Angklung
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encyclopedia
Angklung with
eight pitches
The Angklung is a
musical instrument made of two bamboo tubes attached to a bamboo frame. The tubes
are carved to have a resonant pitch when struck and are tuned to octaves. The base of the frame is held in one hand,
whilst the other hand strucks the instrument. This causes a repeating note to
sound. Each of three or more performers in an angkalung ensemble play just one
note or more, but altogether complete melodies are produced. TheAngklung is
popular throughout Southeast Asia,
but it originated in today'sIndonesia and
has been played by the Sundanese for many centuries.
Etymology
The word "angklung" was
originated from Sundanese "angkleung-angkleungan",
that means the movement of angklung player and the sound "klung" that
comes from the instrument.[1]
Another theory suggested that the word
"angklung" was formed from two Balinese words - angka and lung. Angka means
"tone", and lungmeans "broken" or
"lost". Angklung thus means an "incomplete tone".[1]
History
Indonesian boys playing the Angklung in
1918.
According to Dr.Groneman, angklung had
already been a favorite musical instrument of the entire archipelago even
before the Hindu era. According to Jaap Kunst in Music in Java,
besides West Java, angklung also exists in South Sumatra and Kalimantan.
Lampung, East Java and Central Java are also familiar with the instrument.[1]
In the Hindu period and
the time of the Kingdom of Sunda,
the angklung played an important role in ceremonies. The angklung was played to
honor Dewi Sri, the goddess of fertility, so she
would bless their land and lives.[2] The angklung also signaled
the time for prayers, and was said to have been played since the 7th century in
Kingdom of Sunda. In the Kingdom of Sunda, it provided martial music during the Battle of Bubat, as told in the Kidung Sunda.[3]
The oldest surviving angklung is 400
years old Angklung Gubrag. It was made in the 17th century in Jasinga, Bogor.
Other antique angklung are stored in the Sri Baduga Museum, Bandung.[3] The oldest angklung
tradition is called "Angklung Buhun" (Sundanese:
"Ancient Angklung") from Lebak Regency, Banten [4] Angklung buhun is an ancient
type of angklung played by Baduy people of
inland Banten province during Seren Taun harvest ceremony.
In 1938, Daeng Soetigna, from Bandung, created an angklung that is based
on the diatonic scale instead of the traditional pélog or sléndro scales. Since then, the
angklung has returned to popularity and is used for education and
entertainment, and may even accompany western instruments in an orchestra. One
of the first performances of angklung in an orchestra was in 1955 during the Bandung Conference.
In 1966 Udjo Ngalagena,
a student of Daeng
Soetigna, opened his "Saung Angklung" (House of Angklung)
as a centre for its preservation and development.[3]
UNESCO designated the angklung a Masterpiece of
Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity on November 18, 2010.[5]
Balinese Gamelan Angklung
In Bali, an ensemble of angklung is called gamelan angklung (anklung). While the ensemble
gets its name from the bamboo shakers, these days most compositions for Gamelan
Angklung do not use them. An ensemble of mostly bronze metallophones is used instead, generally with about
20 musicians.
While the instrumentation of gamelan angklung is similar to gamelan gong
kebyar, it has several critical differences. First, the instruments
are tuned to a 5-tone slendro scale,
though actually most ensembles use a four-tone mode of the five-tone scale
played on instruments with four keys. An exception is the five-tone angklung
from the north of Bali. But even in four-tone angklung groups, the flute
players will occasionally touch on the fifth implied tone. Secondly, whereas
many of the instruments in gong kebyar span multiple octaves of its pentatonic
scale, mosts gamelan angklung instruments only contain one octave, although
some five-tone ensembles have roughly an octave and a half. The instruments are
considerably smaller than those of the gong kebyar.
