Music in Bali is a volume in the Global Music Series, edited by Bonnie Wade and Patricia Shehan Campbell. This volume, appropriate for use in undergraduate, introductory courses on world music or ethnomusicology, introduces the musical traditions of Bali. The text discusses the ensemble tradition of Balinese music, underscoring the communal nature of the social organization of Bali. By describing various performances - from a temple ceremony, to a shadow puppet performance, to a masked dance drama - Gold surveys the range of performance contexts from the highly sacred to the secular. Stressing the vitality and centrality of music in Bali, the text describes the interconnectedness of the layers of the Balinese musical tradition, illustrating the integration of music, dance, theater and ritual in Balinese society. Drawing on over 25 years of study of Balinese music and shadow-puppetry, author Lisa Gold presents contemporary Balinese performance within its cultural and historical context, linking Bali's rich past to its present role in a modern, globilized society.
Through a careful examination of musical traditions and guided listening, Gold illustrates how new compositions borrow or reuse material from earlier traditions while also allowing for individual expression and innovation in a vibrant contemporary culture.
Author Biography
Lisa Gold teaches at UC Berkeley and the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, and has taught at Mills College, Colorado College, and San Jose State University. She has been studying, performing, and teaching Balinese and Javanese music since the 1970s, and has conducted extensive field research in Bali and Java. She holds a Ph.D. in Ethnomusicology from UC Berkeley with a specialization in Balinese music in wayang kulit (shadow puppet performance) and ritual, with a secondary specialization in folk music of the British Isles. She is a performing member of the Bay Area's Gamelan Gender Wayang, Gamelan Sekar Jaya, Gadung Kasturi, Gamelan Sari Raras, and Shadowlight, and has directed and performed in concerts of Lou Harrison's music for gamelan. She is the author of the Bali article in the New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians.