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Tuesday, June 5, 2012

Music For The Balinese Shadow Play

Mesem
Music For The Balinese Shadow Play
Gender Wayang from Teges Kanyinan, Pliatan Bali
Played by Made Grindam, Norman Grinding, Wayan Nyampug and Made Eochang
Recorded in Bali by Robert E. Brown
Nonesuch Records Explore Series H-720327
1970

From the back cover: This recording of music for the all-night wayang, or shadow play, was made in an open pavilion within the walls of the village temple in Teges Kanyinan, a district of Pliatan village, whose famous gamelan gong kebyar is internationally known though tours and several recordings.

The sample is one of the more "subtle" or slower paced compositions. A composition played for scenes of sadness, "when the puppets are weeping." It is also appropriate when the gender wayang is used for cremations.

2 comments:

  1. Ah, the Nonesuch Explorer Series. These were mostly field recordings of traditional music from around the world. I've picked up quite a few at the thrift shop, and some of them are not on CD. Nonesuch started reissuing them one continent at a time about ten or fifteen years ago, and they had a website devoted to the reissues, but they stopped after reissuing two continents, and the website disappeared.

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    Replies
    1. Thank you. Nonesuch is one of my favorite labels. You may also have collected some early and fabulous Nonesuch electronic music.

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