China: Music of the Pipa

On this CD:

1. Ambush on All Sides
Composed by Chinese Traditional
with Pui-yuen Lui

2. Fei ha dian cui (Floating Petals Decorating the Green Leaves)
Composed by Chinese Traditional
with Pui-yuen Lui

3. Ping sha luo yan (Wild Geese Descend on the Smooth Sand)
Composed by Chinese Traditional
with Pui-yuen Lui

4. Gao shan liu shui (High Mountain, Flowing Streams)
Composed by Chinese Traditional
with Pui-yuen Lui

5. Yang chun bai xue (Snow on a Sunny Spring Day)
Composed by Chinese Traditional
with Pui-yuen Lui

6. Yue er gao (The Moon on High)
Composed by Chinese Traditional
with Pui-yuen Lui

7. Yi dance
Composed by Huiran Wang
with Pui-yuen Lui

China: Music of the Pipa,Chinese Traditional,Huiran Wang,Nonesuch,Asia,China,Chinese,Int'l & World Music,Miscellaneous,Miscellaneous Music,Pipa,Pop,Traditional,Traditional Chinese,World Music
Pipa from a Distance
Average customer rating: 5 out of 5 stars
  • Long Road to China
  • East meets modern
  • Magnificent
  • great music!
  • The Best World Music CD in Decades has Arrived
Pipa from a Distance
Wu Man
Manufacturer: Naxos
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B00008RV0E
Release Date: 2003-04-15

Tracks:

  1. Invocation
  2. Dancing!
  3. Ancient Shadows
  4. Journey
  5. Hangzhou Blues
  6. Vincent's Tune
  7. Crescent Moon Over The Mountain
  8. Ambushed Again
  9. Full Circle
  10. From A Distance
  11. Bonus Track

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars Long Road to China.......2006-11-14

It began for me like this, in 1989 or thereabouts, I was flipping through channels on the telly and happened upon the tail end of a documentary on China. I remember little of the program, save the ending. As the credits rolled a young Chinese woman was playing a stringed instrument that I thought at the time was a samisen (gives you an idea how long it had been since I'd seen one of those). I know now it was a pipa. Her performance was strikingly virtuosic. I was amazed at both her amazing technique and equally, the wonderful sounds she was coaxing from this unique instrument. Though I could see the pipa was lute-like, its sound reminded me of the guitar and the banjo, but with a level of sonority that dwarfed both. The player executed what American musicians would call trills and minor bends on the strings that gave the instrument an aural tactile quality that was quite haunting. I was blown away.

Flash ahead 17 years.

I was walking through the Xavier University Library near the magazine section and happened upon an issue of World Literature Today. Famed cellist Yo-Yo Ma was on the cover and there was a blurb about his Silk Road Project. Being a fan of Ma, I decided to pull the mag and check out the article. On one of the pages there was a picture of Yo-Yo Ma, and two other musicians, one of them, a woman, playing a pipa. When I saw the instrument I immediately flashed back to the closing of the documentary 17 years before. The woman playing the pipa was Wu Man. Later, I came here to seek the Silk Road recordings for samples, then on a whim clicked on the link to Wu Man, saw pipa: from a distance, listened to samples and was instantly hooked.

Pipa from a distance is a remarkable recording. Wu Man manages to give the listener a taste of tradition and the contemporary, and at times the surreal. The pipa is the lute of China, with a history spanning two millennia. Its unique voice is not unlike the American banjo at times, but the pipa's dynamic range is far greater. Wearing artificial nails taped on all fingers of the right hand, a master pipa player can coax all manner of sounds from the instrument; individual notes can burst from the instrument in a staccato cascade, picking patterns that sound like rainfall, strings are sometimes trilled as in Blues, chords can be either delicate or thunderous. In capable hands, the pipa can be a formidable means of self expression, and Wu Man conjures the magical on this breathtaking recording.

The blend of musical forms is adventurous and amazing. There is the tranquil first track, "Invocation". Man wafts over the sounds of bells and e-bowed electric guitar, with the use of sound manipulation, the piece is both meditatively traditional, yet bordering on the mildly psychedelic.

