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Imbahl-1

Description

Imbahl-1 is a composition structured by forms taken from Javanese gamelan music. This music is characterised by the repeating rhythmic patterns that are played on the gongs, important instruments in the gamelan ensemble. Imbahl is actually the name for an Indonesian performing technique. Before this composition can be played some fundamental factors of an Indonesian understanding of music must be understood. The most practical is the fact that although the music seems to be traditionally notated in common time, the sound is actually considerably different. The Javanese structure their melodies in groups of four notes, but the accent is rather on the second and fourth notes of the bar. As such, the ‘gongs’ which help to structure the music fall always on the last beat of the melody. This leads the melody back to the beginning where it works its way again through the same note series. Variation in gamelan music is brought about through a gradual changing of the entire rhythmic macro-structure rather than sudden changes and introduction of new material as is common in Western music. When the melody slows, it becomes possible for players to introduce new and more rhythmically complex melodies or accompaniment passages. The original melody, although usually unrecognisable when the composition has reached its slowest point, remains always present structuring the music. The entire first half of this composition is structured in this way.

The repeating gong patterns begin very fast with relatively simple accompaniment passages from the other performers, and as it gradually slows and goes through a number of different rhythmic levels, other instrumental layers fade in and out as the slower tempo allows. The reaching of a new tempo brings about sudden and surprising changes. The illustration below demonstrates the gong pattern continuously repeated by the piano player. Another important common factor with Indonesian gamelan is the inclusion of an improvisory element. Certain of the divisions within the composition (specified by the letters from A-Z) are repeated an unspecified number of times. Of course, the performers are free to specify the number of repeats if necessary. The number of repeats used in the first performance are listed overleaf as part of a description of the entire structure of the work. Once these simple conventions of Javanese music are understood the first half of the composition can be played. It is important to note that the second half of the composition (from X) changes suddenly back to traditional Western rhythms, although when the speed changes it is always a gradual process. At the beginning of X the viola players are required to clap the notated rhythms.

The purpose of the following illustration is to demonstrate the rhythmic/melodic structure adopted in the first half of the composition. It can be seen that the notes accented by the second viola reflect directly the ‘gong’ notes played on the piano, leading always to the final gong on the last beat. The first viola plays a more complicated rhythmic structure, where the notes are in groups of four quavers rather than crotchets. When the composition becomes more complicated, groups of semiquavers are played (and even semidemiquavers through the imbahl). Once it has been realized that the stress is always put on the last of a group of four notes, these passages are easy to play.

The imbahl form is adopted two times during the composition. Imbahl is characterised by the fact that one of the players begins to play a melody on the offbeat. Therefore through the combination of the melody on the onbeat and the melody on the offbeat, an entirely new melody is formed creating an unusual and hypnotic sound texture. The first appearance begins in L where Viola 1 elaborates the standard melody by playing a different melody on the offbeat. The second appearance is considerably more complicated. Its presence is first felt when both viola players are playing different semiquaver melodies but at the same time. At S the rhythm slows considerably, and suddenly at the beginning of T Viola jumps to the offbeat and a whole new melodic texture is created by the combination of the two melodies, even though the two violas are essentially playing the same music as they were previously. Below is an illustration of the most complex appearance of imbahl:

Structure

The entries below begin with first the letter group followed by the speed at which the section is played. The numbers within the [ ] brackets list first the number of bars within the section and then the number of times the sections were repeated on the first performance. This repetition pattern does not need to be followed for future performances. In fact the performers can choose the number of repetitions for the following divisions: C, F, H, K, M, P, R, T. Below the numbers is a short description of what happens in the specified division.

A: 176 [25x1]

Cello solo.

B: 352 [35x1]

Viola 2, cello and piano develop gong pattern.

C: 352 [5x4]

Viola 1 enters.

D: 352-240 [5x1]

Viola 2 fades out, gradually slows.

E: 240 [5x1]

Viola 2 fades in with crotchet melody.

F: 240 [5x4]

G: 240-176 [5x1]

Both violas fade out, gradually slows.

H: 176 [5x4]

Viola 1 plays quaver melody.

Viola 2 plays crotchet melody but down an octave.

I: 176-100 [5x1]

Both violas fade out, gradually slows.

