Angklung
The Angklung is an idiophone made of bamboo and widespread in Southeast Asia .
origin
It is assumed that the history of the Angklung goes back to the Neolithic (Neolithic). Originally, as Indonesian researchers suspect, it was probably a simple bamboo tube, open at one end, which was hit with a stick and used to frighten wild animals when hunting. It continued to develop over the centuries, particularly in the Garut, Tasikmalaya, Ciamis, Sukabumi and Bandung area, all in West Java, which forms the area of the Sunda peoples . The oldest direct evidence for the Angklung game can be found from the 4th century AD. The use of the Angklung goes back to the 13th century by the Sunda people of the Badui, who used it for their soldiers before the battle, or at royal ceremonies. But it was also used in Banten, Sukabumi, Cirebon and other areas of West Java for religious and ritual ceremonies.
Angklung was played mainly in honor of the Hindu goddess Dewi Sri, who is 'responsible' for rice, fertility, nature and harvest. Angklung was also used on more secular occasions for entertainment, for example to accompany traditional dances. During Indonesia's Dutch colonial times in the 18th century, the colonial power only allowed beggars and children to play Angklungs because they feared that the Angklungs game would unite the people and increase their resistance to the occupation. To play more complex songs you needed a larger group of players. As a result, the Angklung was temporarily forgotten during the colonial period or it got the smack of being something only for beggars and children. This ban was only relaxed at the beginning of the 20th century, which slowly increased interest in this tradition. In 1937/38 the musician Daeng Soetigna gave it its current form, which was refined again after 1945 by Udjo Ngalagena.
In the context of Indonesia's independence movement after 1945, some revolutionary songs were created such as the "Halo Halo Bandung", which is very well known in Indonesia and which are typically played with the Angklung. Today angklung is widespread on all islands in Indonesia, and the Badui still play it, for example when planting the rice seedlings in the fields and during the rice harvest to honor the rice goddess. For the Inner Badui , the Angklung is even one of the most important musical instruments alongside other bamboo instruments, since according to tradition they are not allowed to play musical instruments made of metal, and for many generations they have renounced all modern influences in their living environment. But even in Bali , which has remained Hindu to this day , it was widespread for a long time as part of the instruments of a gamelan orchestra, but today it is only rarely found on the island of the gods, as gamelan instruments made of metal are now preferred there. A legendary Angklung concert was the appearance of the Kartini school from Bandung at the Bandung conference in Bandung in 1955 under the direction of Daeng Soetigna and his student Udjo Ngalagena . Large Angklung festivals take place regularly in Indonesia, at which, for example on August 22, 2007 in Bandung, a total of 10,000 Angklung players performed in various groups.
The word Angklung has its origins in the Hindu-Balinese language, according to which it consists of the individual words angka , which means "sound", and lung , which can be translated as broken, incomplete or gone . The Angklung is literally translated as a broken tone.
In the German literature one can sometimes find the term grid rattle for the Angklung, which describes the structure of the instrument frame and its rattle-like style of playing.
Structure and sound generation
As a melody instrument, the Angklung in its current form consists of two to four laterally movable sound bodies made of bamboo , which are suspended in a wooden frame. At the lower end, the sound bodies are guided in elongated holes in a bamboo tube.
The most common instruments are those with two bodies because they are lighter. Angklungs with three sound bodies produce a somewhat fuller sound, which can be an advantage especially for smaller Angklung groups, but are a little heavier. With these Angklungs, two almost equally large and one smaller sound bodies are suspended in the frame. The fuller sound is created by a beat due to the close proximity of the resonance frequencies of the large sound bodies. Angklungs from three sound bodies can also be used for chords, there are also special chord angklungs with four sound bodies. The tone of a chord can also be reproduced by selecting several simple angklings.
The sound bodies are individual sections of a bamboo tube that are closed at the bottom and cut open in half in the upper area so that the standing wave required for sound generation can form. The pitch is determined from the size of the sound bodies and the width and length of the halved area, similar to an organ pipe . Like this, every Angklung is able to produce exactly one tone. To generate the sound, the Angklung is shaken to the side, causing the pegs of the sound bodies to hit the elongated holes, creating the sound. The Angklung can be classified as a shaking idiophone due to this self-sounding tone generation .
