Qin: Celestial Music for Qin and Xiao

The qin has a small but fanatical following, both in China and abroad. This is the seven-string zither that appears in ink paintings depicting Confucius or his followers, playing beneath lonely pines, in bamboo groves or on improbably steep mountainsides. Playing the qin was once an accomplishment for scholarly gentlemen, alongside poetry, calligraphy, archery, a modest demeanour and a taste for rice wine. It was played only for suitably educated intimates at elegant gatherings, requiring careful listening. No showiness here – none of the colour of Chinese opera nor the raucous ebullience of much rural music. Women have long played the qin, but until recently were taken less seriously amongst the qin elite. Deng Hong is female and has been educated at Beijing’s China Music Academy. She has a fine pedigree: her mother, Wang Di, learnt with the great qin master Guan Pinghu, and Deng plays a 13th century instrument. The qin’s intimate aesthetic is picked up in this CD using a close microphone that reveals every scrape of finger on silk, picking up almost inaudible inflections of vibrato and glissando. Tracks such as ‘Moon over Mountain Pass’ have great serenity, whilst others like ‘Flowing Waters’ create dramatic washes of sound.

Since the seventh century, the qin has had a beautiful partner in the mellifluous tones of the xiao (flute), and on this album it’s played on several tracks by Chen Shasha. Here and there are occasional intrusions from contemporary Chinese performance styles: an exaggerated slowing down to end ‘Yangguan san Die’ and phrases echoed between instruments that disturb the unison texture. But perhaps these will irritate only purists. Overall, this is a fine addition to the recordings of this profound and meditative instrument.