"Dancing" is a joyous tune. This piece includes banjo and it compliments the pipa well. Their voices are similar, yet so different, as they call back and forth. The didgeridoo is used to good effect here and elsewhere on the recording.

"Journey" displays the lyrical side of the pipa. Lilting and graceful, yet powerful, Wu Man glides through the piece like a bird in flight. Tabla samples, shaker and didgeridoo provide gentle accompaniment. This is one of my favorites on the CD. I often leave it looped to bask in the beauty of it.

"Hangzhou Blues" was quite a surprise. Wu Man plugs in, connecting her pipa to a wah wah pedal and into an amp. I had this image of her sitting next to a Marshall stack, pipa induced feedback rising behind her. You'd think this wouldn't work, but it exceeded my expectations. The sound is otherworldly, and massive. I had to remind myself she was playing a pipa. This track stands out from the others in sheer daring. She doesn't overplay her hand, and her technique transferred well to the electric context. Hendrix would have loved it (of course, the pipa acoustically would have stunned him).

"Vincent's Tune" is another favorite. The piece slowly builds to a climax that made me think of Meredith Monk, the screeching "toy" used at the end comes very close to sounding like a human voice. The piece exudes an almost overwhelming exuberance.

The last track I'd like to comment on is one of the solo pipa pieces, "Ambushed Again" The pipa alone is incredible. As a solo instrument one can hear how versatile the pipa can be in the right hands. Wu Man bears down on the instrument, drawing out its subtleties and its thunder. Any rock guitarist could appreciate the edgy chordal passage of "Ambushed Again". Man's rhythmic sense shines through on this piece; darting back and forth like a boxer, until the pipa sounds like its being shaken to pieces.

This recording is a great place to start for the novice to pipa music. Here it is very accessible and beautifully produced. Still, one should not overlook the classical pipa music of China. Wu Man has a two disk set of this traditional music. "From A Distance" clearly shows how well she works in collaboration, but alone she is a wonder to behold. I can only hope I get the chance to see her live.








4 out of 5 stars East meets modern.......2006-11-10

What an interesting CD. Pipa from a Distance presents an exciting blend of ancient styles and modern sounds. Very interesting to the ear. Some selections are unusual - almost irritating (but so is Led Zepplin and I own all of those CDs) - but overall a CD for the person who likes variety and sometimes the unusual.

5 out of 5 stars Magnificent.......2005-02-15

Just can't praise this CD too highly.

I usually stick with classical music (Mozart, Stamitz etc) but this CD,has opened up a whole new dimension. I just play it over and over. Never get tired of it.

5 out of 5 stars great music!.......2004-08-23

"Dancing" is my favorite song! I listen to this CD over and over, and never get tired of Wu Man's music.

