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Recent albums reflecting an upsurge of inter- est in the music of the qin zither and the literati traditions generally, have deepened our appreciation of Chinese music beyond its more usual public face of pipa, flutes and erhu. The long-neglected literati tradition offers an even more reflective and meditative form of music to which The Sound Of The Soul (Caprice CAP 22065) makes a lovely introduction. It also has a real sense of tradi- tion being passed on as Deng Hong, the fea- tured qin (seven string zither) player, is the daughter of a pupil of the famed qin master Guan Pinghu. Her principal accompanist is the flute and wind instrumentalist Chen Shasha, and together they’ve produced a fine selection of lyrical, usually meditative pieces, usually as duets or trios although some of the very best performances are solo. A two-CD set, this is beautifully presented in a long box format with a good booklet and sleeve notes.


Zhao Jiazhen’s disc Masterpieces Of The Chinese Qin From The Tang Dynasty To Today (Rhymoi Music RMCD 0014) con- tains similar interest, status and presentation- al effort. Qin playing is usually slow, thought- ful and improvised and Zhao deploys an interesting range of effects from rippling phrases to bass notes. Although accompanied by a range of instruments, some of her finest pieces are – once again – duets with flute. The compositions are largely traditional and descriptive, like Moon Over The Mountain Pass, although a sprightly recent composition possibly betrays wider influences.


Chinese Virtuoso Instrumental Music (Rhymoi Music RXRCD 006) features a much wider range of styles and instrumentation, with most pieces performed by some varia- tion of a small ensemble comprising flutes, pipa, qin and erhu. Tunes range from the opening martial standard, Ambush On All Sides, to more typically lyrical fare; and although pleasant and a recommendable introduction to Chinese music generally, it pales slightly in such distinguished company.


Ocora have also introduced an attractive new non-standard book-style packaging for- mat, and normally I might have expected to be raving about Japan: Zen Hoyo (Ocora C 560231). But despite its cachet and back- ground interest I find it lacking some of the expected clarity and stillness and to be slight- ly underwhelming. It’s a live recording of a service at a temple of the Rinzai sect in Kyoto – with a difference. The chanting of the eight monks is not unusual in being accompanied by percussion and shakuhachi – except that the percussionist in this case is Stomu Yamash’ta. Adding not just a set of litho- phones (sanukite) to the traditional bells, gongs and wood block instruments, but employing his higher talents to achieve quite an array of shimmering sounds and other affects that give the accompaniment quite a contemporary and composed feel.


Korea: Jongmyo Jeryeak – Ritual Music For The Royal Ancestors (Ocora C 560242) redresses the balance with a fascinat- ing suite of ritual and ceremonial pieces extolling the scholarly virtues of the royal ancestors. The music is performed by two ensembles at the Jongmyo shrine which com- prise voices, wind and string instruments and percussion. The pieces are mainly in penta- tonic, occasionally heptatonic, scale and the tight, eerie effect is not unlike gagaku, the Japanese court music. Even the shortest pas- sages build to a peak via an intense harmony of voices and instruments. It’s hard to


describe in mere words, but is an outstanding album with an unusual, enthralling sound. Though you may need to retune your ears to be equally convinced.


Two other excellent Korean issues of instrumental virtuosi arrived via the Ameri- can outlet Blue Sky Music, further examples of what, to Western ears is both a supremely refined, and often austere musical tradition. Gayageum Sanzo (AkdangEban ADSACD 005) is a fine set of very intense, meditative pieces played by JeongHyun Chu on the 12- string long zither we often transliterate as kayagum. On Ajaeng Sanzo (ADSACD 281), YoungHo Shu plays two pieces composed by his father in the pansori style on an unlikely instrument best described as like bowing a koto with a billiard cue. The listening may be at times challenging, but both are excellent in their own genre and worth seeking out.


A further Ocora disc, Portugal: Music


from Entre Douro e Vouga (Ocora C 600021) continues their insightful series from the region with a set of 2004 field recordings from central and northern areas of Portugal. This is folk material – seasonal songs, work songs and dance songs – performed by a vari- ety of groups from womens’ a capella styles to songs with just accordeon and drum accompaniment and a final pair of selections with brass instruments. Portuguese folk music has, generally speaking, much in common with other European traditions although often overlooked. Ocora’s series provides some overdue exposure.


Zimbabwe: Ndebele Songs (Ocora C 560239) features the male vocal trio, Insin- gizi. A timely reminder perhaps of the depth and richness of Zulu music, of which sadly, Ladysmith Black Mambazo have become about the only international representatives these days. The trio are often accompanied by drum on a range of styles including praise, ceremonial and dance songs; although some of the best are performed a capella. In partic- ular the slower religious songs – of which one sounds not unlike the Pindar Family of the Bahamas – and a dance song from Matebele- land highlight a fine album.


I might joke that a lapse in writing has allowed us a time perspective for the Native American singer Cheevers Toppah [Kiowa/ Navajo], but more importantly it’s allowed re- evaluation of the album Rain In July (Canyon CR-6445) by the a capella vocal trio of Alex E Smith, Cheevers Toppah And


Insingizi


Nitanis ‘Kit’ Landry. The harmonies and style of their first album Harmony Nights was so stunning that it was bound to create prob- lems of comparison for further issues. And so it proved, although with time and distance Rain in July has become its own album. There are some nice touches – the title track with its opening flute and thunder rolls, Louie Gonnie’s nasal voice guesting on his own song Swirling Smoke and the love song In My Heart with its higher pitched vocables and gentle line. Cheevers’ more recent albums include a nice album of Kiowa and Navajo peyote songs, Awakening of Life (Canyon CR-6458) with Kevin Yazzie. By dint of their simple, steady water-drum rhythms and sotto voce delivery, peyote songs are often an acquired taste; though with Toppah occasion- ally taking lead and Yazzie’s more nasal vocals this is one of the best I’ve heard. Top- pah’s more recent solo disc exlores a rather different religious path. On Renewed Spirit (Canyon CR-6464) he turns to the “har- monised church hymns of the Kiowa”. On the face of it, a fascinating project as these are Christian church songs in the Kiowa lan- guage, but don’t expect too much gospel. There are occasional traces of Western melody, but the voice is often in a very high- pitched native style, and the overall effect is rather more syncretic than ‘churchy’.


Trikont deserve credit for giving early European releases to artists like Floyd Wester- man and Willie Dunn, and their compilation Native America Calling (Trikont US-0402) is arguably worth the money for just two abso- lutely stunning tracks – Robert Mirabal’s Indi- ans Indians and Joy Harjo’s Creation Story. But although containing tracks by Joanne Shenandoah, Ulali, Nakai, Buffy Sainte-Marie and even Link Wray, the overall effect is somehow less than expected.


Ocora: www.kiosque.radiofrance.fr dis- tributed by Harmonia Mundi


Caprice: www.capricerecords.se dis- tributed by Discovery


AkdangEban: www.akdang.co.kr dis- tributed by blue_sky_music@yahoo.com [USA]


Canyon: www.canyonrecords.com dis- tributed by Discord


Rhymoi: www.rhymoi.com Trikont: www.trikont.de distributed by


Klang Records Phil Wilson


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