VISITING SAUNG UDJO ANGKLUNG FOR THE 3RD TIME - PART 2

   23rd FEBRUARY 2025    ~ One reason to get back to Bandung was to watch the Angklung performance one more time. Having been here twice before in 2014 and 2016, I was expecting to be entertained by the whole show.

Surprisingly, there was only a small crowd in theatre arena that morning.

VIDEO 1: TARIAN TOPENG

VIDEO 2: WAYANG GOLEK

VIDEO 3: SINGING NUMBER

THE VERDICT: I was no doubt entertained by the concert. Unfortunately, what I saw as the same thing that I had seen many years ago. Even the cultural performance was cut short. There used to be more serious Angklung ensembles performed by teenagers and young adults musicians, playing contemporary songs and classical numbers as well. The whole show took only 90 minutes. I actually did not mind watching the repeat of the same things, but comparatively speaking, the Angklung show in the past was much better. I guess it was time for the people of Saung Udjo to come up with fresh new ideas to attract more people to the venue.

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VISITING SAUNG UDJO ANGKLUNG FOR THE 3RD TIME - PART 1

   23rd FEBRUARY 2025    ~ I was back at Saung Udjo Angklung for the third time. The first visit was in 2014, while the second one in 2016. I was always excited to get to see the Angklung performance again, and I should be thankful that my travel companion agreed to come here even though I was not sure initially whether he would enjoy the show or not.

We were there for the 10:00 a.m. show and we were the first to arrive. Therefore, I had so much time to explore the place and was amazed to find out there were a lot of upgrades and improvements done to the venue.

the parking area

ticket counter

proof of ticket purchase,
an Angklung necklace

There was now a welcome arena for the guests where free drinks and snacks were available.

Indonesia Post counter: you can buy
and the Angklung delivered by post

Even the souvenir shop had been improved a lot. There were now more items that could be purchased as souvenirs from the place.

Saung Udjo is not however one of the attractions for Malaysian tourists, either people were not that interested with the Indonesian cultural performance or not enough promotion had been done. Many Malaysians come to Bandung [especially women] just to shop, by the way.

NEXT: THE ANGKLUNG PERFORMANCE

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THE "MASK DANCE" PERFORMED AT SAUNG UDJO ANGKLUNG

One of the traditional dance numbers performed at Saung Udjo Angklung, Bandung, Indonesia on the 15th September, 2016.

VIDEO: AN OLDIE JAZZ SONG, "MARILAH KE MARI", ON ANGKLUNG

15th September 2016 ~ The more senior and professional angklung players made their appearance much later in the show. The first song presented was and oldie entitled "Marilah ke Mari", a song surprisingly I grew up with (which should prove how old I have become now). It was a jazzy kind of music, and according to the conductor, most of the time jazz songs are not suitable for angklung as it needs a personal expression to effectively produce the music. On the other hand, angklung has to be presented as a group and not an individual performance. I have been right all this while I guess, as I find that some songs would not sound that nice if played on angklung.

I tried to google for more information on the song but only managed to find out that it was made popular by an Indonesian singer, Titiek Puspa. Gone are the days when I used to listen to almost every song played on radio. 

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VIDEO: SONGS AND DANCES FROM SIX PROVINCES OF INDONESIA

15th September 2016 ~ The next number presented was a medley of songs and dances from six different provinces of Indonesian archipelago. This was done by junior angklung players and they seemed to play the instruments effortlessly, and were enjoying themselves so much. Here in Saung Udjo Angklung, kids started learning to play angklung as early as 2 years old. I guess the kids here must have cherished their childhood days, being nurtured and brought up with music and culture.

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VIDEO: KULINTANG, ANGKLUNG AND ANOTHER HUGE BAMBOO INSTRUMENT

Another musical performance was done with the combination of angklung, kulintang (the ones that look like xylophones but made of bamboo) and another musical instrument made of bamboo I don't know its name. I wish I could also have kulintang for my angklung group in school but then we will need a big room to store it.

By the way, the musical instruments are called Arumba - from "Alunan RUMpun BAmbu" [TRANSLATE: Melody of the Collected Bamboo]

This show was performed on the 15th September 2016 at Saung Udjo Angklung in Bandung (in front of live studio audience). :)

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VIDEO: "TARIAN TOPENG" [MASK DANCE] AT SAUNG UDJO ANGKLUNG

"Tarian Topeng" or Mask Dance is a popular traditional dances in Indonesia. One of the most difficult tasks for the dancers to do was to bite the masks from the inside so as to make sure the masks would stick to their faces throughout the performance.

Other than angklung performance, the audience were also presented with folk dances of Indonesia.

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VIDEO: A CIRCUMCISION'S POST CELEBRATION SESSION

Long time ago, circumcision was done in a very traditional way. The bamboo was cut and sliced until it became sharp and that was used as the knife. With no anesthetic, the boy who had been circumcised, would be put in a cold river so as to stop the bleeding and the cold water would numb the pain for a short while. At the same time, he was carried around the village with people singing and dancing so as to make him forget the pain. Thank god I was born in the era where I did not have to go through all this for circumcision.

This was the opening number during the performance at Saung Udjo Angklung when I was there om 15th September 2016. I wonder would this be enough to entertain the poor little boy. :)

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