Silk Road Journeys: Beyond the Horizon

Fikret Amirov (Composer), Sandeep Das (Composer), Indrajit Das Sandeep / Dey (Composer), Uzeir Hajibeyov (Composer), Kayhan Kalhor (Composer), Alan Pierson (Conductor), Yo-Yo Ma (Performer), Silk Road Ensemble (Performer), Jason Duckles (Performer)

Product Details

• Performer: Yo-Yo Ma, Silk Road Ensemble, Jason Duckles
• Conductor: Alan Pierson
• Composer: Fikret Amirov, Sandeep Das, Indrajit Das Sandeep / Dey, Uzeir Hajibeyov, Kayhan Kalhor
• Audio CD (April 5, 2005)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Sony
• ASIN: B0007TFHEI
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #5,632 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #8 in	Music > Classical > Featured Performers, A-Z > ( M ) > Ma, Yo-Yo
  #79 in	Music > Classical > Chamber Music > By Period > Classical (c.1770-1830)
  #85 in	Music > Classical > Historical Periods > Classical (c.1770-1830) > Forms & Genres

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

It is a perilous proposition when genres clash--and no such collaboration is more potentially fraught than when improvisation-trained folk musicians sit in with Western classical instrumentalists, who are taught to interpret a printed score. The renowned cellist Yo-Yo Ma has devoted much of his professional life to such intercultural experiments. But the traditions of nations situated along the ancient Silk Road, which began in the Far East, meandered through Asia and terminated in Europe, are especially dear to him. These lushly arranged pieces range from moody scenic vistas to percussive Turkish hip-shakers and they make very pleasant listening. If they owe more to the European canon than the ethnic sources that inspired them, they are also the result of respectful give-and-take between a team of acknowledged masters. And nobody is more of a team player than Maestro Ma, an impassioned, fearless musical seeker and a gracious, deferential colleague. --Christina Roden

Interview with Yo-Yo Ma
Yo-Yo Ma speaks about his latest adventures involved in this new installment of the ongoing Silk Road Project--an epoch-making collaboration among musical colleagues. Read our special interview to learn more about Ma's musical philosophy.

Amazon.com

It is a perilous proposition when genres clash--and no such collaboration is more potentially fraught than when improvisation-trained folk musicians sit in with Western classical instrumentalists, who are taught to interpret a printed score. The renowned cellist Yo-Yo Ma has devoted much of his professional life to such intercultural experiments. But the traditions of nations situated along the ancient Silk Road, which began in the Far East, meandered through Asia and terminated in Europe, are especially dear to him. These lushly arranged pieces range from moody scenic vistas to percussive Turkish hip-shakers and they make very pleasant listening. If they owe more to the European canon than the ethnic sources that inspired them, they are also the result of respectful give-and-take between a team of acknowledged masters. And nobody is more of a team player than Maestro Ma, an impassioned, fearless musical seeker and a gracious, deferential colleague. --Christina Roden

Interview with Yo-Yo Ma
Yo-Yo Ma speaks about his latest adventures involved in this new installment of the ongoing Silk Road Project--an epoch-making collaboration among musical colleagues. Read our special interview to learn more about Ma's musical philosophy.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

48 of 51 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Worth Taking the Journey, April 29, 2005

By	Kristopher Spencer "ScoreBabyCom" (Royal Oak, MI) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Beyond the Horizon is a fitting companion to the ensemble's 2002 release, When Strangers Meet. Both CDs marry multi-cultural music traditions to classical performance discipline. The music heard on Beyond the Horizon provided the soundtrack for a Japanese television series about the ancient Silk Road trade route from the Far East across the far expanse of Central Asia to Mediterranean Europe. Ma and his diverse ensemble developed the CD's repertoire by working closely with composers of such cultures as China, Iran, Azerbaijan and India among others.

Yo-Yo Ma has said that the music on this album crosses boundaries of time and space, revealing the unity among seemingly different traditions... that it evokes the memory of the nomadic peoples who traveled and lived along the Silk Road.

Split into three sections entitled Enchantment, Origins, and New Beginnings, the CD's music blends haunting melodies with disciplined arrangements. Traditional western instruments like the harp, violin and cello commingle with the exotic sounds of the sarangi, sheng, kamancheh, tabla, pipa, dudak, tar and many others. The uninitiated have nothing to fear from such an imposing assortment of instruments, as each is described and pictured with its player in the liner notes.

It comes as no surprise to learn that this music was used as a soundtrack. Like the legendary 1992 recording Pieces of Africa by the renowned Kronos Quartet, Beyond the Horizon is highly evocative of the landscapes and cultures of Asia. The emotional undercurrent that shades this music calls to mind the dramas that Silk Road caravans must have encountered during the early days of global travel. And like the influential Kronos recording (which Yo-Yo Ma claims to admire), this Silk Road recording captures the essence of otherworldly places and makes them accessible for Western ears.

Just as the musical traditions of the ancient world provided pleasure and spiritual sustenance to Silk Road travelers, this "soundtrack" is certain to enliven more than one modern day commute.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Superb!!, November 27, 2005

By	Rizgar (Sweden) - See all my reviews

This is definitely the best album the Silk Road Ensemble has yet produced! It's consists of a variety of moving and beautiful themes with great orchestration. The pieces are so varied and beautifully arranged for the instruments. The orchestration is clearly Western influenced in a way or another.

Although I wish that It would contain some Kurdish and Arabic music, the Silk Road Project is a very nice idea that could be one of the means of achieving mutual understanding and respect between the different peoples in that region as well as broadening the horizons of the Western listeners. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!

22 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautifully arranged, orchestrated and performed..., May 26, 2005

By	R. Kyle (USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

I bought this CD after hearing it in a Borders store only knowing who Yo Yo Ma was. There's not much I can add to the basic description of the musical venture in either review save to say the music is beautiful and stirring. This is a piece to put on when you need to write, meditate, or revive your soul. I'd like to thank Maestro Ma for putting this adventurous and beautiful collection together for us.