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With the jingle-jangle of musical notes resonating alongside glittering costumes, the "Iridescent Balinese Gamelan and Dance" performed by Gong Tri Pitaka from Indonesia will bring to local audiences the dazzling gamelan tradition that has stirred the Western music world.
Gong Tri Pitaka has previously appeared in France and the Netherlands. For its Hong Kong debut, the ensemble will showcase North Bali's vitality and striking musical culture.
"Iridescent Balinese Gamelan and Dance" is one of the highlights of the World Cultures Festival 2011 - Enchanting Arts of Asia, presented by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department. The concert will be staged on October 28 at 8pm at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre Studio Theatre.
Ever since Indonesian gamelan music was played at the Paris Expo in 1889, the shimmering sounds have had a great effect on Western music. Composers Claude Debussy, Olivier Messiaen, Benjamin Britten, John Cage and Philip Glass are just some of those who have been inspired by its pentatonic scales, cyclical melodies and interlocking patterns. Gamelan has also had an influence on rock bands, video game music, movies and television soundtracks, most famously in the score for the Japanese animation film "Akira".
Balinese gamelan, one of the two major Indonesian gamelan traditions, sees dance and music as inseparable. It is distinguished by its dramatic shifts in tempo and dynamics, brilliant melodies and fast elaborations. Its innovative repertoire has also put this form of gamelan music under the spotlight in the contemporary music world. North Bali's gamelan "gong kebyar", literally "to burst open, as a flower", is the most dramatic of the island's gamelan styles, reputed for its high tempo and explosive bursts of sound.
The renowned Gong Tri Pitaka from North Bali will present for local audiences "gong kebyar" repertoire from different periods and in different styles. This includes "Taruna Jaya", "Victorious Youth", one of the formative dance works, and a new work created by one of the ensemble's art directors, I Putu Putrawan, offering a comprehensive picture of Balinese gamelan's innovative sounds.
A meet-the-artist session will be held after the performance on October 28. There will also be a free lecture demonstration and foyer performance. Details are as follows:
Lecture demonstration
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Date: October 26
Time: 8pm to 9.30pm
Venue: Hong Kong Cultural Centre Studio Theatre
Content: Professor I Wayan Dibia, a renowned dancer and academic from Bali, will introduce the history and characteristics of gamelan music and dance, as well as the famous choral singing of Kecak, or "Monkey Chant". The interactive session will give participants a total immersion experience for this famous music genre from Bali.
Remarks: The lecture demonstration will be conducted in English. Limited seats are available on a first-come, first-served basis.
Foyer performance
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Date: October 29
Time: 5pm
Venue: Hong Kong Cultural Centre Foyer
Tickets for "Iridescent Balinese Gamelan and Dance" priced at $240, $180 and $130 are now available at URBTIX. Half-price tickets are available for full-time students, senior citizens aged 60 or above, people with disabilities and their minders, and Comprehensive Social Security Assistance recipients. Other booking discounts of up to 20 per cent are available.
Programme brochures of the World Cultures Festival 2011 - Enchanting Arts of Asia are available at URBTIX outlets or at the website, www.worldfestival.gov.hk.
For programme enquiries, call 2370 1044. Internet bookings can be made at www.urbtix.hk. For credit card telephone bookings, call 2111 5999.
Ends/Friday, September 2, 2011
Issued at HKT 18:12
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