This is a document of a live performance of a Balinese theatre troupe in a large outdoor ancient Roman Theatre in Lyon France. With a DVD of the performance and an accompanying cd, this souvenir is bound within 20 page hardcover book that meticulously documents much of the historical and contextual information as well as notes about each piece. It’s the story of Prince Rama and was specifically developed to pose a number of ethical dilemmas. But it’s also a celebration of the dance, the musics and the incredible masks of Bali. The troupe are in fact musicians using in the main the gamelan which is incredibly versatile, yet also gongs, bells and small sound effect instruments sold to tourists as toys. The music comes in sweeping swells interspersed by the uncanny dexterous narration of the dalang (storyteller) who develops a new voice for each character, everything from the most god awful growl to a screechy high pitched wail. He is forced to do this to speak for the dancers who cavort mutely in these incredibly expressive decorative masks conveying humans, eagles, ogres and monkeys. There’s also a large highly choreographed Kecak choir finale, which is amazingly powerful, alongside numerous musicians, so there are often upwards of fifty people on stage. At times it’s confusing yet it’s always compelling, a unique insight into such incredibly vivid ritual, folklore and musical traditions. What’s interesting though is that it was adapted by a French ethnomusicologist, cherry picking elements from numerous Bali traditions and grouping them together in an effort to make sense and be more dramatic to a western audience. It’s this act that places this piece somewhat in a netherworld, where to this western reviewer it’s still exotic and at times culturally incomprehensible, yet the knowledge that this has been adapted and manipulated by an outsider to appease and entertain the French audience makes things a little more difficult. That ugly word fusion doesn’t exist here, with all elements stemming from Balinese culture, and if the accompanying text and videos didn’t mention this fact there would be no way you could know unless you yourself are Balinese or an ethnomusicologist. But it’s an interesting question of why with a lot of culturally specific world music we have these strange beliefs that development, deviation or cross pollination with other elements or cultures somehow negatively effects the purity of the music, yet within western cultures these very acts are praised.
Extra Features:
Aside from the DVD and cd of the performance there’s some contextual video, the 30 minute The Adventure Begins in Bali, which details rehearsals and daily life in the village, a 20 minute doco The Thousand talents of the Dalang, which gives a unique insight into the skill of the storyteller and the respect he garners despite his young age. Finally there’s a 10 minute doco that serves as an explanation of the entire project.
Bob Baker Fish
