Customer Reviews

Silk Road Journeys: When Strangers Meet

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

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.

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.

One of the most exquisite, haunting, creative and sumptuous works of musical art to be produced in my lifetime. I cannot play this CD as 'background' music; it captures 100 percent of my heart and mind each time I play it. It is breathtaking and disturbing and almost heartbreakingly beautiful.

It is especially touching at this moment in time, when so much of our daily consciousness is caught up in the conflicts between cultures. This weaving together of musicians and instruments from different 'worlds' is healing for my soul at a level almost too deep to express. It portrays to me with delicate artistry what it means to be an individual member of a worldwide, ancient and variegated human race.

Personnel: Yo-Yo Ma - Cello and morin khuur. Siamak Aghaei - santur. Edward Arron - cello. Nicholas Cords - viola. Sandeep Das - tabla. Stephen Dunkel - trombone. Joel Fan - piano and percussion. Joseph Gramley - percussion. Colin Jacobsen - violin. Siamak Jahangiri - ney. Kayhan Kalhor - kemancheh and setar. Xu Ke - erhu. Ganbaatar Khongorzul - vocals on one track. Wu Man - pipa. Edgar Meyer - upright bass. James Pugh - trombone. Todd Reynolds - violin. John Rutherford - trombone. Shane Shanahan - tabla. Mark Suter - percussion. Leo Suzuki - viola. Wu Tong - sheng. Yang Wei - pipa.

This disc is a lovely intersection for various musical ideas. As you probably know by now, the idea was to get a bunch of great musicians together from along various points of the historical Silk Road. Along with goods and spices, there was also a fair exchanging of less tangible things, such as art, music, ideas, etc...

That's what this disc is about. "Western classical music" is not the only classical music out there, and although historically the people most likely to be traveling the silk road, exchanging ideas and playing together would have been folk musicians, the concept still stands on its own here. Of particular resonance (at least to me) are the "Chinese" and "Iranian" tracks. I put those in quotes only because while it's true that all these songs (or at least their performances here) are hybridized, most of them still do have what could be called a "dominant influence" by one culture or another.

This disc will no doubt be heard differently by people of different backgrounds with these musics. For people who really never delve into "world music", this will no doubt sound quite "exotic". For others who have alot of experience with various musics from around the world, it may be a bit movie soundtrackish. I fall into the latter category in terms of experience, but I still really like this album. While some of it does have that orchestral sweep, and that sort of tone and dramatic movement that you can imagine going along with certain types of movie scenes, it's still quite often very good music in that way. There are a bunch of lovely melodies and great arrangements... particularly with respect to the Chinese and Iranian tracks. =)

All these musics are definitely being presented here through a Western Classical filter. Oftentimes that is not the sort of thing that will work at all, but I think here it is largely successful. I tried to catch one of these concerts but by the time I heard about them locally for me, they were sold out.

I give a big thumbs up to Yo-Yo Ma for his continued branching out and away from the often stiff and detached (from the rest of the world) world of Western Classical music. The new influx of ideas, whether they be from playing with Mark O'Connor or Kayhan Kalhor, have helped Ma's playing and level of emotional depth immensely. Simply put, right now he is 20 times the musician he was even 10 years ago when he was still only in the Western Classical world.

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.

This CD is a very good mix of several traditions in music. It's really the fusion of different worlds that create a new fascinating idiom. I hope that people would be more willing to open their ears and mind when listening to this CD.

For those who can't abide music with strong cultural strains - move on. For those who like to stretch their ears, their minds, their beliefs - this CD is a great journey. Some of it can be a difficult listen if you only tolerate western music models. I enjoyed the varied patterns, instruments, vocal styles and found myself 100% engrossed in the contents of this CD - compared against the 30-40% occupation most CD's generate for me. I won't say I adored all of it, but I would buy it again and test myself out on any more that might come along from YoYo Ma and this group. I see it as 5 stars because of the challenge as much as the content.

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.

This CD is a wonderful introduction to "traditional" ethnic Asian and Middle Eastern music (with a side-trip to Finland thrown in). While not competely faithful to the source material, that was not the goal - His aim was to produce a delightful fusion of modern, classical, and traditional vocal and instrumental pieces which would entertain and delight. Fantastic stuff.

I have just added this to my musical library and am enjoying it. From the first beat of the first note of Khongozurl's long song you are transported to central Asia - the land of horses and gers. Of all the pieces I was most interested in listening to the second piece - Legend of Herlen. This to me, was the real silk road. The morin khuur has a very rich and unusual tone that made we want to listen to the it over and over again. Each piece is different and reminds one of the many parts that make up the whole of central asia's culture be it music or diesel trucks competing for road space with camels. The music captures the variety that makes up the region. The Finnish Folksong tracks are a nice touch. I have a friend who was at a trade conference and met a man from Mongolia. Neither could talk to one another until they discovered a common language - Finnish! My friend's family is Finnish and his new Mongolian friend had lived for several years in Finland where he learned enough of the language to communicate. Listening to the Finnish Folksongs reminds me of the Finnish-Mongolian connection that my friend had described. It is a nice touch and complements the other pieces very well. Please don't neglect to read the information insert as this gives a wealth of information on the music and it's origins as well as some of the difficulties experienced by western players playing traditional middle Asian musical instruments. Ma's difficulties with his instrument are particularly interesing to read. The concludig track - Desert Capriccio is a very nice ending to a very rich musical experince. The music from Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon is the perfect ending to this trip through central Asia. I highly recommend this CD to everyone.