Gamelan Sulukala
Annabel
Annabel takes its inspiration from handweaving patterns. The relationship is more than visual: both weaving and gamelan make expressive use of number-based patterns.
View PDF scoreThe ensemble
A community of fifteen players.
These pieces were written for Gamelan Sulukala, formerly at Goddard College and now a community ensemble in Montpelier, Vermont. Its music is made through the interweaving patterns, cycles, and shared pulse of a full court-style Javanese gamelan.
Gamelan Sulukala brings together tuned gongs, metallophones, drums, and other instruments. Its interlocking parts, cyclical forms, and tuning create a musical world quite different from Western concert music.
The scores and recordings here are offered as ways into the music; they do not attempt to force the pieces into a conventional Western score-video format.
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Gamelan Sulukala
Swedish Lace
Also inspired by a handweaving pattern, Swedish Lace explores the kinship between woven design and the numerical patterns used in gamelan music.
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Gamelan Sulukala
Gertrude’s Fancy
A third piece inspired by handweaving patterns, continuing the dialogue between their patterned structures and those of gamelan.
View PDF scorePDF score available.Bulgarian tune in a new setting
Gankino
A setting of a Bulgarian dance tune for Javanese gamelan—a meeting of a lively Balkan melody with the color and rhythmic world of Gamelan Sulukala.
View PDF scoreA new work
14-4 (working title)
Steven’s most recent gamelan composition began with a dream: its opening section arrived first, and the piece grew from there. A final title may come later.
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Please contact Steven Light with errors, suggestions, requests for compositions, or instrument customization at any time.