Danan takes us from 20th May 1883 when the eruption began and on through the increasingly deadly and terrifying events of that summer. To start with, the ongoing explosions and earthquakes were a local nuisance but no threat was perceived. By the time August rolled around, people were becoming tired, sleep-deprived and worn down. As things intensified, the ocean was covered in floating pumice and day became like night as the ash cloud rose fifty miles into the atmosphere. Then, on 27th August came those four massive explosions, the third of which was the loudest sound in recorded history. These monster blasts were followed by a string of massive, debris-laden tsunamis over 100 feet high. It is likely that many didn't even see them approaching as there was no daylight, just choking dust and ash.more

Rakata picks up the story as the extent of the devastation starts to become clear. So many missing, the landscape unrecognisable and whole communities gone forever. Over the weeks and months that follow, the locals begin to pick through the remains of their lives and try to rebuild. Tentative progress is made and some kind of dim reflection of normality is restored. But the piece ends with a foreboding reminder that Anak Krakatau (Child of Krakatoa) rose from the waters only 45 years later. And thus the danger in that area of the world remains...more

A dramatic musical interpretation of the events of summer 1883 in Indonesia, when triple-coned volcanic island, Krakatoa, began erupting. After weeks of steadily intensifying action, the paroxysm came on 26th and 27th August. The island almost entirely destroyed itself, collapsing into the magma chamber below the ocean and producing a series of deadly tsunamis. At least 36,000 people in Java, Sumatra and other nearby islands lost their lives but the true figure is likely to be over 100,000. Hundreds of villages were washed away and when Krakatoa finally ceased erupting that October, only a caldera was left. The parts are named after Krakatoa's three cones: Perboewatan, Danan and Rakata. Perboewatan sets the scene, introducing us to a beautiful part of the world going about its business but sitting on a ticking bomb - that massive magma chamber. A gamelan-style introduction to both the region and the beautiful but uninhabited Krakatoa island gives way to a sense of foreboding as people in Batavia (present-day Jakarta) start to notice odd, vertical tremors. more