Composer: Various

Information:
Coro is the lively and successful record label of The Sixteen, The Symphony of Harmony and Invention and Harry Christophers. Formed in 2001, Coro is re-mastering, re-packaging and re-issuing recordings of The Sixteen that were for a short time available on Collins Classics. Every year The Sixteen and Coro make brand new recordings.
CORO is delighted to announce the launch of the new Acoustic World series. Globalisation, ease of travel, Acoustic World and 24-hour media showing the Earth’s remotest corners has proved that the world is indeed small. In some way it has also made us protective of our local heritage, drawing the culture of one’s home country into sharper focus. This world music series shows the musical side of the phenomenon. This exciting set of discs, featuring some of the best musicians in the world, contains carefully chosen music in compilations possessing a natural musical flow. None of the musicians play electric instruments, giving the music a fabulous authentic feel, and many performances are live, allowing the local atmosphere to come sparkling through. The Acoustic World series represents a new strand in CORO’s catalogue which already features artists such as The Hilliard Ensemble and Sarah Connolly as well as a ‘Live’ series and young artists focus. The series epitomizes CORO’s values of excellence of performance, authentic instruments, brilliance of sound and world class musicians. This fascinating disc from China is the second release in the new Acoustic World series and presents classical repertoire led by four exponents of different traditions: Lin Youren, Wu Man, Li Jinwen, and Xuan Ke. Wu Man, the internationally renowned pipa virtuoso, is arguably Chinese classical music’s most famous artist. Now resident in New York she is as active in contemporary music as in the traditional repertoire, pushing the boundaries of Chinese music. Three exquisite pieces from her ensemble appear on this disc. Master of the qin zither, Lin Youren resists forced modernisation, and gives us a tantalising glimpse into the past. But, in the best traditions of music cross-fertilisation, he gives us a gentle nod to English football fans in his Improvisation for Michael Owen – a piece inspired by the singing in the pub where he was himself watching England play Argentina in the 1998 World Cup! Xuan Ke and the Dayan Ancient Music Association play music derived from old ritual music festivals by Dongjing religious Associations. They play some instruments not found anywhere else – the reedpipe bobo and the plucked lute suguda. Li Jinwen leads a group of musicians playing “sheng-guan” music for wind and percussion. Sheng-guan is still popular in folk rituals today as is singing and the vocal setting of “Geese crossing over the southern mansion” is one of the highlights of this compilation.