Balinese Discourses on Music and Modernization

While many Western scholars have discussed the technical aspects of Balinese music or the traditional contexts for performance, little has been written in Western languages about Balinese discourses on their music. This dissertation seeks to understand the experience of music in Bali according to Balinese voices through an analysis of oral and written dialogues on music, mainly by musicians and dalangs (shadow play puppeteers) from the village of Sukawati, scholars, teachers, administrators and students from the Indonesian College of the Arts (STSI) in the City of Denpasar. The study examines the influence of modernization on the traditional arts and their role in society. A concentration on Balinese discourses enables individual performers and scholars to represent themselves to a greater extent than previously seen in ethnomusicological scholarship, making this study more of a critical discussion among equals than a Western interpretation of 'others'. This approach permits a rare view into contemporary Balinese conceptions and practices of music.

Brita Heimarck Renee

List of Figures List of Tables List of Plates Preface Acknowledgments Introduction PART ONE: MUSICAL DISCOURSES FROM SUKAWATI: THE TRANSITION FROM TRADITIONAL TO MODERN Chapter One: Historical Accounts of the Shadow Play Tradition in Banjar Babakan, Sukawati Chapter Two: Bapak I Wayan Loceng: Proverbs, Metaphors, and Musical Techniques Chapter Three: Interviews with the Young Generation of Shadow Play Performers in Banjar Babakan, Sukawati PART TWO: MUSICAL DISCOURSES IN THE CONTEXT OF STSI, THE INDONESIAN COLLEGE FOR THE ARTS IN DENPASAR, BALI: STSI AS A MIRROR OF MODERNIZATION BASED ON CONTINUITY AND CHANGE Chapter Four: The Practices and Principles of STSI Chapter Five: STSI and Scholarship: Balinese Written Discourses on Music and the Shadow Play Chapter Six: The Political Role of STSI Conclusion Appendix 1: Original Indonesian Text of Interviews, Accounts, Dialogues, and Conversations Appendix 2: Key to the Notation and Musical Transcription of Sulendra Appendix 3: Original Indonesian Text of Interviews, Accounts, Dialogues, and Conversations with Faculty and Students at STSI as well as Brief Citations of Balinese Written Discourses Appendix 4: The Opening Four Verses of Prakempa: Sebuah Lontar Gambelan Bali Notes Glossary Bibliography Index