Nicola Lisle looks forward to a charity concert of traditional Javanese gamelan and the western music it has influenced

It was Debussy who once famously said of Javanese gamelan music that it “makes Palestrina seem like child’s play”.

He is just one of several Western composers, from the late 19th century to the present, to have been influen-ced by the gamelan tradition.

Now the Oxford Gamelan Society has put together a programme that features the music of some of these composers, from Debussy and his compatriot Ravel to 20th-century composers Godowsky, Ligeti and Lou Harrison, together with the world premiere of a piece by recent Oxford composition graduate James Telford.

All of this will be interwoven with classical Javanese music and dance in what promises to be a stunning visual and aural feast.

So, what exactly is gamelan? Pete Smith, who runs the Oxford Gamelan Society, explains: “It’s an ensemble of large metallophones, huge hanging gongs and gong chimes, all in polished bronze, and they sit on, or hang on, intricately carved, beautifully painted frames.

“The carvings are made up of tendrils, flowers and things, all in blue and red and white, burgeoning out like the Javanese jungle.

“The instruments themselves are the reason I got into the gamelan, because of their visual beauty.”

There will be more visual beauty at the concert in the form of Javanese dance, performed by the Lila Bhawa Dancing Company.

“The colour and the stylisation of the costume is very particular,” Pete says. “They have no backdrop, they have no sets, and the costume is very much their backdrop. So they have golds, reds and other bright colours.

“Javanese dance is very much about restraint and control, with lots of hand gesture and head movement.”

Among the musical pieces, the new work by James Telford promises to be a highlight. “He’s constructed an electric-acoustic piece, based on the sounds of the gamelan,” explains Pete. “This is being played by the pianist Cliodna Shanahan. Quite a lot of gamelan-influenced music is played by the piano. They’re both percussive instruments, so they work quite well.

“We’re also including a piece by the Californian composer Lou Harrison, which he wrote for violin, cello and Javanese gamelan. That’s a novelty, which hasn’t been performed in Oxford before.”

The concert takes place at St John the Evangelist Church, Iffley Road, which Pete feels is the ideal setting.

“In Java, gamelan music is often used as a backdrop to ceremonies and functions such as weddings, parties, christenings and that sort of thing, so the SJE is perfect. It’s almost always ambient music, accompanying theatre, accompanying dance, but also generates a sense of occasion. The big earner for Javanese musicians is weddings, which last two or three days, and thousands of people come. There’s also lots of celebrations around the birth of children.”

Originally a pianist, Pete was drawn to gamelan while studying music at York University. He studied gamelan for three years in Indonesia, and shortly after his return to the UK he joined the Oxford Gamelan Society, where he performs and teaches. He also teaches gamelan at the University of Oxford Music Faculty, as well as the Royal College of Music, Royal Festival Hall and the University of Bath, and performs regularly throughout the UK and Europe. “I’m a flying gamelan doctor!” he jokes.

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Pete hopes the concert might inspire others to take up gamelan music and consider joining the society.

“The Oxford Gamelan Society is one of Britain’s oldest established community groups — they’ve been playing together on and off for about 25 years now,” he says. “It draws in students, members of the university and the general Oxford community, and it has a nice varied age range. We meet on Wednesdays during term time at the Faculty of Music on St Aldates. No musical training is necessary, just the ability to sit on the floor.”

The concert is being held to raise funds for The Mandala Trust, a UK-based charity that supports vulnerable children and young people around the world.

“They sponsor development projects in developing countries, specifically for young people,” explains Sebastian Reynolds of PinDrop Performances, the concert’s promoter. “So there’s school projects, education projects and so on.

“They approached Pete about the idea of putting on a concert to raise their profile, and it’s great to be able to draw attention to the work they do. They’re going to be on hand on the night and will be showing a short film about their work during the interval.

“It’s great that they initiated this, and we’ve been very proud to work with them.”

Classical Javanese Gamelan and Dance
Church of St John the Evangelist
Saturday, February 14, 7pm
Tickets: wegottickets.com/event/303757
For more on the Mandala Trust visit mandalatrust.org