Chinese pipa master Wu Man collaborates with shakuhachi virtuoso Kojiro Umezaki in a new album titled Flow (流芳). Release date: February 19th, 2021.
Drawing upon folk tunes, contemporary styles, elements of improvisation, and the timbral interplay between these two ancient Chinese and Japanese instruments, the solo and duo works on this album are meant to evoke the changes of season in a traditional Eastern garden.
The music was originally composed by the two artists for a video installation by Beijing-born visual artist Tang Qingnian. The two musicians provide details: “Not far from downtown Los Angeles lies Liu Fang Yuan, a spectacular 15-acre classical-style garden inspired by those in Suzhou, China, that is part of The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens.
“In 2019, The Huntington commissioned Tang Qingnian to create a video installation [Fragrant Rhythms: The Seasons of Liu Fang Yuan] to commemorate the garden’s latest phase of expansion. The video, created as part of the Cheng Family Foundation Visiting Artist program, celebrates scenes from all four seasons in the garden, plus its ever-present landscaping of bamboo.”
Buy Flow
Author: World Music Central News Room
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