Add Category
Updated
Records of some of Bali's ancient cultural traditions were at risk of being wiped from modern memory — until now.
In 1928, representatives from two German record companies went to Bali to record gamelan (tuned percussion instruments) and vocal music. They produced the only known physical copies of Balinese music prior to World War II.
While the records failed to sell on the island, they unwittingly captured something of enduring international significance. Through a series of chance events — as well as a concerted global scholarly effort — the original 1928 recordings have now brought a "golden age" of Balinese music to local and world attention.
The story of how the recordings were unearthed begins in the 1930s, when composer Colin McPhee heard them in New York. He was so captivated, he decided to put aside his own promising career and travel to Bali.
McPhee arrived in a Bali during an artistic revolution. The fall of the ancient Balinese kingdoms resulting from traumatic Dutch military invasions of 1906 and 1908 had caused Balinese arts to move from the royal courts to local villages.
In his memoir, A House in Bali, McPhee wrote of the powerful spell of Balinese music, with local gamelan groups competing to come up with new pieces. He recounts how some musicians would hide and secretly listen to other groups rehearsing so they could take new compositions back to their own villages.
And while most of the original German recordings have been destroyed, McPhee kept his copies.
Now US ethnomusicologist Edward Herbst and his collaborators on the Bali 1928 project have searched archives, libraries, universities and personal records around the world to recover as many as possible.
'Bali 1928' project
Spurred by a desire to bring knowledge of Balinese artists and lost styles back to Bali and the world, Herbst worked with New York's Arbiter of Cultural Traditions to restore and republish the 1928 recordings.
They even managed to link the recordings to silent films of musicians and dancers shot in the 1930s by McPhee, Mexican artist Miguel Covarrubias and Swedish dance pioneer Rolf de Maré.
"We are very fortunate because most of the records that were acquired by McPhee made their way to the UCLA archives and the McPhee estate in the USA," says Marlowe Bandem, the Bali 1928 Coordinator.
"His collections are a large part of the records that have been repatriated by the team back to Bali."
Inspiring the next generation
Listening to these recordings and watching the films made available by Bali 1928, it is as if the musicians and dancers of the 1920s somehow knew they were communicating with future generations.
"I think that's an important aspect of the project, to see how composers such as Made Regog, Wayan Lotring and others became such a creative force during the 1930s," says Bandem.
"And now that has become an inspiration for future creations."
Through the recordings, some Balinese musicians have learned the music of their grandparents for the first time.
"This material is there to inspire the Balinese people and the world," says Bandem.
"We want the Balinese people, especially youngsters now, to understand that there has been greatness in the development of our culture, and that we can learn from our maestros.
"Not just about the techniques of how they dance, how they compose, but about the greatness that comes from being open. Embrace the world, do not be afraid of new ideas. We want this material to encourage new creations on a par with what our ancestors were doing less than 100 years ago."
How you can contribute to Bali 1928
Starting in 2001, the Bali 1928 restoration and repatriation project focused on the gamelan, sung poetry and dance-drama music recorded in Bali before World War II, along with related silent films and photographs.
But these days, Bandem is keen to extend the project with help from anyone who might have any useful cultural artefacts from Bali in the early part of last century.
"We hope others will also help us grow the collection by giving us access to any objects or information that will help us unearth the past for a creative future," he says.
Do you have Balinese cultural artefacts from the early 20th century? If you have something you think might be valuable to today's Balinese community, contact the Bali 1928 Project or email info@bali1928.net.
Topics: music, arts-and-entertainment, dance, community-and-society, 20th-century, history, bali
First posted