Gambang kromong is a traditional orchestra of

Betawi people Betawi people, Batavi, or Batavians (''Orang Betawi'' in Indonesian, meaning "people of Batavia"), are an Austronesian ethnic group native to the city of Jakarta and its immediate outskirts, as such often described as the inhabitants of the ...

which is a blend of

gamelan Gamelan (; ; , ; ) is the traditional musical ensemble, ensemble music of the Javanese people, Javanese, Sundanese people, Sundanese, and Balinese people, Balinese peoples of Indonesia, made up predominantly of percussion instrument, per ...

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

Peranakan The Peranakan Chinese () are an ethnic group defined by their genealogical descent from the first waves of Southern Chinese settlers to maritime Southeast Asia, known as Nanyang (region), Nanyang (), namely the British Empire, British, Portugu ...

. 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 Music of Indonesia, Indonesian musical instrument used in the Javanese people, Javanese gamelan. It is a collection of small gongs (sometimes called "kettles" or "pots") placed horizontally onto strings in a wooden frame (''r ...

), two Chinese

rebab ''Rebab'' (, ''rabāba'', variously spelled ''rebap'', ''rubob'', ''rebeb'', ''rababa'', ''rabeba'', ''robab'', ''rubab'', ''rebob'', etc) is the name of several related string instruments that independently spread via Islamic trading rout ...

-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 A ''kendang'' or ''gendang'' (, , , Tausug/Bajau/ Maranao: ''gandang'', Bugis: ''gendrang'' and Makassar: ''gandrang'' or ''ganrang'') is a two-headed drum used by people from the Indonesian Archipelago. The kendang is one of the primary ins ...

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

Characteristic

Gambang kromong used the Chinese scale instead of the local

slendro Slendro () is one of the essential tuning systems used in gamelan instruments that have pentatonic scale (music), scale. Based on Javanese people, Javanese mythology, the Slendro Gamelan tuning system is older than the ''pélog'' tuning system. ...

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 theatre.

References

{{Gamelan Gamelan ensembles and genres Music of West Java