Title : Silk Road Journeys: When Strangers Meet
Author : Ma, Yo-Yo
Release Date : 20020416
Binding : Audio CD
Regular Price : $18.98
Amazon.com Price : $13.99
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Editorial Reviews : This disc introduces Yo-Yo Ma's latest and most ambitious adventure, the Silk Road Project. It explores the cultures that flourished along the Silk Road, the ancient trade route that for centuries connected Europe and the East. Founded by Ma in 1998, the project aims to create connections, mutual trust, and cultural interchange between people from different parts of the world through their only shared language: music. This recording includes music from Mongolia, China, Persia, Japan, Iran, Azerbaijan, and an improvisation on an Italian Renaissance street song, performed by musicians from all those countries, as well as America, on both Eastern and Western instruments. Ma, who participates in every piece either as soloist or part of the ensemble, plays cello and a Mongolian 'horse-head fiddle.' There is also a Mongolian soprano, who sings a traditional song native to her region. For the uninitiated Western listener, the music requires some getting used to. Much of it is based on rhythmic ostinatos. The melodies use Oriental scales; the intonation is untempered; the music seems all color, texture, and atmosphere, without what might be called themes; and repetition takes the place of development. Contrast is achieved through sudden change, buildup by adding instruments. However, the music is often beautiful, delicate, dreamy, or peaceful; every listener will find his or her own favorite pieces. The playing is splendid, with much inventive improvisation. Inevitably, Ma's tone and personality stand out, but he never dominates in fact or spirit. The booklet offers essays by Ma and the project's musicologist, Theodore Levin, photographs of the players, and drawings of the Eastern instruments.
Buyer Reviews : Most 'fusion' recordings remind me of a pretentious little restaurant in Salt Lake City that jumbles together French haute cuisine and Chinese condiments. Name of 'Haut Chinoise' or some such--three perfectly poached spears of asparagus, garnished with ginger. Right. The digestif is a chocolate-dipped fortune cookie.
But occasionally something comes along like Yehudi Menuhin's collaborations with Ravi Shankar or this, cellist Yo-Yo Ma's ambitious blend of classical instruments with the music of central and eastern Asia; and the potential for evolving new art from spliced traditions is realized.
This is not classical slumming, nor is it Middle Eastern folk music jazzed up. It hasn't the odd discontinuity one hears when the trained voice of an opera star sings gospel music or folk songs 'correctly.' The compositions and arrangements present a unified suite of sound, moving as comfortably as a caravan from Renaissance Italy (with a side trip to Finland!) to Persia, Mongolia, and into China.
The sound is exotic, from the initial shock of the piercing Mongolian street singer's shrill tremulo to the belly dance rhythms of the later pieces. The quality of the sound is impeccable, as one would expect of an artist as meticulous at Yo-yo Ma. I heard this on the radio, and ordered it immediately. How glad I am, that CDs don't wear out.
