Gamelan beleganjur

Gamelan beleganjur is the processional bronze percussion music of Bali, performed by large ensembles of paired ceng-ceng cymbals, kettle gongs, hanging gongs and drums. Originally martial music that accompanied warriors into battle, it became the sound of the ngaben cremation procession, where its dense, clashing waves of sound are held to drive away malevolent spirits, and of modern village contests (lomba beleganjur), where kreasi beleganjur compositions add flashy choreography and abrupt contrasts. Interlocking cymbal patterns over a driving drum pulse give it an unmatched physical intensity among Balinese gamelan forms.