Gamelan Sekaten - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The Gamelan Sekaten is a ceremonial gamelan

Gamelan

A gamelan is a musical ensemble from Indonesia, typically from the islands of Bali or Java, featuring a variety of instruments such as metallophones, xylophones, drums and gongs; bamboo flutes, bowed and plucked strings. Vocalists may also be included....

(musical ensemble) from central Java

Java

Java is an island of Indonesia. With a population of 135 million , it is the world's most populous island, and one of the most densely populated regions in the world. It is home to 60% of Indonesia's population. The Indonesian capital city, Jakarta, is in west Java...

, Indonesia

Indonesia

Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...

, played during the annual Sekaten

Sekaten

Sekaten is a week long Javanese traditional ceremony, festival, fair and pasar malam commemorating Mawlid , celebrated annually started on 5th day through the 12th day of Mulud month...

festival. The word sekaten itself is derived from syahadatain or shahada

Shahada

The Shahada , means "to know and believe without suspicion, as if witnessed"/testification; it is the name of the Islamic creed. The shahada is the Muslim declaration of belief in the oneness of God and acceptance of Muhammad as God's prophet...

, the first requirement for converting into Islamic faith. Traditionally it is played once per year, on the occasion of Mawlid

Mawlid

Mawlid or sometimes ميلاد , mīlād is a term used to refer to the observance of the birthday of the Islamic prophet Muhammad which occurs in Rabi' al-awwal,...

, Muhammad

Muhammad

Muhammad |ligature]] at U+FDF4 ;Arabic pronunciation varies regionally; the first vowel ranges from ~~; the second and the last vowel: ~~~. There are dialects which have no stress. In Egypt, it is pronounced not in religious contexts...

's birthday, for the week from the 6-12 of the month of Mulud (the third month of the Javanese calendar

Javanese calendar

The Javanese calendar is the calendar of the Javanese people. It is used concurrently with two other calendars, the Gregorian calendar and the Islamic calendar...

, corresponding to the Islamic Rabi' al-awwal

Rabi' al-awwal

Rabi' al-awwal is the third month in the Islamic calendar. During this month, Muslims around the world celebrate Mawlid - the birthday of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. Sunni Muslims believe the exact date of birth of Muhammad to have been on the twelfth of this month, whereas Shi'a Muslims believe...

). On this celebration it is brought from the palace at 11 pm to two pavilions before the Great Mosque

Mosque

A mosque is a place of worship for followers of Islam. The word is likely to have entered the English language through French , from Portuguese , from Spanish , and from Berber , ultimately originating in — . The Arabic word masjid literally means a place of prostration...

. It is played every day during that week except the Thursday night/Friday morning. On the eve of the birthday proper, it is returned at 11 pm.

The ensemble is said to have been created by Java's first Muslim prince, or one of the Wali Sanga

Wali Sanga

The Wali Sanga are revered saints of Islam in Indonesia, especially on the island of Java, because of their historic role in the Spread of Islam in Indonesia. The word wali is Arabic for "trusted one" or "friend of God" , while the word songo is Javanese for the number nine...

, in order to convert reluctant Javanese to the Islamic faith. However, it almost certainly already existed, though the music was probably used to propagate the faith. The style of the Sekaten ensemble is very loud and majestic, because it seeks to attract people to the mosque. It was said that if a saron

Saron (instrument)

The saron is a musical instrument of Indonesia, which is used in the gamelan. It typically consists of seven bronze bars placed on top of a resonating frame . It is usually about 20 cm high, and is played on the floor by a seated performer...

player was able to play so hard that he broke one of the bronze keys, he would get a reward from the sultan.

The ensembles are kept in the royal palaces. Two sets dating to the 16th century are found in each of the kraton in Surakarta

Surakarta

Surakarta, also called Solo or Sala, is a city in Central Java, Indonesia of more than 520,061 people with a population density of 11,811.5 people/km2. The 44 km2 city adjoins Karanganyar Regency and Boyolali Regency to the north, Karanganyar Regency and Sukoharjo Regency to the east and...

and Yogyakarta, and two in Cirebon

Cirebon

Cirebon is a port city on the north coast of the Indonesian island of Java. It is located in the province of West Java near the provincial border with Central Java, approximately 297 km east of Jakarta, at .The seat of a former Sultanate, the city's West and Central Java border location have...

, one at Keraton Kasepuhan and one at Keraton Kanoman. Previously they were found in Madura

Madura

Madura is an Indonesian island off the northeastern coast of Java. The island comprises an area of approximately 4,250 km². Madura is administered as part of the East Java province. It is separated from Java by the narrow Strait of Madura.-History:...

and Banten

Banten

Banten is a province of Indonesia in Java. Formerly part of the Province of West Java, it was made a separate province in 2000.The administrative center is Serang. Preliminary results from the 2010 census counted some 10.6 million people.-Geography:...

as well. The names of the sets at Yogyakarta are Kyai Guntur Madu and Kyai Naga Wilaga; those at Surakarta are Kyai Guntur Madu and Kyai Guntur Sari.

The pitches of the Sekaten ensemble is in pelog

Pelog

Pelog is one of the two essential scales of gamelan music native to Bali and Java, in Indonesia. The other scale commonly used is called slendro. Pelog has seven notes, but many gamelan ensembles only have keys for five of the pitches...

, but lower than standard ensembles today. In recent times the gamelan at STSI Surakarta commissioned a special Sekaten set that would be compatible with their other gamelan, to be used in new experimental compositions.

Historically, the Sekaten ensemble is notable in the development of the gamelan because it marked the change from the use of the bonang

Bonang

The bonang is a musical instrument used in the Javanese gamelan. It is a collection of small gongs placed horizontally onto strings in a wooden frame , either one or two rows wide. All of the kettles have a central boss, but around it the lower-pitched ones have a flattened head, while the higher...

as the most important melody instrument, as it is in the earlier Munggang

Munggang

Gamelan Munggang are considered among the most ancient gamelans of the kraton of central Java. The ensemble of instruments consists of gong agung, kempul, kendang and horizontal gong chimes tunes to three pitches. There is a repertory of several repetitive pieces, the best known permutation...

and Kodokngorek ensembles, to "leading" the ensemble by playing the pitches in anticipating patterns. In the ensemble, players sit on opposite sides of the bonang, which may have led to the modern configuration of pots, which is aimed at making octave

Octave

In music, an octave is the interval between one musical pitch and another with half or double its frequency. The octave relationship is a natural phenomenon that has been referred to as the "basic miracle of music", the use of which is "common in most musical systems"...

s comfortable.

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