PROMETHEAN EDITIONS Influenced by Gamelan: the Music of Gareth Farr
With a tradition dating back well over 500 years, gamelan music continues to be an iconic feature of the Indonesian performing arts. Gamelan music has been of interest to the scholars of Western music for some time: European composers including Debussy, Ravel, and Bartók as well as American composers such Cowell and Partch, wove the unique scales and timbres of gamelan into their own music; today, the gamelan is a mainstream component of most ethnomusicology programs. The majority of gamelan instruments are forged from bronze, ranging from smaller keyed instruments hit with hammers to large gongs struck with soft mallets. New Zealand ethnomusicologist and composer Jack Body remarks that gamelan can reflect the character of these cultures: “Javanese gamelan is more refined, reflective, and conservative while Balinese gamelan is more extrovert, dynamic and open to exploring new things.” GARETH FARR (1968) credits the experience of hearing a visiting gamelan orchestra as a defining moment in beginning his now over 20-year career as a composer and percussionist. While studying at New York’s Eastman School of Music in the early 90s, Farr had also become intrigued by how French impressionist composers such as Debussy responded to their exposure to the Javanese gamelan, which was
Image caption ‘Gareth Farr and Gamelan Taniwha Jaya’, Te Ara: Encyclopedia of New Zealand.
famously showcased at the Paris Exposition in 1889 (Farr eventually purchased a set of Balinese gamelan instruments in 2003 and brought them to New Zealand. The set is housed in Victoria University’s music faculty and is played by Farr’s gamelan ensemble Gamelan Taniwha Gareth Farr Jaya). The characteristic rhythms and textures of the Indonesian gamelan have become hallmarks of Farr’s own composition, ranging from works for Balinese gamelan ensemble itself to piano, percussion and full symphony orchestra. Farr explains: Pukul (PE096) is the piece I’d wanted to write for years, after my epiphany of discovering Balinese gamelan music in the late 80s. I made many pilgrimages to Bali to hear the incredible music there, and was blown away by the complexity of the rhythms that the musicians were able to perform. I got totally hooked, particularly on the bombastic playing style called kebyar, which is a relentless explosion of unpredictable rhythmic patterns. Seeing an ensemble of 25 people playing these types of patterns in perfect rhythmic unison often leaves the audience completely baffled. At the time [I wrote this
Credit: John Crawford
The influence of gamelan on the music of Gareth Farr