Page 6 - Fifty-fifty Sep 2021

Gamelan music accompanies the wayang kulit puppet show
Gamelan Padhang Moncar has accompanied Ki Joko Susilo in performances of wayang kulit in New Zealand
since 1993, when the group was first initiated into the challenges of this. Since then, the group has performed
frequently with him in Wellington including at several Southeast Asian night markets on the waterfront,
CubaDupa Festival, at the NZ School of Music, and at a national festival of puppetry. Together they have
performed twice at New Zealand’s WOMAD Festival, in 2003 and 2012

Gamelan Padhang Moncar with Ki Joko Susilo at WOMAD Festival 2012.
The gamelan is an integral part of a wayang kulit performance. As the dhalang (puppeteer), Joko directs the
gamelan in real-time using various signals from his right foot (clashing metal plates against a wooden box) and
his left hand (knocking a wooden knocker against the box). He also uses vocal signals, either sung or spoken,
that the gamelan musicians are expected to pick up on. In a wayang kulit performance in Java, the gamelan
would be able to respond to such signals on the fly, drawing on a wide repertoire and experience. Here in New
Zealand, Joko tends to more closely plan the music for his shows with us, as our repertoire and experience is not
so broad. New Zealand performances are also short (typically 1 to 2 hours) compared with the 8 hour shows that
are normal in Java.

A wayang kulit begins with a musical performance, Talu, which functions as a prelude or overture. Throughout
the course of a wayang kulit performance, the pathet (musical mode) changes twice, each time affecting the
mood and range of the music accompanying the shadowplay. This requires the performers of the elaborating
instruments to draw on different sets of musical patterns.

Budi S. Putra plays kendhang (drum) at a wayang kulit performance at Wellington’s CubaDupa
Festival in 2018, while he and other players keep their eye on the action on screen. Pictured (L-R) are
Rupert Snook, Paul Nuttall (obscured behind Rupert), Dave Edwards, Mike Jones (cropped behind
Dave), Budi S. Putra, and Megan Collins.

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