10 pipa solo pieces performed by Liu Fang as part of her pipa series. This volume concentrates on various folk roots styles from different parts of China, including Yunan Province (southern China), Yinzhou pipa music (southeast China) Guangdong music (southern China) Shanxi Province (west China) and Xinjiang Province (northwest China). Exquisite performances from a true maestro.

The Guzheng (pronounced "Goo-Jeng") is a plucked zither, related to the Japanese koto, Vietnamese dan tranh and the Korean kayagum. It is one of the most ancient Chinese musical instruments dating back to at least the Qin dynasty (about 220 BC). The guzheng is made of a wooden sound body with strings arched across movable bridges and usually has between 21-25 strings.The guzheng has been a popular instrument since ancient times and is considered as one of the main chamber as well as solo instruments of Chinese traditional music. Liu Fang, already established as one of the world's leading pipa players, has recorded her first album of solo guzheng music. The twelve tracks are traditional pieces for guzheng and folk melodies from various areas of China. Beautifully recorded, fantastically played, the guzheng has long been a part of Liu Fang's live performances. Now at last her exquisite playing can be enjoyed on a CD of pure quality.

"... a virtuoso player of the pipa (and no slouch on the guzheng zither), as ably displayed on this CD of time-worn compositions from back home. She shifts nimbly from sparse passages that allow the pipa? sharp tones to blossom and breathe, to blistering runs that, in their density, would make flamenco masters weep." - Montreal Mirror.

This CD (The Soul of Pipa, Vol. 2) is a veritable feast of alluring sounds, ranging from the eloquent and lyrical to the flamboyant and percussive. The varied soundscape produced by one player and one instrument is quite dazzling. Liu Fang's masterly technique (e.g. tremolo, delicate harmonics, lyrical tunes, and boisterous percussive effects), as well as the music itself -- which is based on short sections characterized by ever-changing tempos and dynamics - all evoke an improvised and exciting quality. ... Definitely a CD to enrich anyone's musical palette and provide a sample of China's rich musical heritage, ..." - The Wholenote Magazine

Amazing collaboration of two ancient instruments that share a common root, the Chinese pipa and Arabic oud. Farhan Sabbagh from Syria also plays Arabic percussion on some tracks, while the wonderful Liu Fang plays zheng (zither) adding to an already rich pallette of sounds.