tradition asian theater MUSIC

• Many of you must have heard, if not watched, popular theatrical shows like "Ms. Saigon," "Les Miserables," "The Sound of Music," and other famous musicals. This type of Western theater becomes more publicly known because some of them are made into movies.
• Do you know that our neighboring countries have their own traditional theater? Indonesia has Wayang Kulit, Japan has Kabuki, while China has the famous Peking Opera. Each of them is uniquely representative of the culture of the country.
• Wayang Kulit


  A traditional form of puppet-shadow play originally found in the cultures of Java, Bali, and Lombok in Indonesia
• Wayang Kulit


  • The puppet figures are rear-projected on a taut linen screen with a coconut-oil (or electric) light
  • The dalang (shadow artist) manipulates carved leather figures between the lamp and the screen to bring the shadows to life
  • It is mainly about good vs evil
• Distinguishing characteristics of Wayang Kulit

  • The Puppets
  • The Characters
  • The Dalang
• The Puppets


  • The sizes of the puppets should range from 6 inches to more than 3 feet which are mounted on sticks from the buffalo horn
  • A complete set of Wayang Kulit puppets is composed of 300-400 figures
  • The traditional performance of the Wayang Kulit usually starts at 8:30pm and lasts until dawn
• The Characters


  • The major characters are based on or originated from the two epic stories of Hinduism: Mahabharata and Ramanaya
  • The characters vary in size, shape, color, and costume
  • The minor figures also differ according to their type like ogre, clown god, etc.
• The Dalang


  • The person in charge of manipulating the figures, narrating the story, interpreting the characters, singing songs, producing sound effects, and giving cues for the gamelan
• Performers in Wayang Kulit


  • Dalang - the puppeteer and conductor
  • Niyaga - the gamelan musicians
  • Pesindan - female singer with gamelan orchestra
• Needed equipment for Wayang Kulit


  • Wayang Kulit - leather puppets
  • Gunungan - symbolic scene element
  • Kelir - the cloth screen
  • Blencong - oil lamp used in Wayang Kulit
  • Gedebok - trunk of a banana as a place to arrange the puppets
  • Kotak kayu - wooden chest
  • Chempala - wooden knockers
  • Kepyak - metal rappers
  • Gamelan - musical instruments
• Performance elements in Wayang Kulit


  • Sabetan - puppet movement
  • Jantura - puppeteer's narration
  • Chariyos - story or narrative
  • Ginem - dialogue
  • Suluk - mood swings
  • Tembang - song
  • Dodogan - knocking
  • Kepyakan - rapping
  • Gending - melody
  • Gerong - male chorus
  • Sindengan - Pesiden's song
• Instruments in the Gamelan


  • Saron - the basic melodic instrument, an idiophone instrument consisting of bronze keys and played with a wooden mallet
  • Rebab - a two stringed bowed and the blown suling flute enhances the melody
  • Gender Panerus - in gamelan, it has the highest pitch in gender family
  • Gender Panemburg or Slentem - in the gender family, it plays the lowest pitch and the theme or anticipates the theme
• Functions of the Gamelan music


  • It serves as a basis melody that is played in a relatively slow tempo
  • Provides embellishment needed for plays
  • Different kinds of gonfsf are utilized to emphasize distinct melodies into sections
• The story or plot of wayang kulit as well as other Javanese drama performances is called lakon, roughly meaning the course of events or action. The plots are derived from various sources, for example, the Indian Mababbarata and the Ramayana, the East Javanese Prince Panji cycle, and later Muslim stories.
• Kabuki's origin began in the Edo period where it became famous in the lower class rather than the higher society. The love for Kabuki Theater among the Japanese started in 1603 with the first performance of Okuni, a shrine dancer at Kyoto wherein the performance was a combination or religious and folk dance.
• Kabuki


  Kabuki comprises three Japanese characters where KA means songs, BU means dance, and KI means skill
• Kabuki play is entertaining because of its colorful and amazing make ups, movements, skill, spectacular effects, and of its unique and unrevealing characters on stage. The performers were all male in 17th century because women banned from performing due to the idea of prostitutions and male spectators were attracted to the most female performers.
• Distinguishing characteristics of Kabuki


  • Costume
  • Dance
  • Music
• Costume


  • Performers costumes stress the role being portrayed by the actors
  • It also shows the latest fashion or style of the present day
• Dance


  • The first performers dance with an exceptional blend of folk and religious dance
• Music


  • In Kabuki, it is used as sound effects like the wooden clappers where it serves as the signal for the start and end of the play
• Instruments and music that accompany the Kabuki


  • Hyoshigi - wooden clapper used to signal the beginning and end of the performance
  • Hayashi - musical ensemble for Kabuki theater which is a live performance of the shamisen players
  • Debayashi - an onstage music performance in full view of the audience, divided into song/chant and dramatic recitation with shamisen
  • Nagauta - performed on tiered platform at the backstage, uses shamisen, drums, flute, and singers
  • Joruri - ensemble located at the left side of the stage
  • Hyudorodoro - used to mark the appearance of the ghost play by the instruments of flute and drum
  • Geza - music used for special effects, with invisible musicians and enhanced using special drums, gongs, bells, and cymbals

  
• Musical elements that contribute to the Kabuki performance


  • The dance plays have dance music of different kinds mostly used by playing and singing the dance musical pieces
  • In dance plays, the chorus sings lyrics that describe or narrate a story or scene
  • The puppet style is usually accompanied by music
  • The dance play and puppet play musical ensemble are positioned at the left side of the stage
  • In puppet plays, the narrator chants or sings in descriptive and narrative passages
  • The Geza musicians draw on many repertoires with hundreds of known melodies and rhythmic patterns
• The theme music is the song that is being sung and played with shamisen instrument in Kabuki plays that describe or tell a story in a certain character or place. Like in the Kabuki play "Ise Ondo koi no Netaba," the song "Ise Ondo" is not only a piece in a climactic scene in dance but is also played in different variations in the play.