Waton by Komang Astita (score)

Waton (1995) is a collaboratively shaped, mixed-ensemble work by Komang Astita built on the notion of watu (“foundation/stone”). Drawing on a graphic score refined in rehearsal, it combines Javanese gender, gongs, pelog saron; Balinese gangsa, kajar, calung, ceng-ceng, kendang; plus temple bowls, Tibetan bells/bowls, rain sticks, clapsticks, guiro, and plastic “whirlies.” A tripartite, essentially palindromic design moves from meditative, freely timed textures to strongly pulsed, interlocking passages (including a virtuosic gender–kendang duo), then dissolves back to spacious resonance. Geometric shapes guided material, while on-the-spot tone choices and ensemble input set pacing, density, and instrumental blends; ritual framing (gong blessing, invoked taksu) anchors the piece’s “foundation” ethos.