EASTERN REBELLION - WITH GAMELAN AS INSPIRATION FOR NEW MUSICAL EXPRESSIONS
2.2. MANTRA
Introduction
"Mantra" composed by Ellen Lindquist.
"Over a long sonic landscape and at an almost-exclusively slow tempo, Mantra subtly revels in ever-changing intonation, conjuring almost a fourth dimension that seems to stretch back in time.
Lindquist's score looks deceptively standard – save for a predilection for low wind instruments (cor anglais, bass clarinet and double bassoon joining the flute), with horn, trumpet, trombone, harp and strings, in addition to the Gamelan player. Despite the visual cornucopia of actual instruments, the Gamelan is notated often on a single stave, occasionally two, with a written indication as to which instrument – Ganga, Bali Reyong, Java Reyong, Siter, Gong Ageng etc. – while the ensemble's instrumental parts are suffused with pitch instructions to match the Gamelan.
As indicated by the devotional title, this is a 25-minute reverential hymn full of subtle teeming detail and delicate instrumental partnerships, set off by the harp and Gamelan, out of which develops an important recurring quaver motif, beginning and ending with a dotted quaver, as if the repeated Mantra of the title. The meditation is glacially slow, but more important is the opening instruction: 'Still, expectant,' as if the message is that we need to give ourselves the occasional elongated time span to think calmly. The interaction between eastern and western instruments, both unusual and also timeless, encourages us to do just that: to breathe deeply and lose ourselves in an other-worldly soundscape to assuage the travails of the modern world."
This is how "Mantra" was referred to by Nick Breckenfield in the album cover for the BIS release in 2018. Breckenfield's liner note emphasises my intentions as a soloist and initiator for commission "Mantra", and refers to several of the processes behind the making of the piece. It testifies to a carefully thought-out mix of gamelan and western instruments. The music is put into a western ensemble's environment, concerning interaction and notation; all the time with a spiritual and calm touch, notably through the large gongs as a compositional navigation point.
In the "Mantra" reflection, I will explain the background, the content of the work and the processes that underlie the artistic product. Ellen Lindquist's contribution is undoubtedly an independent artistic research project, where the processes behind the composition are the analysis of instrumental sound, analysis and transcription of mine and my fellow musicians' improvisation work and various experiments and tests. This pre-compositional work forms the foundation for Ellen´s composition. In this reflection, I will emphasise my contribution, my initiatives and the collaboration between Ellen and me.
However, I do not want to focus too much on the interaction with the ensemble, as this materialises as in any other contemporary music ensemble performance, with soloist, conductor and ensemble with ordinary roles. Ellen's score is detailed notated, and everyone involved must follow this as thoroughly as possible.
Timeline
"Mantra" is a composition for Gamelan and Sinfonietta by Ellen Lindquist. The work was initiated by me in autumn 2015 and received commission support from the Norwegian Council on December 4, 2015. The composition was premiered November 22, 2016, recorded December 9, 2017, and released in October 2018 on Trondheim Sinfonietta's release "Mantra" (BIS Records).
Mantra's background
I have since 2002 worked as a percussionist at Trondheim Sinfonietta, and helped to build the ensemble musically and administratively. Trondheim Sinfonietta is a contemporary music ensemble. The instrumentation changes, but most common is a symphony orchestra, with one performer on each instrument. The background for "Mantra" was my stay in Bali 2012, where I studied Balinese Gamelan. These studies I have thoroughly described in the chapter "Musical background". I received support from the Norwegian Cultural Council for the purchase of the gamelan instruments, which I received in Norway in 2012.
The background for initiating the commission was a wish to collaborate with Ellen Lindquist. Through this, I wanted to explore my knowledge of Gamelan, playing contemporary music, and how to unite gamelan instruments and western classical instruments. The artistic goal, through the collaboration, was to create an art product that showed the sonic possibilities of the gamelan instruments in interaction with western instruments in the context of contemporary music. I asked Ellen Lindquist to be the composer because she got a musical language and compositional practice that would fit the project. Ellen is also experience related to composing for percussion. She had also just moved to Norway, and I saw it as an essential task to strengthen the working foundation for composers connected to the Trondheim area. This formed the basis for applying for funding from the Norwegian Cultural Council.
