Lagu within Irama

Melodic layering, cyclical time and the architecture of Javanese gamelan.

Focusing on the musical structure and aesthetic principles of Javanese gamelan, this talk will build on concepts explored in the previous lecture and emphasise the construction of melody within the Javanese concept of irama.

Musicians from Langen Suka will provide live demonstrations on the museum’s bronze gamelan set, illustrating instrumental techniques across gongs and metallophones.

Langen Suka

Langen Suka is perhaps Australia’s premier performing gamelan ensemble. Since the 1980s, the group has been promoting the arts of central Javanese gamelan music and dance in Sydney through performances, demonstrations, workshops, courses and weekly practice sessions. The Javanese words “langen suka” signify a collective of people who happily pursue a common interest in a particular art form.

The Australian Museum (AM) has enjoyed a long partnership with Langen Suka since the group’s inception in the 1980s when the AM acquired both a Javanese and Balinese gamelan set specifically for community use in Sydney. Since this time, the AM has supported Langen Suka to care for and use these instruments on long-term loans in what has become one of the longest running museum-community partnerships of its kind in Australia.