Summary: | This paper is concerned with recent developments in the style of Balinese
Gamelan known as Tabuh Kreasi Gong Kebyar. Specifically, the focus is on the
repertoire of new compositions performed at the annual Bali Arts Festival in the last
twenty years. The first section will explore the many influences that have played a role
in crafting the form and function of the music as it is today, namely the
institutionalization of the arts, national cultural mandates, the competitive performance
context of the festival and other aspects of modernization in Bali. The second half will be
an analysis of a selection of pieces through this time period, focusing on development of
formal structure and the emergence of new textures as well as harmonic and metric
relationships.
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