Angklung - Commercial and Film Use

Commercial and Film Use

Studio percussion legend Emil Richards had traditional Indonesian bamboo angklung as part of his Emil Richards Collection. Many composers like angklung, as they provide a different sound than other standard percussion instruments, and can be used melodically or just as texture; they also can be used on the rack or taken off and shaken. Like other Indonesian bamboo angklung, Emil’s have double-octave tuning. Some of them he acquired in 1960 from composer Allyn Ferguson, who returned from Laos with four of them, and subsequently wrote for angklung in his scores, including Charlie’s Angels. Emil collected more angklung little by little, including from the store Pier 1 Imports, who sold them in sets of seven. He acquired a large set of angklung in the 1970s, as an African American Baptist church in Los Angeles was looking to get rid of them because they were not being used. The range of all the sets of Emil’s bamboo angklung is rather substantial, spanning four full octaves, C2-C6. Emil’s angklung were used in numerous movie soundtracks written by composers Michael Kamen, Lalo Schifrin, Johnny Mandel, and Henry Mancini, to name a few. Most composers liked to use the higher angklung, but Lalo Schifrin preferred writing more for the lower ones, which were suspended on large racks.

Emil Richards also had metal angklung in his Collection. Produced by the J.C. Deagan percussion instrument company in the 1920s, these angklung are fashioned after the traditional Indonesian bamboo angklung, but made out of metal; therefore, they are more resonant and durable than the bamboo angklung. Each note of the metal angklung play three octaves when rung; they are also called the "Triple Octave Chimes." The range in Emil's collection is C4-C6 (counted from the lowest note which rings from each angklung). However, five octaves were actually made by Deagan. Emil Richards bought his set in the late 1980s from an elderly gentleman in Los Angeles who was not a musician. Emil heard them and was fascinated by them. The metal angklung are usually used by other performers as clusters as sounds, but Emil often performed on them melodically, as they are arranged chromatically. Having two percussionists allowed 4 note chords to be played, to the favor of Emil and composers he played for. The angklung were used throughout the run of the TV show Lost as part of the underscore music. Also, they were used by composer Jerry Goldsmith often, as well as on a number of older John Williams' scores.