The Overture

Born in remote rural Siam in the late 19th century, Sorn, the youngest son in a family of musicians, displayed a remarkable passion for music--and an astonishing facility for playing the wooden xylophone known as the ranad. As he matured into a young man, Sorn's musical gifts won him great regional acclaim, but his adolescent pride also led him to an early defeat when he attempted to challenge Thailand's legendary ranad master, Khun In, to a musical duel during his first visit to the busting capital city of Bangkok. Returning home haunted by his defeat, Sorn redoubled his dedication to his music, and developed a revolutionary new ranad technique that would eventually win him national respect and an appointment as a royal court musician. Sorn's greatest challenge, however, would come in the final years of his career, when political change in Thailand threatened to outlaw the musical traditions to which he had dedicated his life.