I enjoyed the many recordings of Chinese classical music that I was able to hear.
This is not an exception, but is also not included in the top of the list.
The basic idea was to focus this collection around the bamboo theme. The title is not meant as a poetic image, but actually describes the content.
All tracks are related to bamboo, from “Heart Touching Sound of Bamboo” to “Bamboo Singing in the Moonlight”.
In addition, the used wind instruments are made of bamboo, and there are ten types used here: di, xiao, sheng, Chinese cups, guan-zi, ba-woo, kou-hsin, lu-sheng, bamboo leaves and hu-lu -si. Some of them are traditionally Chinese, while others are from other ethnic groups.
The two most common are Chinese bamboo flutes, di and xiao.
Di is very common and popular in Chinese music. He looks like a flute. It comes in two general variants: bang-di, which soothes and softens, and qu-di, which has a strong, high sound.
Xiao (or dong-xiao) is usually made of purple bamboo, yellow fading bamboo or white bamboo. Its sound is soft and low set, and it is usually used in concerts.
Sheng is very old, beginning in the early years of Chinese civilization. This is basically a collection of bamboo flutes of different lengths, connected to each other.
Bamboo is closely related to Chinese music. They use the phrase "si zhu" - silk and bamboo - to refer to music and musical instruments.
It would be interesting to know when this music was created. A small brochure contained on a CD does not help much. One of the producers is old enough to graduate from college in 1962. Then he went to study music at the Fujian College of the Arts - and there his bio stops. During the Cultural Revolution, he spent ten years on a pig farm that had learned from the peasants? Is this music officially sanctioned by the Chinese Communist Party, as it was during Mao's lifetime? We are not told.
The other producer, however, is listed as having some credit related to Buddhism, so this means that it is a product after Mao (although the current regime is not friendly to any religion).
The disadvantage of this collection is that all tracks are aimed at creating a mood that reflects the calm and silence of the bamboo grove. They are slow and calm. Beautiful on their own, taken one by one, but after a while you begin to crave for some variety, some kind of contrast.
This is a good CD that you can play when you just want to lie down and leave. It will not make you start dancing, but it is more convincing than ordinary New Age people who buy people.
Prepare to be sedated, if not particularly entertaining.
