Sekar Suling (2009)
Freely (4:39)
Andrew Timar, suling; Evergreen Club Contemporary Gamelan
A gamelan is an Indonesian musical ensemble, mostly containing tuned metal percussion instruments. However, not all the instruments are metallic or percussive: the suling is an end-blown bamboo flute. It was this instrument that inspired my Sekar Suling (“suling song”). Although the suling is not usually treated as a solo instrument in traditional Indonesian music, I approached the challenge of writing for it as a Western composer, creating a work in which the suling is placed in a position of prominence. I wrote this piece for the Toronto-based suling player Andrew Timar, who is a member of the Evergreen Club Contemporary Gamelan, Canada’s first professional gamelan.
© Colin Eatock 2009
Andrew Timar, suling; Evergreen Club Contemporary Gamelan
A gamelan is an Indonesian musical ensemble, mostly containing tuned metal percussion instruments. However, not all the instruments are metallic or percussive: the suling is an end-blown bamboo flute. It was this instrument that inspired my Sekar Suling (“suling song”). Although the suling is not usually treated as a solo instrument in traditional Indonesian music, I approached the challenge of writing for it as a Western composer, creating a work in which the suling is placed in a position of prominence. I wrote this piece for the Toronto-based suling player Andrew Timar, who is a member of the Evergreen Club Contemporary Gamelan, Canada’s first professional gamelan.
© Colin Eatock 2009
