Gamelan Music

Gamelan music is rooted in traditional Indonesian performance arts. The core of the orchestra, or gamelan, is a group of bronze percussion instruments that are forged and tuned together. Gamelan performance is often combined with dance and with shadow puppet plays (wayang).

Many of the instruments are played by striking with a mallet, and so the gamelan gets its name from the Javanese word for a type of hammer (gamel). Other musical elements include drums, bamboo flutes, stringed instruments, wooden percussion, male and female vocals, and a variety of noisemakers to punctuate the action of shadow puppet plays.

The various moods and tones of gamelan music are specifically associated with particular emotions and intellectual states. The music is composed of complex layers of melodic variants and interlocking parts moving semi-independently.

Lewis & Clark Gamelan
"The Venerable Showers of Beauty"

The core set arrived at Lewis & Clark College in 1980 after a two-year search in Indonesia by Vincent Mc Dermott and Loraine Fenwick, the major donor of gamelan instruments to the College. The oldest instruments in this ensemble are likely to have been made in the late 19th century.

The ensemble draws its members from the Portland area community and from students at Lewis & Clark College.

For more information, contact the Department of Music: 503-768-7460.

Instructor:
Prerequisite: Music Performance 121, 122, or 123. Fee.
Taught: Each semester, 1 semester credit.