Wayang Orang, literally translated as "Human Wayang", is a performing arts form in Indonesia that is a variation on the classical Wayang Kulit, in which the carved-leather wayang puppets controlled by a dhalang are replaced with actors who sing and speak their own lines, analogous in some ways to a western opera performance. The earliest archaeological evidence of Wayang Wong is from about 900 CE, so the artform has been prevalent in Indonesia for quite some time, coexisting with Wayang Kulit and the many alternate forms of Wayang.
These recordings are digitizations of 78 rpm recordings from the 1930s which I found on eBay. It was produced by the Gramophone Company of India, Ltd., a division of a British company who recorded and released thousands of performances of world music in addition to standard commercial music of the day; these world music recordings are quite rare these days, and background historical information is hard to come by.
You can listen to these recordings here:
https://richmond.box.com/s/1klj7x4xvfplap0laicivc3qya8qhhdq
I especially recommend "Palgonadi ka 3"; it features dialogue in Javanese preceded by a short instrumental introduction, and followed by a beautiful sung performance to conclude the selection.
You can watch a short video of one of the 78s playing back on my turntable here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fmu1DEO1ECE
The woody thwacking noise at the beginning is played by the dhalang, to cue the drummer to continually slow down the rhythm until it is at a tempo for singing.
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