Gamelan angklung is often heard in Balinese temples, where it
supplies musical accompaniment to temple anniversaries (odalan). It is
also characteristic of rituals related to death, and therefore connected in
Balinese culture to the invisible spiritual realm and transitions from life to
death and beyond. Because of its portability, gamelan angklung may be carried
in processions while a funeral bier is carried from temporary burial in a
cemetery to the cremation site. The musicians also often play music to
accompany the cremation ceremony. Thus many Balinese listeners associate
angklung music with strong emotions evoking a combination of sacred sweetness
and sadness.
The structure of the music is similar to gong kebyar,
although employing a four tone scale. Jublag and jegog carry the basic melody,
which is elaborated by gangsa, reyong, ceng-ceng, drum, and flute. A medium
sized gong, called kempur, is generally used to punctuate a piece's major
sections.
Most older compositions do not employ gong kebyar's more
ostentatious virtuosity and showmanship. Recently many Balinese composers have
created kebyar-style works for gamelan angklung or have rearranged kebyar
melodies to fit the angklung's more restricted four tone scale. These new
pieces often feature dance, so the gamelan angklung is augmented with more
gongs and heavier gongs. Additionally, some modern composers have created
experimental instrumental pieces for the gamelan angklung.
Outside
Indonesia
The angklung was first invented in West Java, Indonesia; with
a possibility of cultural transmittance to various other places such as
Malaysia & the Philippines over the course of several centuries. In the
early 20th century during the time of Dutch East Indies,
the angklung was adopted inThailand, where it is called angkalung (อังกะลุง). It was recorded that
angklung was brought to Siam in 1908 by Luang Pradit Pairoh, royal musician in
the entourage of HRH Field Marshal Prince Bhanurangsi Savangwongse of Siam, who paid a royal visit to
Java that year (27 years after the first state visit of his elder brother, King Chulalongkorn to Java in 1871.) The Thai angklung are typically tuned in the Thai tuning
system of seven equidistant steps per octave, and each angklung has three
bamboo tubes tuned in three separate octaves rather than two, as is typical in
Indonesia.
In 2008, there was a grand celebration in the Thai traditional
music circle, to mark the 100th anniversary of the introduction of angklung to
Thailand. Both the Thai and Indonesian governments supported to celebration.
Angklung has also been adopted by its Austronesian-speaking
neighbors, in particular by Malaysia and
the Philippines, where
they are played as part of bamboo xylophone orchestras. Formally introduced
into Malaysia sometime after the end of the Confrontation, angklung found immediate
popularity.[6] They
are generally played using a pentatonic scale similar to the Indonesian slendro, although in the Philippines, sets
also come in the diatonic and minor scales used to perform various Spanish-influenced folk music in addition to native songs in
pentatonic.
At least one Sundanese angklung
buncis ensemble exists in the
United States. Angklung Buncis Sukahejo is an ensemble at The Evergreen State College, and includes
eighteen double rattles (nine tuned pairs) and four dog-dog drums.
Many angklung videos are available on youtube. People have
even started to play pop songs on them, which just goes to show how quickly
this generation is going by.[7]
World record
On July 9, 2011 5,182 people from many nations played
angklung together in Washington DC and are listed in the Guinness Book of Recordsas the largest angklung
ensemble.[8]
Angklung
Development In Indonesia
The Magic
of Angklung
Other
things which lead to the development of meaningful values in music education
are:
- Increasing awareness on music
- Emerging music sense
- Developing rhythm sense, melody and
harmony, etc.
- The other important things of
Angklung are:
- Intellectual/intelligent
development
- Creativity-discipline
- Emotional and expressions channel
in playing music happily.
- Practice coordinating body movement
when following music rhythm in terms of psychomotor nerve development.
- Some health centres in other
country have proved through their scientific findings that Angklung has
been a health therapy medium.
- Furthermore, it is expected that
traditional arts be able to stimulate idealism and interests of young
generation on the existence of Sundanese traditional arts/music. In
addition to this, it is further hoped that young generations also get
interested in preserving natural environment.
All
stated previously are called the “The
Magic of Angklung”.
