Gamelan gong gede

Gamelan gong gede, literally the gamelan of the great gongs, is the oldest and largest ceremonial bronze ensemble of Bali, formed in the island's Hindu courts of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. Orchestras of forty or more musicians play huge hanging gongs, deep-toned kettle rows, metallophones and drums in slow, layered cycles for temple festivals and rites of passage. Its repertory of lelambatan is sedate and processional, the largest gong marking the period of each cycle. After the Balinese courts were dissolved under Dutch rule, gong gede withdrew into temple service and was eclipsed in popularity by the brilliant, virtuosic gong kebyar.