The Sekar Énggal ensemble has been playing Sundanese music since 1992, when this set of instruments was brought to the UK for the BBC’s Spirit of the Earth festival, and came to be housed at City University in London. They have given concerts in diverse venues, including the RFH and Barbican foyers, arts centres, churches and colleges. In keeping with the normal context of gamelan in Sunda, they also regularly perform at functions and social occasions. The group is now led by Simon Cook, who studied Sundanese music in Bandung from 1989 till 1999.

Sekar Enggal can be contacted at sekarenggal@yahoo.co.uk

CURRENT MEMBERS

Barley Norton
Ekadamayanti
Emma Rippon
Ihsan Daldin
Laura Leante
Marie Perreault
Martin Clayton
Matthew Cohen
Matthew Hasler
Phil Noyce
Rachel Swindells
Rebecca Andreo
Rob Szymanek
Sian Brady
Simon Cook (musical director)

W O R K S H O P S

Workshops in gamelan playing can be arranged, for groups of up to 20 players. No prior knowledge or musical skill is required. The workshops are suitable for anyone aged between 8 and 99.

WHY PLAY GAMELAN?

In musical traditions such as those of the West, India or the Far East, hours of individual practice are necessary before a beginner can function effectively in an ensemble. On tuned percussion it is a simple matter to produce a satisfying sound, without too many boring preliminaries: a fact which Carl Orff also latched onto. This empowers the beginner to concentrate immediately on musical matters such as ensemble, rhythmic control or pitch perception. The instruments themselves are intrinsically satisfying, because with their carved hardwood frames they look as beautiful as they sound.

In gamelan Sunda, skill in listening and fitting in with the other parts is much more important than individual virtuosity. Imagine a band where after rehearsing a piece on the tuba, a player can then move to the clarinet, and then to the piccolo, and so on, in order to learn every part in the ensemble. In gamelan it is common practice to rotate instruments, in order to learn a piece from every aspect. In gamelan the individual parts are often very simple, but combine to produce rich, complex textures.

Gamelan playing skills are a useful complement to those learned in Western music. A knowledge of gamelan is important for anyone interested in other musical traditions. Gamelan has been the focus of intense scholarly and practical study in an extraordinary number of places outside Indonesia.

While it is quite possible to learn a very simple Sundanese piece in a single two-hour workshop, much more can be achieved in a series of workshops spread over one or two weeks, perhaps culminating in a performance. Longer residencies are negotiable. It is also possible to combine workshops with a performance by the Sekar Énggal ensemble.