YoYo Ma’s Silk Road Project
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hoa. Few places, especially any as vaguely defined as "The Silk Road," are as steeped in picturesque myth as this collection of ancient trade routes from the Far East to Europe. Dusty trails, smelly camels, dangerous bandits, treacherous mountain passes - it just doesn't get any better than this.
I love music that evokes visions of places, and I have long enjoyed Alexander Borodin's marvelous "In the Steppes of Central Asia" for its European-oriented musical image of the route. Now, with the Silk Road Project (www.silkroadproject.org), cellist Yo-Yo Ma and his ensemble give us the Asian translation, which is closer to the source. The Project, on tour with an eclectic mix of musicians from East and West, performed a collection of new and traditional works from as far as China and as near as France. Any yoga instructor will tell you that stretching, while sometimes uncomfortable, is very good for you. Tonight's performance was musical yoga.
Ever been to Mongolia? Me neither, but I've seen pictures. Containing endless rolling grasslands and the vast Gobi Desert, this place makes Montana's sky look small. Tonight's first piece, 'The Legend of Herlen', was a sort of tone poem about that country's Herlen River. Sparse and airy, it featured Yo-Yo Ma himself on a Mongolian morin khuur, or "horse-head fiddle." (In case you were picturing something grotesque, the instrument is named for the carved-wood horse's head atop the fiddle's neck.) Played upright like a cello, it sounds less sweet than its European descendant, and somehow more rustic and "country." Also featured was the "long song" vocalizing of Khongorzul, from Mongolia's capital Ulaan Baatar. Taking in deep breaths, she would project long, fluttering phrases that sounded like they actually could carry all the way across the Gobi - from Las Vegas, yet. Written by Byambasuren Sharav, this atmospheric work could be considered Mongolian "new age" music if it didn't sound so ancient and wise.
Next up was a solo performance by Wu Man (that's her name, not just her gender) on a pipa, a lute-like stringed instrument from China. She played a traditional song that constantly shifted in tempo and intensity. The sound of the instrument changed as well: one minute it rang melodically like a mandolin; then she would pluck it quietly like a harp; and occasionally she would thrash furiously like Pete Townsend torturing his guitar at the end of a Who concert. Until she played sustained notes with vibrato in them, my ears couldn't identify the sound as distinctively Chinese, so broad was the range of tone and mood achieved by the player.
Did I mention there were danger and conflict on the Silk Road? The next modern piece, 'Blue as the Turquoise Night of Neyshabur', by Iranian composer Kayhan Kalhor, featured several traditional instruments from Persia and India. These, however, were utterly drowned out by the violins, violas, cellos, and contrabass - as if Asia were being warned never to get into a land war in Europe. The kemancheh, or "spike fiddle," from Iran and the Caucasus region, sounds somewhat tinnier than a violin and more - well, old. Its mournful sweetness couldn't be heard except during solos.
The ney, a Middle Eastern flute of bamboo, wood, or metal, made such a delicate
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Rob LaGrone, Jetsetters Magazine Correspondent – Read Jetsetters Magazine at www.jetsettersmagazine.com To book travel visit Jetstreams.com at www.jetstreams.com and for Beach Resorts visit Beach Booker at www.beachbooker.com
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Rob LaGrone, Jetsetters Magazine Correspondent. Join the Travel Writers Network in the logo at www.jetsettersmagazine.com Leave Your email next to the logo for FREE e travel newsletter.