Search - Xu Professor Pingxin :: Art of the Chinese Dulcimer

Dragon Boat music... and more!

Pharoah S. Wail | Inner Space | 09/02/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Quickie Synopsis: This is a magical cd!



Slightly more in-depth review: If you don't know what a hammered dulcimer (the yang qin in China) is, just think of something that sounds perfectly between a big-toned, gorgeous sounding resonant brass doorbell and a grand piano. It's an ancient instrument that is found everywhere from Iran to Hungary to China, and plenty of places in between.



Professor Xu Pingxin is an astounding player! From slow, gentle caressing of the melodies to ungodly high-velocity attacking of the melody, he can do it all. There are times on this cd where you will swear you can feel your pulse and blood-pressure rising. What makes his fast..his very fast... playing so spectacular is that he doesn't revert to trite riffing the faster he plays. He still executes melodies and rhythms with lunar precision and amazing tone even at his fastest speeds, speeds that are crazy. I can't even think as fast as he plays.



I'm not sure what it is about this album, but it only moderately moves me when I listen to it in headphones, but in the main stereo or in the car it's absolutely riveting from the first to last notes. Something about this music just begs to be free... it needs to be out in the air or something, I guess. Also it could be that his tone just gets better and better at higher volumes, and I don't like to listen to things in headphones all that loudly. This is a high-quality, big, full-sounding recording.



I've had this in the car with people who by their own admission "Don't listen to this type of stuff" who have loved this disc. This really is an incredibly special recording of Chinese melodies ranging from the very old to the modern (but it is still all unaccompanied yang qin, no sort of pop or keyboards or anything horrid like that), and if you're lucky enough to have found this disc, you may as well top-off your luck by buying it."