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Notes
The experience of travelling the globe and performing music from many different countries has given me a more vivid perspective on my own cultural background. It triggered a desire to share more of my own culture with audiences around the world. And so began a significant personal project to add more Chinese repertoire to the transcriptions I had already made and recorded. This has involved commissioning new works, transcribing pieces and working with other Chinese instrumentalists to create music together.
With the benefits of greater understanding and experience, I now feel ready to present the first harvest of this journey - a double album dedicated to music from my country.
This recording reflects the breadth and depth of Chinese music. The music spans epochs from the Han Dynasty (206BC-220AD) to now, and spans a diversity of styles, including ancient classics, folkloric and modern, using musically significant pieces of repertoire where appropriate. In addition to transcriptions, there are also original compositions for guitar from leading Chinese composers. It also showcases the versatility of the guitar, including solo guitar works, works for guitar and orchestra, and chamber pieces with traditional Chinese instruments.
Location (Solo and Chamber): National Centre for Performing Arts, Beijing.
Location (Orchestral): Xiamen Philharmonic Orchestra Rehearsal Hall, Xiamen
With the benefits of greater understanding and experience, I now feel ready to present the first harvest of this journey - a double album dedicated to music from my country.
This recording reflects the breadth and depth of Chinese music. The music spans epochs from the Han Dynasty (206BC-220AD) to now, and spans a diversity of styles, including ancient classics, folkloric and modern, using musically significant pieces of repertoire where appropriate. In addition to transcriptions, there are also original compositions for guitar from leading Chinese composers. It also showcases the versatility of the guitar, including solo guitar works, works for guitar and orchestra, and chamber pieces with traditional Chinese instruments.
Location (Solo and Chamber): National Centre for Performing Arts, Beijing.
Location (Orchestral): Xiamen Philharmonic Orchestra Rehearsal Hall, Xiamen
Tracklist
| 1-01 | 可愛的一朵玫瑰花 | 7:03 |
| 1-02 | 花鼓 | 3:01 |
| 1-03 | 春江花月夜 | 7:17 |
| 1-04 | 彩雲追月 | 3:33 |
| 1-05 | 胡笳 | 8:19 |
| 1-06 | 陽春白雪 | 3:37 |
| 1-07 | 瑤族舞曲 | 6:11 |
| 1-08 | 長相思 | 5:42 |
| 1-09 | 梅花三弄 | 3:48 |
| 1-10 | 新漁舟唱晚 | 5:01 |
| 2-01 | 劍器 | 5:37 |
| 2-02 | 絲路駝鈐 | 7:43 |
| 2-03 | 說唱 | 7:06 |
| 2-04 | 三首民謠 | 3:42 |
| 2-05 | 夢中的鼓浪嶼 | 6:54 |
| 2-06 |
七個願望之一
Composed – 譚盾 |
1:50 |
| 2-07 | 七個願望之二 | 1:09 |
| 2-08 | 七個願望之三 | 2:32 |
| 2-09 | 七個願望之四 | 1:59 |
| 2-10 | 七個願望之五 | 2:02 |
| 2-11 | 七個願望之六 | 1:26 |
| 2-12 | 七個願望之七 | 2:13 |
| 2-13 | 月亮代表我的心 | 3:34 |
Review
"Truth, fantasy, boldness and delicacy. Listening to Chinese classical guitarist Xuefei Yang’s latest album is like watching a parade of exquisitely rendered beasts on a silk handscroll...If this gorgeous recording finds its ideal pictorial analogue in a painted scroll, Xuefei Yang’s playing can best be compared to the spontaneity and control of a master calligrapher."
Gramophone Magazine, November 2020
"A release as important as it is appealing, this masterpiece is perhaps Yang’s greatest labour of love, not to mention a colossal achievement. While she has always used her international platform to champion Chinese music in concert and occasionally in the studio, this album realises that intent in a true ‘magnum opus’”
ArtMuseLondon, December 2020
"A landmark release, not only of guitar music but of the growing interaction between Chinese and Western musical cultures."
AllMusic, September 2020
"This is a seriously virtuosic performance that takes “classical guitar” in many exciting new directions.”
Classical Guitar Magazine, December 2020
"Everywhere Yang’s playing combines lightning quickness with subtlety of command, the details crystal clear and invested with myriad colours. From the pensive, traditional White Snow in the Spring Sunlight to Tan Dun’s boldly assertive Seven Desires (2002), the solos are astutely chosen and stylishly delivered."
BBC Music Magazine, September 2020
"the glistening rushes of notes that sound like they’re pouring out of her instrument”
Classical Guitar Magazine, December 2020
Gramophone Magazine, November 2020
"A release as important as it is appealing, this masterpiece is perhaps Yang’s greatest labour of love, not to mention a colossal achievement. While she has always used her international platform to champion Chinese music in concert and occasionally in the studio, this album realises that intent in a true ‘magnum opus’”
ArtMuseLondon, December 2020
"A landmark release, not only of guitar music but of the growing interaction between Chinese and Western musical cultures."
AllMusic, September 2020
"This is a seriously virtuosic performance that takes “classical guitar” in many exciting new directions.”
Classical Guitar Magazine, December 2020
"Everywhere Yang’s playing combines lightning quickness with subtlety of command, the details crystal clear and invested with myriad colours. From the pensive, traditional White Snow in the Spring Sunlight to Tan Dun’s boldly assertive Seven Desires (2002), the solos are astutely chosen and stylishly delivered."
BBC Music Magazine, September 2020
"the glistening rushes of notes that sound like they’re pouring out of her instrument”
Classical Guitar Magazine, December 2020
AWARDS
Presto Recordings of the Year Finalist 2020
Top 20 of 2020 - ArtMuseLondon
Top 10 Best World Music Albums of 2020 - Popmatters
Top 20 of 2020 - ArtMuseLondon
Top 10 Best World Music Albums of 2020 - Popmatters