Folk Music of China, Vol 1: Folk Songs of Qinghai and Gansu

This first volume of a wider collection of Chinese folk music focuses on songs from the Qinghai and Gansu provinces of north-western China. Across the 46 songs compiled, five minority communities are represented: the Yugur, Salar, Tu, Dongxiang and Bonan. Culturally diverse and with centuries of history, these five groups invariably have Turkic and Mongolian roots, given their geographical proximity to the Silk Road.

Almost exclusively a capella, and largely for solo voice, many of the songs are pastoral in nature, evoking mountains and wild grasslands, and the deep connection with nature that arises from an agricultural lifestyle. Some serve as epic ancestral narratives, steeped in history and legend. Also present are hua'er love songs, wedding songs, as well as ruminations on old age and the passage of time. For the most part, the songs are melodically pentatonic and the narrative is conveyed through soaring melismas and stunning falsetto flips. The liner notes provide ample historical and anthropological context, as well as complete lyrics.