Guide to Sundanese Music - Free EBooks Library

1.2 GAMELAN DEGUNG
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INTRODUCTION - GAMELAN DEGUNG
Background and instruments
Gamelan degung is unique to Sunda. It developed^ during the last century in
the courts of the Bupati (Regents), who were the local Indonesian rulers
under the Dutch. Since Independence It has become increasingly widespread
among the general populace. Nowadays it is often played at wedding
receptions, or as background music. Because of its former aristocratic
connections, the middle class consider it more 'up-market' than gamelan
salendro. At the same time it has also become the vehicle for a certain type
of Sundanese popular music^, which via the cassette industry enjoyed
phenomenal commercial success in the late 1980s. While in the courts
(Kabupat^n) degung was played exclusively by men, now it is more often played
by groups of women (apart from the suling and kendang).
The music usually played on gamelan degung has changed considerably since the
time when it was played only in Court. Formerly the repertoire consisted
primarily of long, rather austere pieces without singing. This style is
sometimes referred to as degung klasik. During the 1960s the then very
influential Radio Republik Indonesia (RRI) station in Bandung introduced
female choral singing (rampak sekar) into pieces of this kind. Later, degung
came to be used to provide accompaniments for a female solo singer, or juru
kawih. This more recent style, known as degung kawih, is based on very
simple, small-scale pieces. It is very undemanding for the instrumentalists
(which partly explains its popularity among "ibu-ibu" groups, ie ladies'
groups, who are often more interested in being seen looking decorative on
stage, than in rehearsing complicated music). Since any such piece can
function as the accompaniment for any number of vocal melodies, an amateur
group with a repertoire of only four or five pieces would already have enough
material to accompany a professional juru kawih and kendang player at a
wedding reception lasting several hours. The large pieces, since they have
become rather unfamiliar, have gained an undeserved reputation for being
extremely difficult to play.
Gamelan degung is thought to stem from an older Sundanese ensemble
called goong renteng. This is a sacred gamelan only played by initiates on
certain days of the year. Hard beaters are used, producing a much harsher
sound than in gamelan degung. Only a few goong renteng survive.
Of which the chief exponent is the composer Nano S., who is a former
protege of another famous innovator in Sundanese music, the late Mang Koko
Koswara.
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