Gamelan Sekaten

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Gamelan Sekaten

The Gamelan Sekaten (or Sekati) is a ceremonial gamelan

Gamelan

File:Javanese Gamelan.jpgA gamelan is a musical ensemble from Indonesia, typically from the islands of Bali or Java, featuring a variety of instruments such as metallophones, xylophones, drums and gongs; bamboo flutes, bowed and plucked strings....
(musical ensemble) from central Java

Java

Java is an island of Indonesia and the site of its Capital city, Jakarta. Once the centre of powerful Hindu kingdoms, The spread of Islam in Indonesia , and the core of the colonial Dutch East Indies, Java now plays a dominant role in the economic and political life of Indonesia....
, Indonesia

Indonesia

The Republic of Indonesia , is a transcontinental country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Comprising Islands of Indonesia, it is the world's largest Archipelago state....
. The word sekaten itself is derived from syahadatain or shahada, the first requirement for converting into Islamic faith. Traditionally it is played once per year, on the occasion of Mawlid

Mawlid

'Mawlid' is a term used to refer to the observance of the birthday of the Islamic prophet Muhammad which occurs in Rabi' al-awwal, the third month in the Islamic calendar....
, Muhammad

Muhammad

Muhammad Patronymic#Arabic Abd Allah ibn Abd al Muttalib , is the founder of the Major religious groups of Islam and is regarded by Muslims as a Rasul and prophet of , the last and the greatest law-bearer in a series of prophets....
's birthday, for the week from the 6-12 of the month of Mulud (the third month of the Javanese calendar

Javanese calendar

The Javanese calendar is a calendar still in use by the Javanese people of Indonesia concurrently with two other important calendars, the Gregorian calendar and the Islamic calendar....
, corresponding to the Islamic Rabi' al-awwal

Rabi' al-awwal

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The Gamelan Sekaten (or Sekati) is a ceremonial gamelan

Gamelan

Java

Indonesia

Mawlid

'Mawlid' is a term used to refer to the observance of the birthday of the Islamic prophet Muhammad which occurs in Rabi' al-awwal, the third month in the Islamic calendar....
, Muhammad

Muhammad

Javanese calendar

Rabi' al-awwal

Rabi' al-awwal is the third month in the Islamic calendar. The prophet Muhammad is considered by Sunni Muslims to have been born on the twelfth of this month, and many Muslims celebrate the Mawlid on this day....
). On this celebration it is brought from the palace at 11 pm to two pavilions before the Great Mosque

Mosque

A mosque is a place of worship for followers of Islam. Muslims often refer to the mosque by its Arabic name, masjid, ? . The word "mosque" in English refers to all types of buildings dedicated for Islamic worship, although there is a distinction in Arabic between the smaller, privately owned mosque and the larger, "collective" mosque ,...
. It is played every day during that week except the Thursday night/Friday morning. On the eve of the birthday proper, it is returned at 11 pm.

The ensemble is said to have been created by Java's first Muslim prince, or one of the Wali Sanga

Wali Sanga

In Indonesian, and particularly Javanese beliefs, Wali Sanga are the founding saints of Islam in Indonesia, Indonesia . The word "wali" is Arabic , while the title "sunan" is Javanese language....
, in order to convert reluctant Javanese to the Islamic faith. However, it almost certainly already existed, though the music was probably used to propagate the faith. The style of the Sekaten ensemble is very loud and majestic, because it seeks to attract people to the mosque. It was said that if a saron

Saron (instrument)

The saron is a musical instrument of Indonesia, which is used in the gamelan. It typically consists of seven bronze bars placed on top of a resonating frame ....
player was able to play so hard that he broke one of the bronze keys, he would get a reward from the sultan.

The ensembles are kept in the royal palaces. Two sets dating to the 16th century are found in each of the kraton in Surakarta

Surakarta

Surakarta is an Indonesian city of approximately 500,000 people located in Central Java....
and Yogyakarta, and two in Cirebon

Cirebon

Cirebon is a city on the north coast of the Indonesian island of Java island. It is located in the province of West Java, approximately 297 km east of Jakarta, at ....
, one at Keraton Kasepuhan and one at Keraton Kanoman. Previously they were found in Madura

Madura

Madura is an Indonesian island off the northeastern coast of Java . The island comprises an area of approximately 4,250 km? and a population of about four million, most of whom are ethnicity Madurese people....
and Banten

Banten

Banten is a province of Indonesia, located at the western end of Java Island. Banten has an area of 9,160.7 km? and population of 9,083,114 . Banten was established in October 2000 after being separated from West Java province....
as well. The names of the sets at Yogyakarta are Kyai Guntur Madu and Kyai Naga Wilaga; those at Surakarta are Kyai Guntur Madu and Kyai Guntur Sari.

The pitches of the Sekaten ensemble is in pelog

Pelog

Pelog is one of the two essential scales of gamelan music native to Bali and Java , in Indonesia. The other scale commonly used is called slendro....
, but lower than standard ensembles today. In recent times the gamelan at STSI Surakarta commissioned a special Sekaten set that would be compatible with their other gamelan, to be used in new experimental compositions.

Historically, the Sekaten ensemble is notable in the development of the gamelan because it marked the change from the use of the bonang

Bonang

The bonang is a musical instrument used in the Javanese gamelan. It is a collection of small gongs placed horizontally onto strings in a wooden frame , either one or two rows wide....
as the most important melody instrument, as it is in the earlier Munggang

Munggang

Gamelan Munggang are considered among the most ancient gamelans of the Kraton of central Java. The ensemble of instruments consists of gong, kempul, kendang and horizontal gong chimes tunes to three pitches....
and Kodokngorek ensembles, to "leading" the ensemble by playing the pitches in anticipating patterns. In the ensemble, players sit on opposite sides of the bonang, which may have led to the modern configuration of pots, which is aimed at making octave

Octave

In music, an octave The octave is occasionally referred to as a diapason.The octave above an indicated note is sometimes abbreviated 8va, and the octave below 8vb....
s comfortable.

Gamelan Sekaten

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