Djalal is the Indonesian ambassador. The 2011 Indonesian Festival, which will be Saturday on the National Mall, might set a new Guinness World Record by assembling the world’s largest ever angklung ensemble. Can you tell us a little bit about the angklung?
Angklung is an Indonesian echo instrument. It’s bamboo pieced together, and they make a musical note. So to play a song using angklung, you have to have as many as there are notes required in that song. So for 21 notes, then you will need 21 angklungs. It’s not just an echo instrument, it’s also something that must be done collectively. Angklung is all about solidarity and tolerance and harmony, because you can’t just play it with one person; a large group of people must play together to produce a song.
