Renowned Javanese singer and composer Peni Candra Rini – one of the jury members for the Gaudeamus Award 2026 – presents her new piece The Wheel for gamelan and contemporary chamber ensemble. A 45-minute chamber ensemble work that reimagines the traditional Javanese macapat cycle: eleven poetic songs in liturgical Javanese that trace the spiritual and existential phases of human life.
Rather than quoting traditional repertoire, the work deconstructs and reconfigures the acoustic spectra of gamelan instruments, combining their timbral DNA with the textures of a contemporary chamber ensemble. The resonance, overtone structures, microtonal and cyclical temporality of the gamelan become the generative core of a new musical language, which brings together ritual sound, prayerful meditation, and experimental composition.