From Bali With Love

Traditional
Excerpted from the movie: Baraka
Balinese Monkey Chant

I realized after spending a few minutes reviewing the blog that I had yet to feature world music.  Now I'll be the first to admit that I don't know a lot about world music, but what I do know about it, and what I've heard, I like.  So here we are.

I first stumbled across the Balinese Monkey Chant as an undergraduate.  My composition professor had encouraged me to expand my musical horizon by listening to world music, and in particular to the gamelan.  A gamelan is an Indonesian ensemble that consists of a distinct set of instruments, usually percussive, that's tuned to itself.  The music has a characteristically delicate sound, and the rhythms and textures can be extremely complex.

It wasn't long before the Balinese Monkey Chant became a favorite.  Obviously there's an appealing dramatic element to it, but it's also interesting from a musical standpoint.  The poly-rhythms propel the music while the repeating vocal lines and percussion provide an ostinato-like solidity.

In some circles, the popularization of gamelan had a tremendous impact upon 20th century composition: John Cage's works for prepared piano, for example.  At times the gamelan is incorporated wholesale, and at other times more subtly.  It has also been featured by some popular musicians too.

By the way, if you haven't seen Baraka I heartily recommend doing so.