Gamelan tuning and scales
Indonesian gamelan instruments are handmade. I purchased my Balinese instruments in 2012, made by the gamelan craftsmen in the Balinese village of Blahbatuh in the Gianyar region. According to my Balinese gamelan teacher, Tjokorda Raka, they are Bali's finest instrument maker. Gamelan instruments are tuned by ear by the instrument maker in cooperation with the buyer. This tuning is not as exact as in the Western temperate system, but it is based on the scales pelog and slendro.
Ex. 2.2.1.
This notation represents approximate intervals. These two scale does not use the same fundamental tone, and the fundamental tones of each of the gamelan instrument sets can vary. I have instruments in the pelog system both from Bali and Java, with fundamental tones in d and h respectively.
Slendro - performed on Javanese gender
Ex. 2.2.2.
Slendro - performed on Javanese gender
Ex. 2.2.3.
As Colin McPhee noted about the tunings and scales, “Deviations in what is considered the same scale are so large that one might, with reason, state that there are as many scales as there are gamelan”(1)
This quote is in line with Pieter Duimelaar investigation regarding the differences in the unique tuning of the Balinese gamelan. In his study, he shows the same melody played by different gamelan orchestras. The various examples are on this webpage. This research reveals a considerable variety of tuning. For me, this point to two essential factors:
- the basic fundamental tone in the same scale has a huge span between the different examples.
- The interval in the same scale is has a huge variety between instrument sets.
This investigation shows a non-standardized way of developing and tuning the instruments. When working with gamelan instruments together with western instruments, this different approach to tuning is an obstacle when trying to merge gamelan and western instruments.
The pelog system is heptatonic, but it is divided into different five-tone scales. The reason for this is that gamelan music consists of several distinctive ensembles with different modes/scales, where these are all within the pelog system. Why pelog is collected in a seven tone scale is somewhat unclear, but it exists earlier ensembles with full pelog system, Gamelan Semara Pegulingan. The most common mode in pelog is selisir, which among others is used in the Gong Kebyar style and represents the mode we in the west associate with gamelan music. This scale consists of the tones 1-2-3-5-6 within the pelog system. My teacher on Bali, Tjokorda Raka, often used “pelog” as the name of the “Selisir”, and It is my impression that this is the case in popular speech. Therefore I will continue to use pelog when referring to the selisir mode.
The slendro scale is a more conventional pentatonic scale, with roughly the same intervals as the black keys of the piano. This scale forms much of the background of Debussy’s connection to the gamelan. It is especially prominent in his work for piano, “Estampes”, where the first movement, “Pagoda“, is maybe considered his main composition with references to Gamelan music.
Also prominent is Debussy´s use of lying fifth in the bass register. This drone phenomenon hints to the big gongs in gamelan.
Debussy described the gamelan music in the following way:
“. . which make our tonic and dominant seem like ghosts, for use by naughty little children”(2)
“Their traditions are preserved only in ancient songs, sometimes involving dance, to which each individual adds his contribution century by century.” (3)
These quotes tell us a lot about how comparable Gamelan music is today, and in 1889 when Debussy heard this music for the first time.
Claude Debussy – Estampes (1903) – 1. Pagodes
Ex. 2.2.4.
The person ordering the instruments may also want a particular tuning, and in cooperation with the blacksmith decide the tuning for their instrument set. For example, the second tone of the pelog might be tuned high or low to the first tone and may vary between half- or howl-tone step. The variation in tuning is also significant from blacksmith to blacksmith. Therefore, mixing instrument sets is not common as each instrument set has a unique tuning.
Dewa Alit's "Ngejuk Memedi"
The contemporary gamelan composer, Dewa Alit, has designed and created his personal tuning, which is used in his gamelan ensemble “Gamelan Salukat.”
Ex. 2.2.5.
Intonation and the tuning of my gamelan instruments
The tuning of my gamelan instruments is vital for the working process and the artistic result in "Mantra". Since gamelan instruments have a fixed tuning and cannot be adapted/re-tunes directly to other non-gamelan instruments, the western instruments must be adjusted. Most of the western musical instruments have the possibilities to alter the tuning. Therefore, solving the intonation issue was an important element for me as a condition of the work. I have mixed feelings related to intonation in some of the music which holds both gamelan and western instruments. Often, I feel everything sounds wrong where the gamelan and the western instruments are perceived as out-of-tune. In this way, everything comes out slightly wrong, and in my opinion, the sonic quality of the musical instruments are more inferior. The way I hear it, the music example "Michael Tenzer - Buk Katah Part 1" illustrates this.
