Gambang kromong is a traditional orchestra of

Betawi people Betawi may refer to: *Betawi people *Betawi language * Betawi cuisine *Betawi mask dance See also * Batavia (disambiguation) * Batavi (disambiguation) Batavi may refer to: *Batavi (Germanic tribe) **Revolt of the Batavi *Batavi (military unit) *Ba ...

which is a blend of

gamelan Gamelan () ( jv, ꦒꦩꦼꦭꦤ꧀, su, ᮌᮙᮨᮜᮔ᮪, ban, ᬕᬫᭂᬮᬦ᭄) is the traditional ensemble music of the Javanese, Sundanese, and Balinese peoples of Indonesia, made up predominantly of percussive instruments. T ...

, Western music and Chinese-style pentatonic base tones. Gambang kromong is closely associated with the Chinese Betawi community, especially the Chinese

Peranakan The Peranakans () are an ethnic group defined by their genealogical descent from the first waves of Southern Chinese settlers to maritime Southeast Asia, known as Nanyang (), namely the British Colonial ruled ports in the Malay Peninsula, th ...

. It was popular in the 1930s.

Instruments

Gambang kromong orchestral instruments consists of: gambang kayu (a xylophone-like instrument), kromong (a set of 5 toned

bonang The bonang is an Indonesian musical instrument used in the Javanese gamelan. It is a collection of small gongs (sometimes called "kettles" or "pots") placed horizontally onto strings in a wooden frame (''rancak''), either one or two rows wi ...

), two Chinese

rebab The ''rebab'' ( ar, ربابة, ''rabāba'', variously spelled ''rebap'', ''rubob'', ''rebeb'', ''rababa'', ''rabeba'', ''robab'', ''rubab'', ''rebob'', etc) is the name of several related string instruments that independently spread via I ...

-like instruments called ''ohyan'' and ''gihyan'' with its resonator made out of a small coconut shell, a diatonic pitched flute that is blown crosswise, kenong and

gendang Kendang or Gendang ( jv, ꦏꦼꦤ꧀ꦝꦁ, translit=Kendhang, su, ᮊᮨᮔ᮪ᮓᮀ, translit=Kendang, ban, ᬓᬾᬦ᭄ᬤᬂ, translit=Kendang, Tausug/Bajau Maranao: ''Gandang'', Bugis: ''Gendrang'' and Makassar: ''Gandrang'' or ''Ganra ...

drums. Western instruments such as trumpets, guitars, violins, and saxophones may also be included.

History

Nie Hoe Kong, Kapitein der Chinezen, a musician and Dutch-appointed leader of the Chinese community in mid 18th-century

Batavia Batavia may refer to: Historical places * Batavia (region), a land inhabited by the Batavian people during the Roman Empire, today part of the Netherlands * Batavia, Dutch East Indies, present-day Jakarta, the former capital of the Dutch East In ...

, is considered one of the early figures who developed the Gambang kromong. In its first appearance in Batavia, the orchestra was called ''

gambang A gambang, properly called a gambang kayu ('wooden gambang') is a xylophone-like instrument used among people of Indonesia in gamelan and kulintang, with wooden bars as opposed to the metallic ones of the more typical metallophones in a gamelan. ...

''. Later in the beginning of the 20th-century, they began to use additional instruments, the

or kromong, so it is called ''gambang kromong''. During that period, almost every part of Batavia had a gambang kromong orchestra. Gambang Kromong reached their peak of popularity around 1937. One of the popular groups was ''Gambang Kromong Ngo Hong Lao'', whose players were all ethnic Chinese people. The instruments used in the orchestral group were considered to be the most extensive. For the wealthy Chinese, it was a custom to liven up a party by calling a gambang kromong orchestra, usually accompanying a song. Gambang kromong was also performed during the ''

Cap Go Meh The Lantern Festival ( zh, t=元宵節, s=元宵节, first=t, hp=Yuánxiāo jié), also called Shangyuan Festival ( zh, t=上元節, s=上元节, first=t, hp=Shàngyuán jié), is a Chinese traditional festival celebrated on the fifteenth d ...

'' festival, sometimes with plays.

Characteristic

Gambang kromong used the Chinese scale instead of the local

slendro Slendro ( jv, ꦱ꧀ꦭꦺꦤ꧀ꦢꦿꦺꦴ, ban, slendro, translit=Sléndro) ( su, salendro, translit=Saléndro) is one of the essential tuning systems used in gamelan instruments that have pentatonic scale. Based on Javanese mythology, ...

typical in Javanese, Sundanese, or Balinese gamelan. The set appears in the xylophone-like instrument gambang, used in the orchestra. In addition to accompanying songs, Gambang Kromong usually accompanies social dances such as the Cokek dance, a newly created performance dance as well as in

Lenong ''Lenong'' is a traditional theatrical form of the Betawi people in Jakarta, Indonesia. Description ''Lenong'' is a form of theatre traditional to the Betawi people of Jakarta, Indonesia. Dialogue is generally in the Betawi dialect. Actions and ...

theatre.

References

{{Gamelan Gamelan ensembles and genres Music of West Java