana’s four-day tour to Singapore with performances at the Esplanade Theatres on the Bay was a resounding success. Over two nights, the 26-strong semar pegulingan troupe presented five performances of rare court repertoire to …

In Bali, there are in fact around thirty-five different types of gamelan which could be considered rare. Among the very rarely seen or heard is the sweet-sounding seven tone semara pagulingan, a remnant of the …

Essentially, music, or sound is untamed energy which is open to interpretation. However, through the formation of man’s culture and civilization, music has been given meaning, symbol, usage or function within the context of man’s …

Opening Music
To begin the performance, we present a small musical composition created by adopting characteristics of the music performed on the gamelan slonding.
Scene 1
Nakula’s son Sida Paksa meditates in the forest.

The scene is accompanied by …

Indonesian Art Institute (ISI) Denpasar which is located at Jalan Nusa Indah Denpasar is not just a place to study the traditional or contemporary Balinese art. It also houses a complete collection of Balinese gamelan …

Here is an interesting excerpt on legond dance and its recent history which is taken from a thesis entitled “Balinese Legong:Revival or Decline?” by Stephen Davies.
Legong is a genre of Balinese dance accompanied by gamelan. …

Today, Balinese celebrate a holyday for musical instrument. Musical instruments are sacred items for the Balinese, and a special day, known as Tumpek Krulut is dedicated for all musical instruments, mask, and other tool for …

Kak Wayan Konolan, one of the greatest masters of gender wayang from Banjar Kayumas kaja Denpasar passed away last night. He was also known as the father of great musicians, Pk.Wayan Suweca, Pk.Nyoman Sudarna, Bu …

Text: Ann Bouwma
Photography: Roy Tee

“Now you feel queen” Rubbing and scrubbing on Bali

As a holiday paradise Bali is known for its beach life, Hindu culture and rice fields. Now spa is on the …

On August 30th 2008, Balinese celebrated Kuningan holiday, a holiday to pay homage to ancestral spirits as they return to heaven after dwelling on earth for an extended period. However, on that day Kuningan holiday …

Here is an interesting article on the impact of tourism on Balinese culture, written by Stephanie A. Thullen. This article is apart of her writing entitled “Tourism and its Impacts on the Environment”

Even more than …

When the gong kebyar composition first appeared in Northern Bali with the avant-garde villages such as Bungkulan, Jagaraga and villages at its vicinity in 1915, No one ever dreamed that this genre of Balinese gamelan …

Before we proceed to the fate of kulkul, in present days, it is better to shed some light on what the kulkul is. Kulkul is Balinese wooden slit gong. It is made of long, hollowed-out …

Yesterday, I did my regular browsing activity on the net and stumbled across an interesting article entitled “Frequently Asked Questions about Gamelan” in www.dcgamelan.com, a site owned by Gamelan Mitra Kusuma, which is founded in …

Here is an interesting article on the contrast of Music style between Java and Bali from Fredric Lieberman.

Java and Bali share many basic music-style elements. The predominant instruments in both traditions are struck metal idiophones …

Dealing with the painting in Bali is not a simple matter, if you a beginner in this area, your best choice is to acquire a paper booklet on painting. If you are seriously interested in …

I walked into the compound of the griya (Brahmin household) in the midst of much activity. Their family gods were getting new shrines and every post and pavilion was wrapped in …

As the sun sets and darkness replaces the illumination of the sunlight, night makes its way to the earth. “Night” is a phenomenon that all nations in the world have their own point of view, …

The Balinese are just one of Indonesia’s 250 ethnic groups. Like most Indonesians they are a blend of races, with the accent on the deutero-malayan race of Central and East Java, with traces, of Polynesian …

In 1915, a new genre of Balinese Gamelan was introduced in North Bali. This new composition is called Kebyar, involving a mixture of old and new melodies with new variations syncopation, so that it forms …

ON TOUR
ODALAN BALI: An Offering of Music & Dance by Gamelan Cudamani
USA/Canada (Oct-Nov ‘07)
www.cudamani.org
ÇUDAMANI, the 26-member music & dance ensemble from Bali, Indonesia presents ODALAN BALI featuring cutting edge new works as well …