China: Music of the Pipa

The pipa is the Chinese lute and it is featured here in a solo concert of wonderful effects. Lui Pui-Yuen produces sounds ranging from police sirens to drum rolls — and that's just the first track! Really, this fellow is the Jimi Hendrix of the pipa (an instrument that sounds more like a quiet banjo than a guitar, and which in the wrong hands can come across as overly mild). The first track is the best, however, as it depicts a famous Chinese battle. The other tracks are more pastoral, depicting things like geese landing on the sand. Some of these tracks are still fast-paced, although none is as percussive or loaded with special effects as the first. The fifth track, "Snow on a Sunny Day," offers up a lot of fast trills and some impressive harmonics to tickle the ear. Even listeners jaded by a lifetime of rock & roll should be able to enjoy "Dance of the Yi Tribe," the last track on the album. It is slow and gentle at first (but develops extreme speed in the middle). It's interesting in a way that recalls gypsy music, although this connection is probably just superficial. A good disc for anyone interested in Chinese music.