When played appropriately, the Angklung produces powerful tones, the timbre of which lies between wooden and metallic. The low notes in particular can be so loud that electrical amplification can be dispensed with even at concerts outdoors or in larger halls, provided that accompanying instruments are used without electrical amplification.
notation
Modern Angklungs are the so-called "Angklung Padaeng", as it was further developed by Daeng Soetigna around 1937/38 and was named after him (Pa = "father", also a form of appreciation for a highly respected person in Java), and that “Angklung Udjo” as it was further developed by Daeng Soetigna's student Udjo Ngalagena . The main difference to the traditional Angklung is the use of the international scale with 7 basic tones ( diatonic tone system of the Baroque according to JS Bach, GF Handel and many others: Do (246 Hz) Re (277 Hz) Mi (311 Hz) Fa (329 Hz) Sol (369 Hz) La (415 Hz) Si (466 Hz) Do (493 Hz)). A large set consists of 42 instruments, numbered from G to 30. The instruments with the numbers G to f are classified as bass and 0 to 30 as melody instruments. In addition, there are other lower and higher tones, but these are only needed very rarely. On this basis, the Angklung can be used to play traditional Javanese pieces as well as international songs. As a result, the modern Angklung spread from his Sundanese hometown of Bandung all over Java and to Malaysia , Thailand and, more recently, to Europe and other parts of the world.
As is often found in Asia, music is not notated with the note symbols (“Common Western Notification”, CWN), but with a simple number system based on the number notation of Émile Chevé , and introduced by Dutch missionaries in the colony of the Dutch East Indies . With the key Do = C the instrument no. 6 'c1' corresponds to the '1' and the no. 11 'f1' to the '7', the '0' symbolizes a pause and the point '.' the sound of a note. The octave is expressed with dots above (high octaves) or below (low) the number, a 1 with two dots above is therefore a C ". Numbers with a line symbolize half notes. If there is a dash above two notes, they are only used in quick succession struck, an apostrophe after a note symbolizes a fermata.In addition to the frequently used key Do = C, pieces are also written in the keys Do = G, Do = G #, Do = A, Do = A #, Do = B, Do = C #, Do = D, Do = D #, Do = E, Do = F and Do = F #, whereby the player constantly has to translate the notes from one key to the other while playing, since Do each represents the note "1", and the instruments are often labeled with the notes in Do = C. For example, if a passage with Do = F is played, the player has to use the instrument '4' (Angklung -Number 12 instead of 6).
By adapting to the international scale with 7 tones, the Angklung can also be combined with any other instruments. For example, accompaniment by a guitar that plays the chords or drums would be conceivable and is also practiced. It sounds most authentic when bamboo instruments are played purely in the Sundanese tradition: Angkling with chords and basses, four or more voices, the bamboo xylophone called Kolintang or Arumba , gambang basses, the portable xylophone Calung , the Flute Suling , the drum Kendang and the Indonesian variant of the zither , called Kecapi or Kacapi .
Style of play
An Angklung only produces one sound. To play a melody, depending on the number of tones in the piece, you need a corresponding number of angklungs. A musician alone cannot play a melody in the traditional way because he cannot hold so many instruments. An Angklung orchestra usually consists of 30-40 players. Large Angklung orchestras in Indonesia can also consist of over 100 people.
The Swiss Angklung duo , on the other hand, consists of only two people. The trick of these musicians is that they have the angklungs tied in a wooden frame and strike them from above. You can also play Angklung alone if you hang the instruments in the sequence of the scale in a rack and shake them with both hands. Chord and bass angklings are often played with this playing style.
In the traditional way of playing, each player plays up to seven notes, depending on their ability. In the large Javanese orchestras, the requirement is at least five instruments. To do this, the instruments are hung over the hand or the horizontally held forearm on the upper crossbar and, as soon as the corresponding note is played, shaken quickly to the side with the other hand on the lower crossbar.
Another way of playing is to only briefly tap the Angklung on the lower bar so that there is no continuous shaking tone, but only a short “tick!”. This way of playing is especially used for rhythmic melodies or for staccato , but it is more difficult to play. Chord Angklungs are played in a similar way. These hang next to each other in a frame and the musician taps the instrument rhythmically and alternately once or twice to the side. Basses, on the other hand, are shaken continuously over several bars, usually in pairs.
The different notes of a piece come from different directions of the stage during an Angklung concert. With the appropriate arrangement of the players in a larger group, special effects can be achieved. As a listener, for example, you can hear the melody wandering through the room, similar to a canon .
Anklung in schools and worldwide
In Indonesia, especially in West Java, where the Angklung originated, music lessons with the Angklung take place in all primary schools. Playing Angklung was introduced into the curriculum by the Ministry of Education of Indonesia in 1968 as an integral part of the education of students, as it is supposed to promote teamwork and harmony.
In the city of Yogyakarta , at the Catholic Catechism School Pusat Liturgi, liturgical music is taught on the Angklung, and is thus spread to all parts of the country. In addition, Pusat Liturgi collects folk songs from all over the country and prepares them in music books for playing with the diatonic angklung.
