From China to Appalachia

Musically, China is vast and variegated and Appalachia much smaller and more isolated. But you’ll find yourself tempted to hear the two as sister cultures after listening to the delightful discoveries shared here by these three women. The percussive playing of Beijing-bred Chao Tian’s yangqin, a Chinese hammered dulcimer with origins in the ancient Middle East, fits flawlessly with the plucked and strummed five-string banjo of Cathy Fink and the cello banjo of Marcy Marxer, as well as with the gourd banjo, mandolin and guitar deployed by the latter two American women on various of the 13 tracks of this album. Harmonic modes and melody lines of the cultures also blend beautifully, so that in one medley of Appalachian and Han folk songs (‘Little Betty Ann/Kitchen Girl/Midu Mountain Song’), you might not guess which is which. The women are icons of mastering each other’s traditions, even singing and speaking in both languages, and rendering the union enjoyable.