Search - Various Artists :: Music of the Dynasties of China

For most people, China evokes the ideas of poetry, jade, porcelain, bronzes and delicious food, but its marvelous music is virtually unknown to outsiders, with the exception of Peking opera, a modern development. The best Chinese music stands comparison with the best music of any other civilization. Were it not for its inaccessebility, partly for political reasons, but mainly because it was never intended for a wide audience (being essentially private), it would now, through modern communications, most probably have reached the West and made its impact. In China, records of the finest musicians are produced, but are generally not available in the West. With this recording, a beginning has been made to fill the gap. It includes unaccompanied music for three great classical stringed instruments, a composition for notched flute with lute accompaniment, and an exquisitely pungent orchestral piece with an oboe playing the melody. Through the window of music it is possible to see beyond the artifacts and into the heart of an entire civilization. It is to the mysteries and WONDERS of the great dynasties of China that we dedicate Music of the Dynasties of China.