Michael Tenzer - Buk Katah Part 1
This ensemble has a more or less similar hierarchy between western and gamelan instruments, which may be why it is bursting with sound.
Ex. 2.2.6.
Other composers, like Lou Harrison, have, in my ears, made more successful mixed gamelan and western instruments. This composition is for violin, cello and Javanese gamelan orchestra.
Lou Harrison: Double Concerto for Violin and Cello with Javanese Gamelan (1981/1982)
In Harrison's composition, the violin and cello are adjusted and integrated to the gamelan tuning, and to my ears, this sounds like a completely traditional Javanese gamelan composition. The intonation centre is the gamelan instruments.
Ex. 2.2.7.
To be able to get an integrated intonation in "Mantra", the intonation and sound for each gamelan instrument were analysed. I recorded all the instruments for further intonation analysis by Ellen Lindquist and Sigurd Saue, at NTNU, Music Technology.
The large gongs were spectrally analysed, that is, an analysis of overtones. Out of these overtones, Ellen made cords which she transferred to the western instruments in interaction with the gongs. In many ways, it seems like the western instruments come out of the gong sound.
The only western instrument with initially strict tempered tuning was the harp, as the other instruments can adjust intonation by mouth, air, and finger technique. The harp was therefore re-tuned to fit the gamelan instruments intonation.
Ellen made an overview of the gamelan instruments tuning:
Espen's gamelan instruments sounding (approx.) and notated
This system and the tuning/sound analysis formed the basis for a sonically- and intonational integration of the western instruments in the "Mantra".
My gamelan instruments
My Balinese and Javanese gamelan are not made by the same craftsman. Therefore they do not have a mutual tuning. My Balinese are in the pelog scale and have a D as the first note in pelog, and are made by a blacksmith in Blablatuh, Bali. The Javanese instruments are made to be able to perform in both gamelans scales, pelog and slendro, and have H as the first note in pelog. The Javanese gamelan does not hold the same high quality as my bronze Balinese and are made of steel. Bronze instruments are of significantly higher quality and therefore give a richer sound in terms of sustain and overtones. In Java, the high-quality gamelan are also made of bronze, as all instruments are in Bali. Still, since the Javanese gamelan is not directly connected to a religion, they can lower the quality of instruments by using steel. One other reason for using steel, besides reducing the production costs, is that thin steel is lighter in weight and can be repaired if it cracks. Therefore steel more convenient to use for travel instruments. I had the opportunity to buy these Javanese instruments from the Sambasunda ensemble when they visited the Førde Festival in 2016.
The musical centre for the gamelan instruments is "Gong Agung", which is the Javanese name for the largest tuned gong. In Balinese gamelan, this same gang is called "Gong Wadon". This instrument is at the centre of the gamelan instrumentation, a navigation point that fundamentally starts the musical periods and ends the music. I bought three different" Gong Agung / Wadon, and they have the tones Contra Bb +, big C, and big D-(+/- indicates slightly higher/lower than tempered). Also, I have three different medium tuned gongs: two Suwuk (Java), one Lanang (Bali), which is tuned higher F, Ab +, and c)
Gamelan instruments used in Mantra
The instrument selection started with choosing which gamelan instruments Ellen wanted to use. Her choice was based on my recommendation and instrument knowledge.
The instruments we chose to use were:
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Three gong Agung / Wadon (large tuned gong)
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Three Gong Suwuk / Lanang (medium tuned gong)
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Balinese Reyong (17 laying tuned gongs)
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Javanese Bonang (16 laying tuned gongs)
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2 Balinese gangsa (metallophone with 12 notes over 2 octaves, reminiscent of Orff metallophones)
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Zither (Javanese string climbing instrument)
The working process
The actual process with "Mantra" started after the grant of support from the Norwegian Cultural Council. Ellen had no limitation regarding instrumentation, both concerning the gamelan instruments I had and western instruments in the ensemble. After she had decided the instrumentation, we began a conversation about further process.
Ellen Lindquist's method is often to work closely with the performer, where the performer contributes in several ways to a musical starting point. I had several wishes for how to use gamelan.
