Tembang sunda, also called seni mamaos cianjuran, is a style of classical vocal music that originated in the
Priangan
Parahyangan ( su, ᮕᮛᮠᮡᮀᮠᮔ᮪; Bantenese: Priangan; Dutch: Preanger) is a cultural and mountainous region in West Java province on the Indonesian island of Java. Covering a little less than one sixth of Java, it is the heartla ...
highland of western
Java
Java (; id, Jawa, ; jv, ꦗꦮ; su, ) is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea to the north. With a population of 151.6 million people, Java is the world's List ...
. Unlike Sundanese
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 ...
music, tembang sunda was developed in the court of the regent
Kabupaten
A regency ( id, kabupaten), sometimes incorrectly referred to as a district, is an administrative division of Indonesia, directly under a province and on the same level with city (''kota''). Regencies is divided into districts (''Kecamatan'', ''D ...
Cianjur
Cianjur ( su, ᮎᮤᮃᮔ᮪ᮏᮥᮁ) is a town and district in the West Java province of Indonesia, and is the seat of Cianjur Regency. The district of Cianjur is located along one of the main roads between Jakarta (120 km to the northwe ...
during the Dutch colonial period (mid-nineteenth century). The traditional vocal portion is sung free verse poetry, the instrumental accompaniment being performed on kacapi (
zither
Zithers (; , from the Greek word ''cithara'') are a class of stringed instruments. Historically, the name has been applied to any instrument of the psaltery family, or to an instrument consisting of many strings stretched across a thin, flat bo ...
), suling (
bamboo flute
The bamboo flute, especially the bone flute, is one of the oldest musical instruments known. Examples of Paleolithic bone flutes have survived for more than 40,000 years, to be discovered by archaeologists. While the oldest flutes currently kno ...
) and sometimes, rebab (
violin
The violin, sometimes known as a ''fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone (string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in the family in regular ...
). A more modern, and metrical, form of lyrics exists that is called
panambih.
Kacapi suling
Kacapi suling is a form of Sundanese music from Indonesia. It is essentially '' tembang Sunda'' minus vocals, and also at interludes between songs at a typical Tembang Sunda performance. The higher pitched kacapi rincik, the lower pitched kaca ...
is played to ornament the vocals, and also at interludes between songs at a typical Tembang Sunda performance. Two
kacapi
The kacapi ( su, ᮊᮎᮕᮤ) is a traditional zither of Sundanese people in Indonesia. This musical instrument is similiar to Chinese , Japanese ''koto'', the Mongolian , the Korean , the Vietnamese and the Kazakh jetigen
The jetigen ( kk ...
s (
box zither
The box zither is a class of stringed instrument in the form of a trapezoid-shaped or rectangular, hollow box. The strings of the box zither are either struck with light hammers or plucked. Among the most popular plucked box zithers are the Arab ...
s), the higher pitched
kacapi rincik
The kacapi ( su, ᮊᮎᮕᮤ) is a traditional zither of Sundanese people in Indonesia. This musical instrument is similiar to Chinese , Japanese ''koto'', the Mongolian , the Korean , the Vietnamese and the Kazakh jetigen. The kacapi played ...
and the lower pitched , and the
suling
The suling or seruling (Sundanese: ) is a musical instrument of the Sundanese people in western Java, Indonesia. It is used in the Degung ensemble. Bamboo ring flute can also be found in Southeast Asian, especially in Brunei, Indonesia, Mala ...
flute are the instruments used for kacapi suling.
[ Kacapi suling has instrumental pieces performed in two different scales; the first four in laras pelog convey a light mood, the last four in laras sorog are more slow and grave. The change to laras sorog usually takes place at midnight and lasts til sunrise.
]
See also
*West Java
West Java ( id, Jawa Barat, su, ᮏᮝ ᮊᮥᮜᮧᮔ᮪, romanized ''Jawa Kulon'') is a province of Indonesia on the western part of the island of Java, with its provincial capital in Bandung. West Java is bordered by the province of Banten ...
*Pantun Sunda Pantun Sunda is a type of Sundanese oral narrative performance interspersed with songs and music played on a ''kacapi'', a kind of zither. A pantun is intended to be recited during an evening-length performance during which a single performer relat ...
*Sunda kingdom
The Sunda Kingdom ( su, , Karajaan Sunda, ) was a Sundanese Hindu kingdom located in the western portion of the island of Java from 669 to around 1579, covering the area of present-day Banten, Jakarta, West Java, and the western part of Centra ...
*Music of Indonesia
As it is a country with many different tribes and ethnic groups, the music of Indonesia ( id, Musik Indonesia) itself is also very diverse, coming in hundreds of different forms and styles. Every region have its own culture and art, and as a r ...
References
Further reading
*
External links
A Tembang Sunda performance
Indonesian music
Sundanese music
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