5 out of 5 stars The Best World Music CD in Decades has Arrived.......2003-04-25

Wu Man is to the pipa, the Chinese lute-like instrument, what Robert Fripp is to the guitar. There are no limits, there is only walking out into the garden to greet the future. The music here is ecstatically inspired and while the Cd begins and closes with sublime traditional tones, what happens in between is the stuff of dreams, of wonder, of giving oneself over to Music so that Music may take you into its confidence.
Not since King Crimson's "Discipline" have I been so thoroughly amazed and inspired by a sustained effort throughout an entire CD. This is not to say that Wu Man is replicating Fripp's Bartok meets Hendrix in style, but certainly in spirit.The opening "Invocation" is as quietly spiritual a piece as you are likely to hear. A bit like Fripp's Soundscapes before the roar of Crimson. "Dancing" is almost Beatle-like and absolutely inspiring. All through I kept expecting to hear McCartney, Lennon and Harrison chime in, and if you're sitting all through this number, you have serious enjoyment issues. "Ancient Spirit" and "Walking to the East" begin an hypnotic, polyrhythmic journey into another culture. Surely Wu Man's participation in Yo Yo Ma's Silk Road Ensemble has given her a sense of adventure, and this sublimely sets the tone for the adventurous and blistering "Shanghai Blues", and here is where Fripp meets his match. The intensity of Wu Man's electric pipa is scorchingly awe-inspiring. This is as brilliant a display of electric blues as Hendrix's "Voodoo Chile, Slight Return." Stevie Ray, Jimi, and the remarkable Fripp would all pay homage to such protean fretwork. And it has a deep blues groove that is just fantastic. If you have ever seen Wu Man in concert, you know this girl can cook, and cook she does!
"Vincent's Tune" returns a sense of innocence to the proceeedings as it opens and closes with a sample from her young son on toy piano and voice. Very reminiscent of Yes's "Circus of Heaven." "White Crane Flying" is a zen like mesmerizing piece worthy of Takemitsu in its subtle complexities. "Ambushed Again" turns up an incendiary heat once more that is resolved in "Bamboo Dreams." Again, I would draw the analogy to Crimson's "Sheltering Sky", a polyrhythmic meditation.
As for the title track, I had steered clear of this disc for a few weeks because I dreaded the prospect that so intrepid a performer as Wu Man might have recorded the treacly pop tune of the same title. Imagine the overwhelming relief when I discovered that this is an original, as is the entire CD, composition setting a certain distance of reflection on the preceeding 50 minutes, before it closes with the hidden track that is just Wu Man singing, and her voice is gorgeous!
All in all, Wu Man has done that rare thing of advancing the art of a tradition with inspired new compositions. There are many wonderful interpreters of the canons of culture. There are few who take that culture on to an inspired new plane. Wu Man has done just that. I hope you will pick this CD up. I hope Amazon will promote it visibly on its site. This is worth the attention. All praise to Naxos for releasing it so affordably. This is the best 10 bucks you'll ever spend on music. Thank you deeply to Wu Man for sharing her vision and her art.
Chinese Traditional Pipa Music
Average customer rating: 5 out of 5 stars
  • Beautiful music to listen to while reading, painting...
Chinese Traditional Pipa Music
Liu Fang
Manufacturer: Oliver Sudden Prod
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B00000JFPM
Release Date: 1997-05-15

Tracks:

  1. The Great Wave Washes the Beach
  2. Flying Snow Decorating the Green
  3. Melody From A Bamboo House
  4. The Love of the Wei River
  5. The Dance of the Yi People
  6. Spring Rain
  7. The Romance of the Red River Valley
  8. The Moon Is High
  9. The Flower Festival

Album Description

Solo performer Liu Fang plays authentic instrumental pieces for the pipa, a 2000-year-old four-stringed Chinese lute. This extraordinary collection od digitally-recorded traditional compositions captures the pipa's unique and meditative sound. Complete with detailed liner notes in English, French and Chinese.

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars Beautiful music to listen to while reading, painting..........2002-01-04

meditating, dining, bonsai gardening... The pipa is a 2000 year old four stringed Chinese Lute. Want to get relaxed? Listen to this CD. The quality of sound on this recording is superb. Enjoy the pipa's unique and meditative sound.
China: Music of the Pipa
Average customer rating: 5 out of 5 stars
  • Beautiful and Soothing...
China: Music of the Pipa

Manufacturer: Nonesuch
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B000005IWR
Release Date: 1991-04-17

Tracks:

  1. Shi Mian Mai Fu (Ambuscade From Ten Sides)
  2. Fei Hua Dian Cui (Floating Petals Decorating The Green Leaves)
  3. Ping Sha Luo Yan (Wild Geese Descend On The Smooth Sand)
  4. Gao Shan Liu Shui (High Mountain, Flowing Streams)
  5. Yang Chun Bai Xue (Snow On A Sunny Spring Day)
  6. Yue Er Gao (The Moon On High)
  7. Yi Zu Wu Qu (Dance Of The Yi Tribe)

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars Beautiful and Soothing..........2003-03-04

That's the best way I can describe this wonderful music. It is great background music and very much enjoyable as one cooks, paints, meditates, or just relaxes. It is very pleasant to have when greeting guests for that Chinese meal you prepare. This music should be played in restaurants, instead of pop music (as many Chinese restaurants play pop). It would certainly be more inviting...
Zhou Long: The Book of Songs
Average customer rating: Not rated
    Zhou Long: The Book of Songs

