Program 692: Harrison : Gamelan
KALW Broadcast Date: April 17, 2022 | Host: Mark Abramson
Tonight’s program starts with a short recording of the Gamelan music played in the royal courts of Java. Hopefully a fitting way to set the mood for our theme, the Gamelan and percussion music of one of our great contemporary American composers, Lou Harrison. Harrison was born in Portland Oregon in 1917, studied music with Henry Cowell, Arnold Schoenberg and Virgil Thomson among others, and eventually settled down in Aptos, California to teach and compose. His eclectic musical style reflects cultural influences ranging from Baroque and Renaissance period music to Native American and Asian music. Most notable is his interest in the Gamelan music of Java and Bali.
Many of Harrison’s gamelan pieces used instruments he co-designed and built with his life partner, William Colvig. One of these was called “Gamelan Si Betty,” named in honor of the art and music patron Betty Freeman. The first two works we’ll play after the introduction were recorded using Gamelan Si Betty, and the sound of the Gamelan instruments is very similar to the gamelan heard on the Javanese Court recording. We’ll also play a number of the works Harrison wrote for gamelan and solo instruments, including French horn, violin and a double concerto for violin and cello. There’s even one work where Harrison is the soloist, on a Javanese flute called the suling. We’ll also play some of Harrison’s work for percussion ensembles, such as Canticle #3 and Simfony #13, both written in the 1940s. These compositions use all kinds of unorthodox percussion instruments, including temple and meditation bells, automobile brake drums, and cowbells, water buffalo bells, and elephant bells.
Program Audio
30-Second Spot
Track Info & Links
Titles: Ketawang Puspawarna
Composer: Traditional Javanese
Performers: Slendro Patet Manyura
Recording Title: Javanese Court Gamelan (1971)
Record Label: Elektra/Nonesuch
Catalog Number: 7559-72044-2
Title: Philemon and Baukis
Composer: Lou Harrison
Performers: Gamelan Si Betty, Daniel Kobialka, violin
Recording Title: Lou Harrison, Gamelan Music Volume 1 (1992)
Record Label: Musical Heritage Society
Catalog Number: 513382K
Title: Gending Alexander
Composer: Lou Harrison
Performers: Gamelan Si Betty
Recording Title: Lou Harrison, Gamelan Music Volume 1 (1992)
Record Label: Musical Heritage Society
Catalog Number: 513382K
Title: Canticle #3 (1942, revised 1989)
Composer: Lou Harrison
Performers: Dennis Russell Davies, conductor; Leta Miller, ocarina; Robert Strizich, guitar; William Winant, Todd Manley, David Rosenthal, Scott Evans and David Kennedy, percussion
Recording Title: Drums Along the Pacific (2003)
Record Label: New Albion Records
Catalog Number: NA122
Title: Suite For Percussion (1942)
Composer: Lou Harrison
Performers: The Manhattan Percussion Ensemble, Paul Price conductor
Recording Title: Lou Harrison – Chamber and Gamelan Works (2006)
Record Label: New World Records
Catalog Number: 80643
Title: Double Concerto for Violin and Cello with Javanese Gamelan (1981-82)
Composer: Lou Harrison
Performers: Kenneth Goldsmith, violin; Terry King, cello; The Mills College Gamelan Ensemble
Recording Title: Lou Harrison – Double Concerto for Violin and Cello (2006)
Record Label: Music & Arts Programs of America Inc.
Catalog Number: CD-635
Title: Threnody for Carlos Chavez (1978)
Composer: Lou Harrison
Performers: Gamelan Sekar Kembar, with Susan Bates on violin
Recording Title: Lou Harrison – Chamber and Gamelan Works (2006)
Record Label: New World Records
Catalog Number: 80643
Title: Main Bersama-Sama (1978)
Composer: Lou Harrison
Performers: Gamelan Sekar Kembar, with Scott L. Hartman on French Horn
Recording Title: Lou Harrison – Chamber and Gamelan Works (2006)
Record Label: New World Records
Catalog Number: 80643
Title: Seranade for Betty Freeman and Franco Assetto (1978)
Composer: Lou Harrison
Performers: Gamelan Sekar Kembar, with Lou Harrison on suling
Recording Title: Lou Harrison – Chamber and Gamelan Works (2006)
Record Label: New World Records
Catalog Number: 80643
Title: Sabilulungan
Composer: Traditional
Performers: Suara Parahiangan
Recording Title: Sabilulungan
Record Label: SP Records
Catalog Number: Indonesian cassette tape
Title: Simfony #13 (1941)
Composer: Lou Harrison
Performers: William Winant, Todd Manley, David Rosenthal and David Johnson, percussion
Recording Title: Drums Along the Pacific (2003)
Record Label: New Albion Records
Catalog Number: NA122
