Search - Chieftains :: In China

The Celtic-Chinese Connection!

Matthew Cariello | 05/17/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Why the Chieftains didn't follow up on this album is a mystery. It's filled with innovative and fascinating cross-cultural musical references, the potential of which is barely explored here. The pieces that combine the Chieftains and the Chinese ensembles are the best - you can get a dozen CDs with great Chieftains' music, but only one that combines the uilleann pipes and the pippa. The most fascinating thing about the album is the parallel between the musicians' roles in the Irish and Chinese groups, and how little effort it takes to make an Irish tune sound Chinese and a Chinese tune sound Irish. Even the instruments themselves are similar. The xiou is basically a Chinese tin whistle, the pipa is a lute, the san-xian is a banjo. Both musical traditions use hand-held drums, and the Chinese have no fewer than three different kinds of fiddles. I first heard this album twenty years ago, and bought it again in CD form as an inspiration for my daughter's violin lessons. And now I'm playing the tin whistle again. Enthusiastically recommended!"