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I wanted to integrate the intonation and tuning of the gamelan with the ensemble, i.e. adapt the western instruments to the gamelan's tuning.
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I wanted to try to find new techniques on gamelan instruments, and in this way bring out new sounds.
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I would include musical elements based on traditional phrasing from gamelan music, elements and motifs, and the use of original mallets for gamelan.
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I had imagined a process of improvisation where gamelan and western instruments were involved.
New techniques
I wanted to explore opportunities to find new sounds in the gamelan instruments. This was not decisive for the composition, but if I could find any "unknown" sounds, it would have been exciting.
The Balinese Reyong (the smaller, horizontal laid tuned dome gongs of bronze) have a rich overtone range. I discovered that if I used a bow on the dome, I could bring out these overtones. Unlike, for example, vibraphone, where the overtones are tuned in a fifth, octave and major third, the overtones in the reyong are not tuned into any fixed system. Here it is somewhat random, but because of the shape of the instrument, the overtone is somewhere between a fourth and sixth depending on where on the dome you use the bow.
Example of this is more thoroughly described here.
Traditional concepts
Including traditional gamelan concepts was for me, not an essential part of the project "Mantra". I imagine that if an artistic process were to be limited by having to include, for example, traditional gamelan scales, slendro and pelog, and principles such as kotekan, this would limit the artistic freedom to such degree that it would affect the quality of the end product. I introduced Ellen to different gamelan concepts and scales, but let her choose what she wanted to use. It was important to me that Ellen should have boundless artistic freedom to decide for herself what direction she wanted to pursue.
One element that was included was a type of trills /and grace notes used in solo reyong/trompong practice. This was something I used during the improvisation sessions we had.
Ex. 2.2.8.
These musical concepts appear in several places in the work.
The process
The process of developing “Mantra” from idea to finished product recorded on record can be described in five steps:
Step 1: Identify what you want to achieve and how to achieve it.
Step 2: Attempt: Solo improvisation and composer-soloist talks
Step 3: Attempt: Ensemble improvisation based on material from step 2.
Step 4: Processing Material: Composition of “Mantra”.
Step 5: Result: Rehearsal, concert and recording
In this reflection, I will mainly focus on steps 2, 3 and 4, and point out the connections between the improvised material and the translation of it into composed material.
Step 1. Identification/Concept
What do we want with Mantra?
This is described earlier in the text, but can be summarized with the following questions:
Can I, through various processes involving improvisation with gamelan instruments, form a musical foundation for a composition for gamelan and western ensemble, composered by Ellen Lindquist?
This question constitute the starting point for the process of “Mantra”. Here, Ellen and I prepared various musical experimentation strategies that could identify musical material and lead to a common platform for meeting between gamelan instruments and western instruments. This was further investigated in step 2.
Step 2: Solo improvisation material
Material development and composer-soloist talks:
Ellen Lindquist is a composer who works closely with the performer. The basic compositional ideas in "Mantra" is based on different improvisation sessions. Before Ellen's composition work, we had meetings where I explained about gamelan instruments, demonstrated sounds and tried out different ideas.
Video 1: Conversations about opportunities and demonstration of instruments
This video is a conversation between me and Ellen where the main focus is instrument sounds and some playing techniques.
Ex. 2.2.9.
Video 2: Bow overtones on reyong compared to fundamental
In this video, I demonstrate the relationship between the root tone of reyong and the overtones you get by using the bow of the instrument dome
Ex. 2.2.10.
Video 3: Improvisation with microtonality/oscillations
Ex. 2.2.11.
In this video, I improvise around the oscillations that occur between the different tuning of the gamelan instruments. I use the bow technique on Reyong.
These new sounds that emerged were widely used with violins in high register/flageolets.
Sound 1: Mantra - Lindquist(Excerpt)
Another features instrument was the Javanese zither, which is a plucked string instrument. I got this instrument when I bought my Javanese gamelan. I have no special knowledge about how to play the zither, but in general, I like the sound. Through experimenting, I discovered some, for me, unique sounds.
Sound 2: Zither with vibrato
This was used in 15:50 in the Mantra recording
Sound 3: Mantra - Lindquist(Excerpt)
Ex. 2.2.12.
Ex. 2.2.13.
Ex. 2.2.14.