    Manufacturer: Cala
    ProductGroup: Music
    Binding: Audio CD

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    ASIN: B00030EEVS
    Release Date: 2006-11-20
    Chinese Music for the Pipa
    Average customer rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    • Sparkling, Shimmering, Passionate!
    Chinese Music for the Pipa
    Wu Man
    Manufacturer: Nimbus Records
    ProductGroup: Music
    Binding: Audio CD

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    ASIN: B0000037F1
    Release Date: 1995-04-16

    Tracks:

    1. Dengyue Jiaohui (Lanterns And Moon Competing In Brilliance)
    2. Wulin Yiyun (Ancient Melodies Of Wuliin)
    3. Bawang Xie (The Tyrant Removes His Armour)
    4. Chen Sui (Chen And Sui Dynasties)
    5. Xu Lai (Sounds Of Nature, By LIU Tianhua, 1929)
    6. Yue'er Gao (The Moon On High)
    7. Dian (The Points, By CHEN Yi, 1991)

    Customer Reviews:

    5 out of 5 stars Sparkling, Shimmering, Passionate!.......2003-03-06

    Having recently caught Wu Man in concert with Orchestra 2001 in Swarthmore, where I was totally blown out of my seat by the dynamics and intensity and passion of her performance, I hurriedly picked up this disc, hoping it would reflect the power and majesty I had witnessed. It does! In spades!
    This is a blend of traditional pieces and 20th Century pieces and it is a stunner top to bottom. Wu Man is an exquisitely beautiful woman who is regarded as a master of the Pudong school of pipa playing. I know nothing about that. What I can tell you is that her fretwork and absorption into the soul of the music is compelling!
    In concert, she played pieces by contemporary Chinese composers Zhou Long, May-Tchi Chen, and Tan Dun. This disc includes a masterpiece by Chen Yi, "Dian", written in 1999. Wu Man takes this piece and flies with it. It is breathtaking. In the course of the entire disc, you'll find yourself swept away, exhilarating and seduced by her uncompromising command and devoted passion to this music. Supremely sublime, intensely performed, the music crosses all cultural boundaries and gets inside you, all as a result of Wu Man's commitment to the music. Nimbus did a great job recording her. You owe it to yourself to check this out and to catch her in performance. If you thought Michelle Kwon was amazing in "Crouching Tiger," wait til you see Wu Man command a concert audience. When she finished at Swarthmore, the crowd would not let her leave! Her encores included 2 traditional pieces, "White Snow in Spring", exhilaratingly passionate, and "Bright Moon," sublimely sensual and soothing, and in the afterglow of that spellbinding moment, she disappeared. Go, purchase this, catch her live!
    Works of Akira Ifukube: 25-String Koto
    Average customer rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    • Akira Ifukube & Keiko Nosaka at their best
    Works of Akira Ifukube: 25-String Koto

    Manufacturer: Camerata
    ProductGroup: Music
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    ASIN: B00004RJ3Y
    Release Date: 2000-03-28

    Tracks:

    1. Pipa Xing
    2. Chant de la Serinde
    3. Kugo-Ka

    Customer Reviews:

    5 out of 5 stars Akira Ifukube & Keiko Nosaka at their best.......2002-09-05

    Unlike many koto CDs, this one doesn't make any misguided attempt to widen its audience by including various performers and works by various composers. The CD includes 3 works by Akira Ifukube ("Godzilla"). It is unique as far as I know in that all the pieces are solos for the 25-string koto and they're all played by Keiko Nosaka, the inventor and unrivalled master of the instrument. Thematically, the pieces are also linked, all being connected in some way with China or West Asia. This, in my opinion, makes them more accesible to many western listeners than pieces composed in the predominant "Japanese modern" tradition. Finally, two of the pieces are Ifukube's interpretation of what songs played on long-forgotten ancient instruments may have sounded like. This seems to free up his imagination as never before, and the music is strangely evocative, in places having a deceptively meandering character.

