Yo-Yo Ma & The Silk Road Ensemble - Silk Road Journeys: Beyond the Horizon

Information

1. Indrajit Dey; Sandeep Das - Mohini (Enchantment)
2. Oasis
3. Zhao Jiping; Zhao Lin - Distant Green Valley
4. Akhalqalaqi Dance (Georgian/Armenian Traditional)
5. Zhao Jiping - Echoes of a Lost City
6. Kayhan Kalhor - Mountains are Far Away
7. Yanzi (Swallow Song) (Kazakh/Chinese Traditional)
8. Battle Remembered
9. Zhao Jiping - Summer in the High Grassland
10. Fikret Amirov - Kor Arab (The Blind Arab)
11. Uzeyir Hajibeyov; Mammad Ordubadi - Shikasta (Minstrel's Song)
12. Night at the Caravanserai (Turkish Traditional)
13. Kayhan Kalhor - Gallop of a Thousand Horses
14. Sandeep Das - Tarang (Currents)
15. Zhao Jiping - Sacred Cloud Music

Yo-Yo Ma, cello

The Silk Road Ensemble

Date: 2004

Label: Sony

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Review

Continuing their explorations on Silk Road Journeys: When Strangers Meet, Yo-Yo Ma and the Silkroad Ensemble go even deeper into cross-cultural studies on this 2005 soundtrack album. Produced for a 10-part series on Japan's NHK television network, the CD's 15 tracks are arranged in three suites, entitled Enchantment, Origins, and New Beginnings, more reflective of inherent musical affinities than of the way the music was used in the program. The musicians tap into the variously overlapping musical styles of lands stretching from China and India to Iran and Turkey, and the arrangements by Zhao Jiping and Zhao Lin include a mix of instruments from around the world, to add greater color and sonic dimensions. The album's exotic and meditative qualities may attract fans of both international and new age music, though there is perhaps little crossover appeal for Ma's classical devotees. Due to the group's cohesion and spirit of cooperation, solos are fairly evenly distributed, and Ma stands out no more or less than the other players. Indeed, kamancheh virtuoso Kayhan Kalhor and vocalist Alim Qasimov have greater prominence, and it may even be said that tabla master Sandeep Das steals the show. Sony's sound quality is satisfactory, though a little soft in places.

— Blair Sanderson

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Yo-Yo Ma (born 7 October 1955 in Paris) is an American cellist renowned for his exceptional technique and cross-cultural collaborations that broadened classical music's reach. A prodigy, he debuted at Carnegie Hall at 9, studied at Juilliard, and graduated from Harvard in 1977. Celebrated for his interpretations of standard repertoire, he has also explored diverse genres, collaborating with artists from bluegrass to tango. In 1998 he founded the Silk Road Project to promote global artistic exchange. A prolific recording artist, Ma has received numerous prestigious honors, including multiple Grammy Awards.

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