Folk Music of China, Vol 2: Folk Songs of Inner Mongolia and Heilongjiang

This second volume of Naxos World's compendium of Chinese folk music focuses on songs from Inner Mongolia and Heilongjiang province in north-eastern China. Five minority groups are represented across the 46 tracks: the Mongol, Daur, Hezhen, Oroqen and Evenki tribes – each with their own distinct language and culture. Exclusively performed by solo voice, the songs largely draw from the intrinsic relationship between each tribe and their natural environment, including evocations of grasslands, mountain forests and rivers. There are also shamanic songs, wistful meditations on the passage of time, and ancestral narratives.

While the majority of the recordings are between one and two minutes in length, some unfold more gradually. This is especially evident on the album's highlight, ‘The Lover’, in which Daur singer Meng Manrong weaves a tragic tale of lost love across four minutes. While the songs never veer from traditional Chinese pentatonic melodicism, there is much diversity in the vocal delivery between the differing tribes. From soaring, wide vibratos (‘Vast Grasslands’, performed by Gu Li Ge) to intimate lullabies and melancholy ruminations (‘In Retrospect’, performed by Nei Shumei), there is a wealth of emotional nuance on display. For added context, the CD comes with a booklet of extensive historical and anthropological notes, as well as lyrical outlines for each song.