The traditional Gamelan music of Indonesia originated almost two thousand years ago. It has a sound and spirit all its own, with influences from bronze age metallurgy, Buddhism, Hinduism and Islam. The complex rhythms and shimmering sound of the metallophone orchestra of bells, gongs, chimes, cymbals and xylophones — plus skin drums, bamboo flutes, strings and vocals — has fascinated Europeans since Gamelan ensembles performed at the Paris Exposition of 1889.
In the 20th century, an elite group of western composers including ERIK SATIE, JOHN CAGE, LOU HARRISON, HARRY PARTCH, STEVE REICH, PHILIP GLASS, and others took the traditional gamelan sound in new directions, creating new instruments and orchestrations and later adding the ethereal dimension of electronics.
On this transmission of Hearts of Space, ambient hybrids inspired by the gamelan music of Indonesia, on a program called GONG-CHIME IMMERSION. Music is by LOREN NERELL, DAVID PARSONS, JON IVERSON, DANIEL SCHMIDT and THE BERKELEY GAMELAN, EVERGREEN CLUB CONTEMPORARY GAMELAN, and JALAN JALAN.
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