    The first piece, Pipa Xing, is inspired by a poem by Bo Ju-Yi, from the Tang Dynasty, telling of the shared misfortune of the poet and a "pipa" (lute) performer, both of whom had been relegated from prominent positions in the imperial court. "The composition borrows some aspects of the form of the poem, and has a free three-part structure." (Quotes are from the liner notes.) It is particularly fitting to use the 25-string koto for such a subject because a 25-stringed zither, called the "se", used to be performed in ancient China.

    The second piece, Chant de la Serinde, is the shortest of the three and "is built up from an interplay between a slow, exotic melody in West-Asian style...and a section in rapid toccata style." The subject is the peoples who dwelled west of China in the days when the Silk Road was at its peak.

    The final piece is Kugo-Ka. The title refers to the "konghou", a harp-like instrument that was played in West Asia, China and Japan until around the 8th century, and was included at one time in the "gagaku" (Japanese court music) tradition. Interestingly, the piece was composed for the guitar in 1969, and the score was unmodified for performance on the koto. This must have presented many technical challenges for Nosaka, as traditional koto technique involves predominantly the thumb of the right hand, but she rises to them effortlessly. "The piece is in ternary form (ABA'), with a stately introduction. Section A is an allegretto dominated by elegant wave-like figures composed of groups of thirty seconds. B is an adagio in a broad, ancient lyrical style."

    If you have a vague knowledge of the traditional 13-string koto from "Melodies from Japan" style compilation CDs, often performed by former stars who have lost the power of their younger days, this CD may surprise you with its power, the range of the now 13-year-old 25-stringed version of the instrument, and the virtuosity of Nosaka, still the only prominent solo exponent of the instrument.
    Tales From the Cave
    Average customer rating: Not rated
      Tales From the Cave

      Manufacturer: Delos Records
      ProductGroup: Music
      Binding: Audio CD

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      ASIN: B0002IQB1C
      Release Date: 2004-08-03

      Tracks:

      1. Tales from the Cave
      2. Secluded Orchid
      3. Heng (Eternity)
      4. Five Elements: Metal
      5. Five Elements: Wood
      6. Five Elements: Water
      7. Five Elements: Fire
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      Classical Folk Music from China
      Average customer rating: Not rated
        Classical Folk Music from China

        Manufacturer: Arc
        ProductGroup: Music
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        ASIN: B0007D0AEQ
        Release Date: 2005-01-01

        Tracks:

        1. Ninety-Nine Days Bright
        2. Dynasty
        3. Little Boat
        4. Happy Maid
        5. Waves and Sands
        6. Dream Till Tomorrow
        7. Golden Snake Dance
        8. Liang Xiao
        9. Bamboo Dance
        10. Gong Wu
        11. Beautiful Africa
        12. Nan Ni Village
        13. Return of the Fishing Boats
        14. Xiao Baicai
        15. Xiao Music at Midnight
        China: Contemporary Classical Music
        Average customer rating: Not rated
          China: Contemporary Classical Music

          Manufacturer: Ocora
          ProductGroup: Music
          Binding: Audio CD

          ChinaChina | Far East & Asia | International | Styles | Music
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          ASIN: B000068MNL
          Release Date: 2002-11-12

          Tracks:

          1. Yu da Ba Jiao (The Rain Hits the Leaves of the Banana-Tree) - The Circle for Popular Art
          2. Hantian Lei (Thunder During a Drought) - The Circle for Popular Art
          3. Wujian Huange (The River Wu's Song of Joy) - The Circle for Popular Art, Zhan Yongming
          4. Hua Bangzi - The Circle for Popular Art, Meng Xiande
          5. Qi Ban - The Circle for Popular Art, Meng Xiande
          6. Wu Bangzi - Su Ruilin, Zhan Yongming
          7. Jindiao (Jin's Song) - Su Ruilin
          8. Zhao Jun Yan (The Lamentations of Zhao Jun)
          9. Xiao Yuer Gao (The Moon Is High)
          10. Han Que Zheng Mei (In Winter the Magpie Searches Desperately for ...)
          11. Long Chuan (Dragon-Boats)
          12. Ting Quan (Listening to the Brook) - Zhan Yongming
          13. Yangguan San Die (Three Variations on the Yangguan Pass) - Zhan Yongming
          14. Ahuangtai Qiu Si (Autumnal Dream Before the Dressing-Table) - Zhan Yongming
          15. San Wu Qi (Three-Five-Seven) - Zhan Yongming
          16. Xingjie (Passacaglia) - The Circle for Popular Art
          Sheng: Orchestral Works
          Average customer rating: 4 out of 5 stars
          • Great Introduction to a Chinese Classical Composer
          Sheng: Orchestral Works
          Sheng , Gondek , Qiang , Wong , and Hong Kong Po
          Manufacturer: Naxos
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          Binding: Audio CD

