An
extract (4 min.) from a documentary by CBC TV (BravoCanada)
broadcasted on January 12, 2008, 8:30pm. Thanks to BBC (BravoCanada)
for the permission to use this recording for demo purposes.
Pinghu
qiuyue - "Autumn Moon over the calm waters of the lake"
Cantonese music by Lu Wencheng.
This composition is inspired by the magnificent sight of West
Lake in Hangzhou, with light breeze blowing over the water,
and landscape dotted with gardens, bridges and willows, under
the infinite clear blue sky, filling the soul of serenity and
content.
Jiaochuang
yeyü - "The night rain beats banana leaves"
Traditional Hakka tune, in a transcript of Luo Jiuxiang
This ancient melody in central China has been preserved by
the Hakka ethnic group. The title dates back to the Song Dynasty,
contained in a famous poem:
"The torment occupy my soul,
And yet I know not whence they emanate.
bursts of rain whipped the banana leaves outside my window
throughout the night.
I got up in the morning,
I try to lighten my heart by a good make-up.
But, oh! I would better not even to touch my eyebrows,
As sadness crawls in my heart once more! "
"Guangling
fantasia" (Guang
Ling San) – a famous ancient guqin tune, later transcribed
by Wang Changyuan for guzheng solo, recorded
live at Liu Fang's solo recital in the Theatre de la Ville of
Paris on May 8, 2006.
About
the music:
The
original guqin solo was composed by the renowned scholar
and guqin master, Ji Kang, one of the “seven gentlemen
in the bamboo forest” in the Wei period (3rd century).
It
is a traditional piece from the Chinese classical repertoire.
Click
here for another version,recorded live at
Liu Fang's solo recital at the Almeria
Music Festival, Spain on June 19, 2008.
"...
She has an extraordinary focused, poised presence in her
manner and her playing. In a lesser player this is just
a trained formality; the body of material and techniques
for her instruments is extremely highly developed, passed
down through centuries. But Liu Fang’s total devotion
to her playing has moved her beyond perfect execution to
the creativity and flexibility that marks a true musician.
..." - fROOTS
Magazine 2006.06
"...
graceful, soft, yet powerful, ... Thus the joy of this album
is not just in the supernaturally soothing and meditative
quality of Fang’s pipa, but its merging with other
meditative instruments from around the world, ..."
- DailyOM, December 25, 2006.
"Seagulls
playing in water" (Hanya
Xishui) - traditional
piece from the Chinese classical repertoire, recorded live at Liu
Fang's solo recital in the Theatre de la Ville
of Paris on May 8, 2006. The whole piece is about 6 minutes.
About
this piece
This
is one of the most famous Chaozhou Zheng solo pieces. With
its rich poetic sentiment it describes the scene of carefree
seagulls leisurely playing over the sea, pursuing each other
happily and expressing a kind of comfortable ease one seeks
in life.
"The
autumn moon in the palace of a Han emperor"
(Hangong
Qiuyue):
traditional
piece from the Chinese classical repertoire, recorded
live at Liu Fang's solo recital in the Pierre-mercurre
Hall, Centre Pierre-Peladou, Montreal, on march 27,
2003.
This
ancient melody is said to represent the loneliness and melancholic
feeling of the court ladies in the palace of a Han Emperor.
The title just perfectly reflects the musical atmosphere.
"Chanting
of a tiema"
(Tie MaYin):
composed by Zhao Dengshan in 1980s, recorded live at
Liu Fang's solo recital in the Pierre-mercurre Hall,
Centre Pierre-Peladou, Montreal, on march 27, 2003.
Click
here
to view comments or to write a comment.
An
HQ video by Dutch TV,
December
14, 2008: Interview and live performance at the vrijegeluiden
TV (music channel).
Presskits
- information and music samples 
"
"Guangling
fantasia" (Guang
Ling San) – a famous ancient guqin tune, later transcribed
by Wang Changyuan for guzheng solo, recorded
live at Liu Fang's solo recital in the Theatre de la Ville of
Paris on May 8, 2006.