The Indonesian example was followed by the city of Hiroshima in Japan , which is now called the "(Japanese) City of Angklungs" by integrating the playing of Angklung into music lessons in schools.
In Singapore , where the instrument has been known since 1960, the Ministry of Education holds an annual Angklung festival for elementary and secondary schools.
Angklung is strongly promoted in Malaysia and is now also used to promote tourism. A university is researching an Angklung synthesizer there. To the displeasure of Sundanese communities, Malaysia attempted to register a patent for the design of the Angklungs, although much of the instruments were imported from Java.
The Angklung has been known in Thailand since around 1900, when King Rama V visited the Dutch-Indian colony , now Indonesia, and brought it back to his homeland from there.
Some schools also perform in Europe as part of tours that take place every several years. The SMAN3 school from Bandung came to Kiel and Leimen near Heidelberg in 2002 . Saung Angklung Udjo performed at the Museumsuferfest in Frankfurt am Main and in Bonn in 2008 and also played with an Angklung group at the Indonesian cultural event Pasar Malam in The Hague .
In Germany, Austria and Switzerland some Angklung groups have formed that play at local events.
In 2010 the Angklung was added to the list of Masterpieces of Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity .
Individual evidence
- ↑ Brochure from Angklunggruppe of the school KPA3 from Bandung, distributed during the European tour 2002, u. a. Appearance in Leimen near Heidelberg and in Bonn.
- ↑ History of the Angklung on Udjo website ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Angklung among the Badu
- ↑ Angklung in honor of Dewi Sri 1 ( Memento from February 27, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) 2 3 ( Memento from June 21, 2009 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ Playing Angklung during colonial times is only allowed for beggars and children ( Memento from September 1st, 2009 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ Both years are mentioned in various sources.
- ↑ Daeng Soetigna on Angklung ( Memento from February 9, 2008 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ Biography Daeng Soetigna ( Memento from January 6, 2009 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ Daeng Soetigna, bapak angklung Indonesia (translation: "DS, father of the Indonesian angklung")
- ↑ Biography of Udjo Ngalagena
- ↑ "Halo Halo Bandung" on YouTube
- ↑ Java - DuMont pocket travel guide , ISBN 978-3-7701-3852-4 , pp. 84f.
- ↑ Island of Bali
- ↑ Daeng Soetingna on Angklung at the Asia-Africa Conference ( Memento from January 6, 2009 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ Angklung Festival with 10,000 players in Bandung on August 22, 2007 ( Memento from March 1, 2014 in the Internet Archive )
- ^ Origin of the word Angklung ( Memento from June 21, 2009 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ Use of the term grid rattle
- ^ Views of the Angklung's Sliding Mechanism
- ↑ How To Make Angklung ( Memento from May 3, 2009 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ a b How to make sound? ( Memento from May 2, 2009 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ The complete table can be downloaded as a PDF from AWI ( Memento from January 1, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) after registering free of charge.
- ↑ Spread of the Angklung from Java all over the world, see Act 6 ( Memento of February 9, 2008 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ Numerical notation in Indonesia ( Memento from February 27, 2009 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ See again the table from AWI
- ↑ MKIF Angklung group with a midi sequencer and guitar ( Memento from April 9, 2016 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ A complete Arumba set consists of: 2x Kolintang melodies, 2x Kolintang chords, small Angklung set and Gambang basses ( Memento from October 15, 2008 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ Calung ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Suling ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Kendang ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Kacapi ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ a b How to hold the Angklung? ( Memento from May 2, 2009 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ How to build an Angklung Orchestra? ( Memento from May 2, 2009 in the Internet Archive )
- ^ Angklung duo from Switzerland
- ↑ Photo of a Bass Angklungs ( Memento from May 4, 2016 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ How about the techniques for playing Angklung? ( Memento from May 2, 2009 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ a b Hiroshima, (Japanese) City of Angklungs ( Memento from September 1, 2009 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ , Cinta Nada , Anklung.de ( memento of December 5, 2009 in the Internet Archive ), Anklung Munich ( memento of December 5, 2009 in the Internet Archive ), Indonesians in the Münsterland ; Indonesian Embassy Vienna ; Anklung Orchestra Dada Suka Zurich
- ↑ UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage - Indonesian Angklung
Web links
- Bali Angklungs (English)
- Klungkung - Anklung of automated (English)
Representative List : Wayang Puppet Theater (2009) | Kris dagger (2005) | Indonesian Batik (2009) | Angklung Instrument (2010) | Three types of dance in Bali (2015) | Pinisi Shipbuilding Art (2017)
In urgent need of conservation : Saman Dance (2011) | Noken bag of the people of Papua (2012)
Good practice examples : Training young people in traditional Indonesian batik technique (2009)