J: 100 [5x1]

Both violas play quaver melody.

Piano fades in with the semiquaver melody.

K: 100 [5x4]

L: 100 [10x1]

Viola 1 fades out and fades back with Imbahl melody 1.

M: 100 [5x3]

N: 100-72 [5x1]

Viola 2 fades out, gradually slows.

O: 72 [5x1]

Viola 2 fades back with imbahl melody 2(a).

P: 72 [5x3]

Q: 72 [10x1]

Viola 1 fades out, and fades back with the Imbahl melody 2(b), but this

time on the count.

R: 72 [5x3]

S: 72-40 [5x1]

Both violas fade out, gradually slows.

T: 40 [5x4]

Viola 1 jumps to the off count with the semiquaver melody, creating a

new ‘Imbahl’ melody with Viola 2.

Piano begins to play high note accompaniment.

Cello begins quaver accompaniment.

U: 40 [5x1]

Piano high note accompaniment fades out.

V: 40-100 [5x1]

Viola 1 fades out, speeds up.

W: 100-132-176-240-152 [60x1]

5 - Viola 2 fades out, viola 1 plays crotchet melody, speeds up.

5 - Viola 2 plays crotchet melody, Viola 1 the simplest pattern.

Piano fades out on the semiquaver melody, speeds up.

5 - Viola 1+2 play the simplest pattern, speeds up.

10 - Viola one fades out, then viola 2.

Cello changes to crotchet melody, speeds up.

35 - Development of chord sequence reflecting the opening, but here

with the cello accompanying, speeds up towards the end.

X: [152] 1 - All instruments playing, violas clapping rhythms

13 - Viola 1 clapping fades out (over 2 sequences).

21 - Piano extends chord sequence in bass.

25 - Viola 2 clapping fades out (over 2 sequences).

29 - Piano + cello dim.

Viola 1 fades in with new melody.

33 - Piano extends sequence.

53 - Viola 2 fades in with new melody.

61 - Piano extends sequence.

101 - All instruments crescendo.

109 - Climactic crescendo with new melody from the violas.

Y: [76] 1 - Cello plays note sequence, piano accompanies with a new pattern.

9 - Viola 1 plays 5 bar melodic sequence.

17 - Melodic sequence is extended into 8 bars.

29 - Viola 2 begins to play melodic sequence, but in canon with viola 1.

49 - Gradually speeds up, both violas develop a slightly simpler melody.

[152] 65 - Melodies become still simpler.

81 - Gradually speeds up, both violas crescendo.

[216] 93 - Violas melodies become even simpler.

101 - Gradually speeds up, both violas playing simple crotchet melodies.

Z: [304] 3 bar finale

Background

I first encountered Indonesian gamelan in the music department of the university in which I studied. Feeling stifled by the conservative Western musical traditions that were being forced upon me at the time, traditions that seemed to have nothing to do with my own musical life in Australia, I was longing to try something new. Despite the attraction and a great desire to learn, it was no easy task to enter a completely different musical world, different on almost every musical level - from notation through performance methods to the underlying musical philosophy. After travelling a number of times to Indonesia (which lies fairly close to the coast of Western Australia) I had the possibility of seeing the full picture: The notion of a ‘musical culture’ is largely alien, and the gamelan forms a part every everyday Indonesian life, inseparable from theatre, dance, and puppetry. The music which I had grappled for so long to understand did not actually exist on its own but as an essential part of the culture that surrounded it. This was very important for me as I could finally find a connection between my theatre work and the attraction to Indonesian music, a music that existed as an essential part of all performance. With such an attraction to the music, I have tried a number of times to write musical pieces that adopt structures taken from the Javanese gamelan. In relation to this work, however, the influences go a little deeper. This composition was initially composed as a part of a larger theatre composition for the same ensemble. This composition would have adopted a new attitude to the use of language in performance and the rhythms in the second section were designed to be used in combination with Russian futurist rhythmic texts. In this type of work I wanted to create a total concept of composition that went beyond simply the combination of sounds. It was composed for a first performance in Moscow, but because of time difficulties the complete conception of the theatre work was never completed. In any case, this is possible the last time that I will produce a completely ‘musical’ composition in the traditional Western sense of this concept.