The gamelan group Sekar Domas UNNES enlivened the haul (death anniversary) of Ki Nartosabdo, 8 October 2023, at the Taman Budaya Raden Saleh (TBRS), Semarang city. Dr Widodo, a lecturer in Music Arts Education, founded Sekar Domas, and several members are lecturers and students of FBS UNNES.
Sekar Domas performed gending (Javanese karawitan songs) created by Ki Nartosabdo, including Gending Manik Maninten, Pelog Lima; Ladrang Mandraguna, Pelog Nem; Ladrang Gandariya, Slendro Sanga; and Ladrang Sigramangsah, Pelog Barang. They appeared on the same stage as the Sukoraras karawitan, the leading gamelan group in Semarang.
Ki Nartosabdo (1925-1985) was a maestro of traditional Javanese art born in Klaten and buried in Semarang. In creating Javanese gending, Ki Nartosabdo uses the Semarang style, which is dynamic and tends to differ from Surakarta or Yogyakarta style gending.
Until now, artists and art researchers have used and researched Ki Nartosabdo’s karawitan style. He was also a puppeteer (dalang) who carried out many innovations during his time.
