Lily Yuan: The Ancient Art Music of China

This is another great Lyrichord world music release, featuring the masterful Lily Yuan on the yangqin, a hammered dulcimer or zither.  The liner notes explain that what distinguishes the instrument from similar ones in other parts of the world is the use of bamboo hammers or beaters that provide a much different range of timbre and dynamics.

The word yangqin means "foreign stringed instrument," and it is likely, the notes continue, that it migrated from Persia, where it is known as the santur (other posts on this blog have highlighted Persian recordings including that instrument.)  Interestingly, the yangqin has only in recent decades been utilized as a solo instrument, as on this album, because it has traditionally been used to accompany other instruments in ensemble or vocalists.

Yuan was raised in Shanghai and was a child prodigy performing frequently on television and radio and, at 11, entered a major music conservatory in Beijing and performed for such dignataries as President Carter, among many others.  She studied in Shanghai and joined the faculty of the music conservatory there.  She later received a master's degree in music from the University of Toronto and began performing widely in North America.  For years, she worked and taught on the East Coast of the U.S., but is now based in Irvine, California, teaching the yangqin and piano.

The nine pieces on this amazing recording feature Yuan's remarkable abilities, not just technically (although her abilities here are stunning), but also in evoking emotional range. The performances reflect the very long historical traditions of classical Chinese music and the resonant tones on the yangqin provide a depth and shimmering quality that brings the pieces beautifully to life.