Authentic
Stephen A. Smith | Boston, MA | 10/23/2004
(5 out of 5 stars)
"The Chinese Pipa has a 2,000-year-old history. The modern pipa has four steel strings, tuned A D E A, and 26 frets. It's not unlike a banjo. A key difference, as liner notes explain, "The frets are very deeply cut, allowing for the player to bend notes by depressing the strings, as opposed to bending them sideways as in western guitar performance."
I bought this album because I trust MA Recordings. I had never heard of Jiang Ting, and I've never seen a pipa. But every CD I've bought from Todd Garfinkle has proved extraordinary. He's a man with a passion for sound. He records every performance personally, usually in a church or concert hall. (This CD was recorded in a small church in the mountains outside Lucca, Italy.)
Every MA project is recorded using custom-designed equipment. That's a measure of Garfinkle's devotion to sound. Existing equipment wasn't good enough, so he built his own. Think about that: He built his own microphones. This is a guy who's serious about his craft.
This isn't a New Age recording. You can imagine some Los Angeles producer saying, "Let's take an exotic instrument and some ethnic scales, and we'll produce some pretty Asian music for PBS." That isn't the case here. Jiang Ting was born in Mongolia, and began learning pipa at age seven, from her mother. She graduated from Central State Conservatory in Beijing, and won first prize in a national pipa contest. Today she lives in Japan, where she performs with various orchestras throughout the country.
Most of the pieces are Chinese works, including two ancient traditionals and a few modern Chinese compositions. There's also an improvisation, where "Jiang Ting holds her pipa and just plays what crosses her mind naturally." Sometimes soft and lulling, sometimes fierce and provocative -- the best word to describe this music is "authentic."
This is real, genuine Chinese music. It isn't watered-down, and it hasn't been Americanized. It's a glimpse into another culture. And thanks to Jiang Ting's skill and Todd Garfinkle's expertise, this glimpse is clear and unobstructed. Listening to this CD, it's easy to close your eyes and imagine you're sitting in Beijing Concert Hall. It's worth a standing ovation."
Track Listings (6) - Disc #1