Kacapi Suling

Kacapi suling is an instrumental style of music from Indonesia featuring two zithers and a flute. It forms a light sort of intermission during long performances of tembang Sunda (a kind of sung poetry performance which dates back to the 1800's).

Studio art

Tembang Sunda is usually played in the evening for gatherings of the aristocracy. It is closely associated with the Sunda region of Indonesia's Java island (tembang Sunda means "Sundanese singing"). Kacapi suling arose in the 1970's to provide a break in the main action, using the same instruments as the tembang Sunda but without the singer. It is not usually performed live, and most kacapi suling music is made in the studio.

The instruments

The name of this style of music comes from the three instruments it uses. There are two zithers (called kacapi) and a flute (called a suling):

• Kacapi indung
  A large zither with 18 (sometimes 20) strings. The kacapi indung is shaped like a boat. The 18 strings are made of brass, and tuned by turning pegs and by adjusting the bridges. Kacapi indung players have very strong bonds with their instruments, and sometimes ceremonies are held to emphasize this bond, not unlike a marriage ceremony.

• Kacapi rincik
  Playing higher notes, the kacapi rincik provides lighter, more fluttering melodies in the framework provided by the deeper, more rhythmic kacapi indung. The kacapi rincik is the smaller of the two kacapi.

• Suling
  This is a bamboo flute which can be tuned to different scales. A simply-designed instrument, its free, bunched notes give the kacapi suling ensemble much of its color and personality.

Kacapi suling is occasionally played with a rebab (a kind of violin) joining the three usual instruments.

The sound

The sound of a kacapi suling orchestra tends to be kind of ethereal and other-worldly. The interplay of the zithers is intoxicating, with the lower providing a trancelike rhythm while the higher adds a sort of rhythmic and melodic counterpoint. Most of the melody, though, comes from the suling, which, with its zigzagging, untethered melodies, is distinct from the other instruments while at the same time unifying the ensemble into a listenable whole.