Jasmine Flower

The Paris-based erhu (two-stringed fiddle) player Guo Gan is part of a burgeoning generation of traditional East Asian musicians who are intent on cultivating a dialogue with Western musicians and audiences. Aside from promoting his own Chinese tradition, Guo Gan's prolific career has encompassed Western art music, film soundtracks and jazz. This recording consists of Guo Gan's own trio arrangements of traditional Chinese folk songs alongside more contemporary concert pieces, and one item originally scored for a Hong Kong movie. The intimacy of this line-up, which also features Rao Ying on guzheng (21-stringed plucked zither) and Lai Long Han on dizi (transverse bamboo flute), suits the music perfectly, as the sonority and texture of each instrument is given space to breathe.

Rather than using his fellow instrumentalists as mere accompaniment to his playing, Guo Gan's arrangements utilise the vast sonic potential of each instrument to sublime effect. Cascades of harp-like arpeggios interweave beautifully with melodies ornamented with calligraphic delicacy. Each musician performs with a sensitivity and musicality that lends the recording a soft dynamism. Guo Gan's own playing exemplifies the capabilities of his simple yet notoriously difficult instrument. The pieces themselves, whilst disparate in terms of region, share a largely pastoral nature, evoking mountain peaks, flowing water and horse racing in the Mongolian desert. He himself has recently stated that he wishes to dedicate more time to his own compositions. If this recording is anything to go by, that is an exciting prospect.