Dandaka: A Rhapsody

Dandaka is a project that I have been working on, experimenting with the idea of telling a whole story through music alone, without any visual or linguistic aid.

The story I am telling is that of the ancient Hindu scripture, Ramayanam. This is the story of Lord Rama, a worthy and righteous prince who is banished from his kingdom with his wife, Sita, and brother, Lakshmana. During his exile in the forest of Dandaka, Sita is abducted by the demon king, Ravana. The story then follows Rama's journey to save her, through trials and tribulations, battles, and even a war.

I am regularly posting updates on this project on my Instagram as well as my LinkedIn. Follow along on my journey as I compose a musical rhapsody, attempting to capture all the complex ideas of this ancient Epic.

Updates

Let me know your thoughts: if this came out to be about a 20-30 minute piece, would you rather have it be released as one whole, or each act or section separately to make for easier listening?

Act 2

Just finished up one of my favorite parts from my Dandaka project. Check it out!
Now, I need to transition from this big romantic orchestral section to another big epic orchestral section, and that gives me major creator’s block because the two are so different. Let me know if you have any ideas!

Act 1

This is an overview of the project with a sample from Act 1.