Peterman, “Regional variations in Balinese gender wayang music”
Lewis E. Peterman’s (1989) paper on regional variation in gender wayang analyses regional versions of the piece “Rebong”. He refers to an ASTI
(Akademi Seni Tari Indonesia, now ISI) survey of 1985, which counted 687 sets of gender wayang in Bali as well as an unknown number exported to other parts of Indonesia and abroad (1989:1). He notes that the concept of desa, kala, patra34 seems to be reflected in musical practice: “Depending upon the local customs of each village, the time of the year, and the proper socio-cultural context, each composition, or gendhing, in the repertoire may be presented
34 An often-repeated phrase meaning every thing can vary according to “place, time and situation".
differently, that is, with a different interpretation” (ibid.:2). After describing the various musical textures, Peterman estimates that most players know around twenty pieces (ibid.:4). Like McPhee, he mentions two affective types, keras
(strong) and manis (sweet), and a variety of textures and forms.
Peterman presents a transcription of the two main parts of “Rebong” as played by a group in Sukawati and eight other versions of parts of the same piece, notated in cipher notation.35 He gives the names of the locations (Denpasar, Ubud, Blakuih, two villages in Bangli, Tampaksiring, Saba and Sukawati) but, strangely, does not name the players (ibid.:5-6).
He finds that each version of the pengawak is closely related, although five of the eight versions include phrases lengthened with infixes (ibid.:6-7).36 He then eliminates the melodic decoration to reveal “the underlying basic progression of diads” common to all versions (ibid.:8-9), concluding that the basic melodic gestures of this section of the piece are the four-note sequences: 3 2 16 and 2 3 5 6 (ibid.: 10-11). In the pengecet (second part) of “Rebong” (ibid.: 11-13), he concentrates on the left-hand melody, which is more
prominent in this section. He finds a similar basic set of melodic gestures: 3 2 1 6, 6 5 3 2 and 2 3 5 6 (ibid.:12), He can “scarcely resist the temptation to compare” these cells with Javanese pathet manyura and wonders whether elements of pathet nem and sanga might be found in other pieces (ibid.: 14). Perhaps he should resist this temptation though. Gold (1998), Vonck (1997) and my own enquires suggest that modal practice in gender wayang has its own distinctive characteristics. One could argue, conversely, that the pathet systems of East and Central Java (which also differ from one another) may be
developments from a kind of proto -pathet modal system such as that found in gender wayang.
35 The notes of gender wayang expressed in Javanese cypher notation are, from bottom to top: 2 3 5 6 1 2 3 5 6 1.
36 One could argue that the others might have been shortened, though I tend to agree that these are infixes. See Gray (1990) for examples of infixes in "Sulendra”.
Michael Tenzer, Balinese Music and Gamelan Gong Kebyar
Tenzer (1991:75) observes that gender wayang is a flourishing tradition and he describes a new role for it as restaurant background music (ibid.:84)37 Like drummers, gender players form a particular clique of musicians who enjoy meeting each other to compare versions and styles, and other musicians who do not play gender are often in awe of those who do (ibid.:85).
Tenzer’s later book Gamelan Gong Kebyar (Tenzer 2000) refers to gender wayang to illustrate aspects of modern Balinese music. He compares gender wayang with other genres classified by Balinese as “tua” (old), including gambang and selonding, and contrasts it with court music ensembles derived from gambuh. Tua music tends to have just two strata, pokok and kotekan, and the former is not abstracted hierarchically tike court music. This leads to the enrichment of the music’s horizontal flow, often resulting in internal rhythmic elaboration, and surface rhythmic details and contrasts (ibid.:232-3). Tenzer gives the first theme of “Sekar Sungsang” as an example, commenting: “It lies, by Balinese standards, in sharp syntactic opposition to court music” with its assymetric figuration (ibid.:241). The left-hand melody features periods of melodic motion (majalan) and stasis (ngubeng). At some points it seems to derive from the right hand figuration, while at others the parts seem almost independent (ibid.:241).
Nick Gray, “An introduction to the Sukawati style of Balinese gender
wayang” and “‘Sulendra’: an example of petegak in the Balinese gender wayang repertory”
I describe features of the Sukawati style of gender wayang in two articles (Gray 1990 and 1992). In the first, I note that less frequently played pefega/cseem to have been changed less than virtuosic show pieces such “Sekar Sungsang” and “Sekar Ginotan”. I also describe the illustrative use of figuration in “Sekar Sungsang”. Sungsang means “upside down” or “topsy-turvy” and the music reflects the upside-down look of the sungsang flower (a type of climbing lily,
371 Nyoman Gunawan and I Wayan Dasta of Tenganan play regularly at hotels in the nearby resort of Candi Dasa.
gloriosa superba). Another example is the winding melody of “Tulang Lindung” (“eel-bone") (ibid.:46—7). I also describe the use of high and low registers to denote the aesthetic quality of pieces from manis to keras respectively (ibid.:48).
In the second article, which examines the petegak piece “Sulendra", I stress that the transcription presented represents a “snapshot” of one version of the piece as it develops through time, being changed by different players
(ibid.:4). I describe how the gineman introduction establishes a tonal centre {ndang) with a middle section that emphasises another pitch (ndeng). I then divide the pengawak (first main section) into its constituent melodic cells, and note that “the pengiwan [second main section] extends the material from the pengawak by inserting short passages of new material and varying some of the existing sections” (ibid.:7). The coda-like ending (which appears, varied, in other pieces) seems to interrupt the flow of the piece in order to provide closure
(ibid.:7).
1 describe two basic types of melodic phrase in the main body of the piece: interlocking in both right and left hands to sustain a static pitch level and, secondly, snatches of freer left-hand melody emerging from the interlocking, especially towards cadences. However, even the latter are cell-like and somewhat repetitive (ibid.:7). I distinguish three such functional cell-types: initial, cadential (moving towards a cadence note) and final (static after a cadence note) (ibid.:8). I note that similar melodic shapes are common in ritual music for the gamelan gong gede, and that the technique of building with functional cells seems close the Central Javanese use of cengkok. However, the cells of “Sulendra” are largely unique to it, although the sharing of similar patterns does occur between several gender wayang pieces (ibid.:9). I suggest that one reason for the occasional irregularities of phrase length in gender wayang pieces such as "Sulendra” (so different from the four-square structures of most other gamelan types) stems from the use of inserted cells to extend melodic material (ibid.: 10).
Mashino, “A study of changes in the style of gender wayang music of Sukawati village in Bali”
Ako Mashino’s (1999) article complements the work of Heimarck (1999, see below) on the impact of modernisation in the same village. Mashino is interested in the motivation behind the stylistic changes that took place there during the 1950s and 1960s, which transformed Sukawati style to become distinct from other villages (Mashino 1999:3).
Mashino notes the influence of gong kebyar on the new Sukawati style in sharpness of sound, fast tempo, dramatic expression and virtuoso techniques (ibid.:3). The new style led to Sukawati musicians to embark on a quest for ever more complex versions, too difficult to imitate (ibid.:3). Mashino concludes that the Sukawati style continues to change “not only through the motivation to create better, more modern musical expression, but also through their
strategies with which they maintain their high position as the top performers of gender wayang” (ibid.:3).
Although this competitive spirit is certainly present, I find also that Sukawati musicians often stress the importance of other motivating factors, such as a quest for artistic fulfilment or boredom with commonly used versions, in creating new music.