The Selonding/Salonding/Selunding is one of the oldest ensembles in Balinese music, the music dates back to the Megapahit Kingdom some 600 years ago.These groups are rarely seen nowadays and are used mainly for sacred ceremonies at the Temples. The Sacred Selunding instruments as in the temple Besakih are not allowed to be retuned and are only played on special occasions. I noticed the musicians brought their own Selunding instruments as the temple instruments are out of tune and rarely played, - Richard
Selonding music is almost exclusively Bali Aga and has been immersed in myth and mystery until very recently. The instruments use a seven tone scale and consist of homogenous iron slabs placed over box trough resonators. The bars are played with large hammers, except for the bass instruments which are struck with sticks resembling, not coincidentally, human thigh bones. The ensemble also includes a small ceng ceng for color. The boxes which the bars are mounted on are set up in such a way as to be combinable with other boxes to produce full instruments. In this way, the ensemble can change form just by sliding a few things around. Generally, seven players use the instruments in various combinations. (www.balibeyond.com)
Selunding - Bali. A cross between Gender and Saron, and possibly a historical bridge between the two instruments, Selunding has suspended iron bars over a trough resonator. The largest instruments feature heavy iron bars as gongs. The instruments of Salunding are modular with only four or eight bars per instrument and may be configured in a variety of ways.
Ketut Suardana in the foreground playing
the Njong Njong Gedenan.
The Bass instruments are called Gong Gede
and Gong Cenik. Struck with upturned timber mallets.
In the foreground are
two instruments called Njong Njong.
The largest of the Selunding instruments
is called the Gong Gede.
Njong Njong Gedenan plays the melody of the Selunding.It is struck
with timber mallets.
Richard recording Selunding at Yayasan
Suara Dana
Salonding music is almost exclusively
Bali Aga
The Yayasan Suara Dana Salonding playing at one
of the important ceremonies.
The instruments use a seven tone scale
and are made of iron slabs placed over box trough resonators.
