Pak Harjito leading a gamelan workshop @ the Indonesian Consulate in NYC (Photo: Emily O'Dell)
Playing gamelan (Photo: Emily O'Dell)
Their conservatoire is the rhythm of the sea, the wind among the leaves and the thousand sounds of nature which they understand without approaching an arbitrary treatise. Their traditions reside in old songs built up throughout the centuries. Yet Javanese music is based on a type of counterpoint by comparison with which that of Palistrina is child’s play. And if we listen without European prejudice to the charm of their percussion we must confess that our percussion is like primitive noises at a country fair.
— Claude Debussy
As part of the Metropolitan Museum’s Lunar New Year celebration, my Javanese gamelan guru (teacher) Pak Harjito and my friend Anne Stebinger will be conducting two demonstrations/lectures at the MET this Saturday at 2 pm and 3:30 pm.
In addition to learning about Javanese gamelan, you might also be interested in attending other Lunar New Year events like Traditional Tibetan Dance and Chinese Paper Folding. There’s an old Javanese saying (which also serves as the national motto of Indonesia): “Bhinneka Tunggal Ika”–which, translated, means: “Unity in diversity.” If you come to the gamelan demo, you’ll understand how that saying applies to traditional Javanese music as well…