Step 3: Ensemble improvisation
The demonstrations, improvisations and conversations from step 2, formed the framework for step 3: ensemble improvisation. In this step the focus was sonic awareness and intonation between gamelan and western instruments. This was to a greater extent controlled by Ellen, who wanted to explore specific moods based on the material from step 2, but constantly in the context of improvisation. The first example is an interaction and conversation with trombonist Ole Jørgen Melhus.
Video 4: Improvisation trombone and reyong
Ex. 2.2.15.
In this video, Ole Jørgen tests different posibillities. Multiphonic drone / bardoon tone, that creates tension between reyong and ensemble. The idea of this can be heard several places but is highlighted in 20:56
Sound 3: Mantra - Lindquist(Excerpt)
Ex. 2.2.16.
The last ensemble improvisation consisted of violin, cello, trombone and clarinet. With this ensemble, Ellen wanted to test more thorough the sounds from the bow overtones on Reyong as in video 3.
Video 5: Ensemble Improvisation focusing on Reyong overtones
This video session is central to the development of "Mantra", with many elements that recur in the composition. These are elements like
- bow overtones from reyong that recur in harmonics in the strings
- thematic structure from reyong
- use of gongs in harmony with strings.
It can be pointed to multiple locations in the composition where elements from this video are used. This refers to a musician/composer cooperation that provides a musical and sonical result where the act of improvisation is an important tool.
Ex. 2.2.17.
Step 4: Processing of material
The material which was produced in steps 2 and 3 and is of inspiration to step 4; the composing of Mantra. The process has now shifted from me being most active in step 2, to fellow musicians and me in improvisation, with input from the composer in step 3, to Ellen beeing most active step 4. "Mantra" ended up in two editions, premiere and recording. For the premiere performance, the percussion part was performed by two performers, where percussionist Lars Sitter mainly played the various big gongs. The reason for this was the short time between the delivery of the score before the premiere performance. One musician could not play the solo part as it was written. Therefor "Mantra" was revised before the recording, so it was possible to play the solo part with one musician. Much of my task concerning performing the solo-part of “Mantra” was to construct an instrument layout so that I could access all the instruments in a workable way. The gamelan instruments are not designed for one musician to play several instruments at the same time. Therefore, I had to find alternative racks and layouts. I ended up with the following instrument setup
Ex. 2.2.17.
Gamelan instruments "Mantra"
Ex. 2.2.18.
Step 5. Rehearsing and recording.
The recording is for me, not so relevant to the reflection. There are several reasons for this. The interpretation, rehearsal and performance of the solo part of "Mantra" is like any other performance of score music, where the musician has to relate to the framework of the composed material. Everything is written and allows little personal freedom beyond this. Of course, many preconditions are included for this to be good, but it is related to musical skills and interpretation. "Musical skills" related to gamelan is something I learned through my studies with Tjokorda Raka. "Interpretation" is a combination of these musical skills and knowledge about western ensemble interaction. These are prerequisites that are not part of my project as these are skills I must have to engage in artistic research at this level. As percussion in contemporary music, I am used to different instrument setups for each piece I perform, so constructing a gamelan setup for this recording was just a task that had to be practically solved. Therefore, I believe the artistic manifestation in step 5, is proof of a successful process in step 1-4.
Released recording: Matra
Conclusion
Given a project that rises from an idea, through various stages of processes that ends up in an art product published on record, I do not doubt that Ellen Lindquist's composition for gamelan and sinfonietta was successful. The process can be viewed in light of a research method, where each step affects the next. My initial intention as a performer, initiator and commissioner of "Mantra" were all met, with a particular focus on a good integration of the gamelan into the western ensemble - and vice versa: integration of the western instruments into the gamelan. Central to this work has been a process based on improvisation and interaction with the composer, which has resulted in a finished artistic product. Ellen has done an excellent job as a composer and research collaborator, and without her artistic research, Mantra would, of course, not have been realised.
Ex. 2.2.19.
References
1. McPhee, Colin "Music in Bali". (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press), 1966
2. Borgeaud, Henri (editor) "Correspondence de Claude Debussy et Pierre Louÿs (1893-1904)", (Paris: Librairie Jose Corti, 1945), p. 41
3. Debussy on Music, trans. Richard Langham Smith, [New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1977]