It was a duel: A duel of gending gamelan melodies between two reputable composers '€” Blacius Subono and Dedek Wahyudi.

The '€œduel'€ was recently held at the Vastenburg Fort in Surakarta, Central Java, in a program entitled Gamelan Grand Concert: Reinventing Gamelan.

That evening, both composers offered pieces of entrancing music that transformed '€” what some regard as '€” outdated gamelan tunes into contemporary creations.

In the hands of Subono and Dedek, the gamelan melodies became transformed the traditional performance into a pop music gig.

The crowds danced as songs were rendered in dynamic rhythms and many of the audience were transfixed by the show until the closing bell at midnight.

Surakarta Mayor FX Hadi Rudyatmo praised the event, the first of its kind in the city. '€œIn many countries, gamelan music is treasured. In our own country, however, gamelan is often forgotten about,'€ he said when opening the concert.

Organized by Komunitas Lestari Gamelan, a gamelan preservation society, the concert involved 150 musicians and sinden (gamelan singers).

Dedek and his gamelan orchestra opened the concert, with Sruti Respati as the main sinden initially singing in a slow tempo before reaching high-pitch tones following the rapid gamelan percussion sounds.

The lyrics of this gending piece in slendro-pelog (pentatonic-diatonic) scales told the tale of gamelan being sidelined in favor of modern musical genres.

In between gamelan melodies, dance and parody group Sahita lit up the room, amusing the audience with their brand of fresh humor.

In '€œNusantara Indah'€ (Beautiful Indonesia), Dedek intertwined gamelan and rap music. Not only Sruti, this melody also involved contemporary sinden with world gamelan festival experience, such as Cahwati, Marsella and Yeni Arama.

The pentatonic-diatonic combination in this composition was lapped up by the audience, with heavy rounds of applause throughout the gending performance.

Subono followed with '€œKutha Solo'€ (Solo city), describing the beauty of Surakarta by its popular name.

Noted choreographer Mugiyono Kasido added color to the performance with his rendition of a flowing, slow Kris dance.

In '€œLingga Yoni'€ (Lingam Yoni), the melody was equally appealing: Subono blended in a soothing poetry-like song and wayang wahyu (religious shadow puppet show). Subono is a renowned composer and puppet master specializing in biblical wayang.

The predominantly slow-rhythm gave rise to a created a serene and mystical ambience, which was enhanced by the soft voice of Cahwati.

Dedek later presented '€œDemonya si Tukang Bonang'€, which translates as a demo of bonang (two rows of small-gong shaped instruments)

Along with musician Suraji of the Indonesian Art Institute (ISI), Dedek '€” who is also Subono'€™s nephew '€” then engaged in a bonang jam session within the agile, lively style of Balinese music. The enchanting bonang melody was fused with the comforting intermittent sound of a saxophone, displaying the fusion between gamelan and other genres, like jazz and blues.

The concert wounded up with a Dedek-Subono collaboration in '€œNgablak Njeplak'€ (Easier said than done); an allusion to the behavior of legislative candidates who are fond of making promises in their election campaigns.

The joint arrangement was opened with Cahwati'€™s poetry-like song, which conveyed the message that the public should be careful when choosing legislative hopefuls.

According to Dedek, '€œNgablak Njeplak'€ was co-created with Subono and aimed to warn prospective voters not to be tempted by false promises.

'€œNever refrain from voting. But people should be selective,'€ Dedek says.

Photos by Ganug Nugroho Adi

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