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          5. George Crumb: Songs, Drones, and Refrains of Death

          ASIN: B00008IHVY
          Release Date: 2003-03-18

          Tracks:

          1. Prelude
          2. Fanfare
          3. The Stream Flows
          4. The Three Gorges Of The Long River
          5. Chai Tou Feng
          6. Sheng Sheng Man
          7. Nanking! Nanking! A Threnody For Orchestra And Pipa

          Customer Reviews:

          4 out of 5 stars Great Introduction to a Chinese Classical Composer.......2003-04-26

          A few years ago, if someone had put a gun to my head and demanded that I name two Chinese composers quickly, well, let's just say I wouldn't be reviewing right now. Then along came Tan Dun and Bright Sheng and the atmosphere for Chinese composers became much brighter. Dun is perhaps the more traditionally Chinese...often his music seems more like a Taoist ceremony than a classical composition, brilliant though some of it is. Bright Sheng however, is more immediately attractive and understandable to westernized ears. But no less enjoyable!

          Sheng is sort of a Chinese version of a neo-romantic. The three works on this disc are all for large orchestra. All of the hallmarks of the younger generation of neo-romantics are there, infectious rhythm, dazzling orchestration, expansive statements, a dissonant harmonic language that borrows equally from Bartok and Stravinsky with occasional hints of even wilder influences such as Varese. Grafted onto this is a melodic idiom taken from Chinese sources and you have a vibrant, muscular but pleasing music indeed.

          The first work on the album is China Dreams. The genesis of this work was in a number of different commissions that the composer recieved over the years 1992-95. The work is brilliantly scored and is a lot of fun to listen to. Though in passages it is quite dissonant, it is always tonal and extremely lyrical or rhythmic. The work does have the feeling of an occasional work though...in some ways it sounds like four separate overtures collected together in one piece. Given the style of commissioning in major American orchestras currently, this isn't surprising. A composer of Sheng's stature in the 90s would have been more likely to build a career through small "program openers" than through a major work...he's now graduated to the major work stage!

          The Two Poems are much more modernist in flavor. The vocal line is definately influenced by Chinese vocal traditions, and you can hear some elements of traditional techniques in the orchestration, but for the most part this sounds like music one would expect from a young Columbia student in the 80s...dissonant, atonal and in many ways quite violent. In this work you can definately hear the influence of Sheng's teachers Chou Wen Chung, and Mario Davidovsky.

          The third work is the prize of the CD. Nanking, Nanking is an extremely moving work. It is a personal response to the 1937 Nanking massacre. The work is not light, as it shouldn't be. The idiom is heavy with dissonance and tragedy. The work features a pipa soloist. The pipa is a traditional Chinese lute, very difficult to play. Normally, I find such mixtures of western and eastern instruments gimmicky or at least problematic, but in this work the pipa is beautifully integrated into the texture, neither clashing with, nor subordinating itself to the primarily western idiom of the orchestra.

          So this is a great CD to use as an introduction to the composer. As far as I can tell the performances are terrific and the sound is full. Keep in mind, the work of this composer is not New Age (as Tan Dun can sometimes be.) He is modern, studied with arch modernists and still has much of that aesthetic in his work. Nanking particularly is not an easy listen. It is harrowing. But the work will stretch your ears and I believe it is well worth hearing.

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