Homage to Wayan Lotring

This double CD features the only surviving clear recordings of one of the most important Balinese musicians of modern times, Wayan Lotring. Lotring grew up playing musical accompaniment to the shadow puppet theatre with his family. Over time his fame grew as both a dancer and composer, while he led gamelan performances playing the kendang (drum). These recordings date from 1972; Wayang and his group were already retired, but they were brought together by Ocora to record his most famous repertoire.

Disc one is a mix of free form pieces and shorter dance tunes. Disc two consists of a pair of famous dance suites originally composed by Lotring (based on ancient melodies), Lègong Kraton and the three-part quartet Gender Wayang. The latter is the highlight of the collection, a more delicate gamelan performance that highlights the beautiful, complex and magical melodies made by these chiming instruments.

The liner notes, though extensive, unfortunately are very confusing and in rather awkward English, seemingly a direct translation from the French on the original release. It is unclear exactly which instruments are on each piece and some of the biographical data on Lotring contradicts itself: is he ‘a household name in Bali’ or ‘largely forgotten? It's hard to tell. Nevertheless this is a valuable document of a legendary Balinese musician, presented in beautiful sound quality.