Gamelan: A bridge to Java

For our listeners out there, there might be a few among you who've heard 1973 composition from American composer Steve Reich titled “Music for Mallet Instruments, Voices and Organ”. It is played with several percussion instruments and the organ, along with harmonic vocals in the background. In case you are curious about the masterpiece, it was inspired by a classical orchestra from Indonesia, which is called gamelan. Consisting of percussion, stringed and wind instruments, this genre of music is performed during celebrations, funerals and ritual ceremonies. In this episode, we have Indonesian gamelan musician and educator Risnandar. Today, he will introduce the ancient Indonesian form of music and how he combines it with Western and Eastern styles.