Focus: Gamelan Music of Indonesia

Focus: Gamelan Music of Indonesia, Third Edition, introduces the emblematic music of Southeast Asia’s largest country, as sound and as cultural phenomenon, highlighting the significant role gamelan music plays in the national culture while teaching of Indonesian values and modern-day life. Despite Indonesia’s great diversity--a melting pot of indigenous, Hindu, Buddhist, Islamic, Portuguese, Dutch, British, and modern global influences--a forged national identity is at its core. This volume explores that identity, understanding present-day Javanese, Balinese, Cirebonese, and Sundanese gamelan music through ethnic, social, cultural, and global perspectives.

New to the third edition:

• Updated content throughout to reflect current Indonesian history and geography, as well as revivals of gamelan ensembles by the Cirebonese courts
• Modern examples of Indonesian musics, along with new uses of gamelan and other traditional musics
• An examination of school gamelan and ISBI as a center of innovation
• Expanded discussion on dangdut and its current status in Indonesia, along with Islam’s effect on dangdut
• Listening examples now posted as online eResources

Henry Spiller is Professor of Ethnomusicology at the University of California, Davis.

Elizabeth A. Clendinning is Associate Professor of Music at Wake Forest University.