Soul music
Like the Royal Festival Hall in London, we have our very own gamelan!
In mythology, this extraordinary musical ensemble was created in AD 230-ish by god and king, Sang Hyang Guru. He wanted to summon fellow deities to his palace on Mount Lawu, so he made three gongs and the gamelan was born.
Ours features eight gongs. Eighteen instruments in all require as many players and a lot of practice.
The Javanese Cultural Attaché came to name it, thereby investing it, we understand, with a bona fide soul.
Its name is Kyai Nogo Alit, meaning‘ venerable small dragon’.
The Sevenoaks gamelan is played every week by children from the region’ s primary schools. Often linked with lessons they’ re having at school, our music-making and dance workshops give real insight into Indonesian culture, and always make everyone smile.