Admission £5/£2.50 concessions

Sekar Enggal is an ensemble based at City University, which performs music from Sunda (West Java) for gamelan degung.  A gamelan is an ensemble from Indonesia which consists primarily of bronze instruments such as large hanging gongs, smaller gong kettles suspended horizontally, and metallophones, as well as a xylophone, drums, voices and a fiddle or flute.  Gamelan degung is normally found only in West Java, and originated as a courtly entertainment played only in the palaces of the aristocracy.  After Indonesian Independence in 1945 degung began to be enjoyed by the wider populace.  Consequently the music played on degung was greatly enriched through the inclusion of other types of repertoire.

Sekar Enggal will play a wide range of traditional and modern Sundanese music including 'degung klasik' (the old style), 'degung kawih' (tuneful pieces commonly heard at weddings and other festivities), 'ketuk tilu' (music for street dance), pieces borrowed from gamelan salendro, and 'degung instrumental' (catchy arrangements of pop Sunda hits).  The group is directed by Simon Cook, who began playing gamelan in the Netherlands in 1979, and spent 12 years in Indonesia studying gamelan.  For further information on the group and Sundanese music generally, visit www.sekarenggal.co.uk