Silk Road Journeys: When Strangers Meet Music

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by: Yo-Yo Ma, Silk Road Ensemble, Michio Mamiya, Franghiz Ali-Zadeh, Kayhan Kalhor, Filippo Azzaiolo, Tan Dun

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Customer Reviews
Average Rating: Rating: - Beautiful and fascinating mix of East & West / new & Trad. If your exposure to Yo Yo Ma is primarily through his classical performances on cello, Silk Road Journeys is likely to be a shock. However, if you have heard and enjoyed the beautiful soundtrack to Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, SRJ will be a treat. This is not pure traditional folk music, but rather contemporary music inspired by the traditions of the cultures who inhabit what was known as the Silk Road, from China to Europe. I am amazed that such a mix of styles fits together so well. This collaboration of musicians from different traditions reminds me of the West-meets-East recordings of Yehudi Menuhin and Ravi Shankar. Even if SRJ does not have the cultural impact of Menuhin and Shankar, I admire the creativity and boldness of this project. Fortunately it is also very listenable. Rating: - It is Pure Silk Silk Road Journeys "When Strangers meet" Yo-Yo Ma & the Silk Road Ensemble This has to be one of Yo-Yo Ma's finest CD's. With the cello there is such a magnificent blend of instruments that one feels right on the Silk Road. I found that the "silky" feeling is particularly strong on Track 5: Zhao Jiping: Moon over Guan Mountains through Tracks 6 and 7: Michio Mamiya: Five Finnish Folksongs and then Track 8 Avaz-e Dashti (Pesian Traditional) but then continues in a different feel of different kinds of silk. Although it is an auditory feeling there is very much a kinesthetic feeling in this CD. Besides traditional orchestral instruments, there is a fascinating array of musical instruments with their own kind of onomatopoeic names other than flutes, lutes, organs, drums, and fiddles. The printed insert is a superb piece of poetic writing to guide one on the origins of this Ensemble. It is certainly a masterpiece of music to listen to on one's own in particular. It is a kind of meditation and one where one can relate to immediately for peace of mind and spirit. The ensemble was formed on trust, according to Yo-Yo Ma. So "trust" me this is splendid! I look forward to more of this type of music. Genie Albrecht Windhoek Namibia. Rating: - A fine project that gradually becomes background music It seems almost perverse to not register a rave review for Yo-Yo Ma's important experiment WHEN STRANGERS MEET. The idea is refreshing, the premise promising. This CD makes for interesting listening on the first few rounds, but subsequent hearings find the music recorded here as interesting background sounds for an evening of contemplation. Is that bad? No, but the National Geographic stance of this recording ends up taking front row, while the "music" is only of passing interest. The vocal pieces are entrancing, the drum works exciting, the solo cello pieces give the impression that Ma has tuned his instrument "scordatura" to approximate pitch for maximum authenticity. In the end this recording is more a "New Age" experience than a classical music venture. Still, we must be grateful that the ever-inventive Ma helps expand our commitment to the universality of music.

Silk Road Journeys: When Strangers Meet Music

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