Soloevent.id – Gamelan concerts are held to invite an excursion to uplift the memory and imagination space that brings gamelan closer to the community as well as the world music community. Gamelan concerts are similar to the “pilgrimage” of culture (cultural pilgrim) which maximizes creativity and friendship. Gamelan concerts also invite the public to recast personal and collective memories about the values of the gamelan. Concerts are also a space to build a picture of the future of the gamelan that is closer and meaningful to the world community.
This free show will feature a match competition between two famous composers owned by Solo City, Blacius Subono and Dedek Wahyudi. In contrast to the battle concepts in the tradition of hip hop, mabarung in Bali, and carok in Banyuwangi which leaves one winner, match gending is an arena to showcase creativity and technical ability for two composers who have been crossing this stage of gamelan music.
“He said his country already has a gamelan community. He had said that one day Java would study gamelan there. I observe the fact that the gamelan in Solo itself was ignored. Solo without the existence of the gamelan itself is not really a city of culture, “said the initiator of this event when holding a press conference at Pak Ndut Kepatihan Kulon, Banjarsari, Solo, on Monday (10/02/2014).
The Chairman of the Gamelan Sustainable Community, Begog Djoko Winarso, said that he was emotional when one of the American arts and culture journalists showed that in his country the gamelan could become a reference material for learning. According to him, there are currently 49 states in the United States that already have gamelan. Some of them, continued Begog, were played by students. The performance conceptor, Joko S. Gombloh, said the existence of the gamelan composer from Solo was a reference in many regions. Ironically, Gombloh continued, the gamelan itself did not have an appreciation room in its own house. Through the theme of Reinventing Gamelan which was carried out by this concert, Gombloh hoped the audience could rediscover the meaning of gamelan.
“Through this concert the audience is invited to rediscover the meaning of the gamelan as if it were gone. “The appreciators were also invited to make a cultural pilgrimage to see the performances of these two great composers,” he explained.
In one of the main stages of the slendro pelog gamelan, each composer will present three compositions made with the singer Sruti Respati and the Sahita dance theater group. Wahyudi’s Dedek will feature the composition of Gatra Mutiara, Nusantara Indah, and Bonang Demo. Whereas Blacius Subono will feature classical music, gending which has become the tourism branding of the City of Solo, and the play of the slendro pelog titled Lingga-Yoni.
• Event: 2014 Grand Gamelan Concert themed “REINVENTING GAMELAN”
• Date: Saturday, February 15, 2014
• Place: Vastenburg Fortress Area