Album

Purportedly a mix of classical and folk music from the Chinese repertoire, this album is really a set of works based on classical and folk idioms, but stemming more directly from films, musicals, and such. The Heart of the Dragon Ensemble hails from the U.K., playing primarily compositions from the 20th century, but still using the basic silk-and-bamboo lineup of instruments. The performances are nice, the performers working well together to create a texture of sound. The compositions themselves, however, leave more to be desired. For example, while it is an intriguing concept to adapt African folk to the yangqin, it just doesn't work so well. A valiant effort, but the album doesn't really match up with some of the more traditional performers, or the iconoclasts on the world fusion scene.

© Adam Greenberg, Rovi

CD 1
Ruxing Gao Composer Ninety Nine Days Bright Work Heart of the Dragon Ensemble Ensemble, Ying Xiao Guzheng, Xiao Ying Guzheng
1	Ninety Nine Days Bright	3:54			$0.99
Jiang Lin Composer Dynasty Work Heart of the Dragon Ensemble Ensemble, Ying Xiao Guzheng, Xiao Ying Guzheng
2	Dynasty	6:28			$0.99
Chinese Traditional Composer Little Boat Work Heart of the Dragon Ensemble Ensemble, Ying Xiao Guzheng, Xiao Ying Guzheng
3	Little Boat	4:58			$0.99
Jiang Lin Composer Happy Maid Work Heart of the Dragon Ensemble Ensemble, Ying Xiao Guzheng, Xiao Ying Guzheng
4	Happy Maid	3:13			$0.99
Yan-jun Hua Composer Great waves sweeping away sand, for pipa Work Ying Xiao Guzheng, Xiao Ying Guzheng, Lisha Li Pipa
5	Great waves sweeping away sand, for pipa	4:55			$0.99
Jiang Lin Composer Dream till Tomorrow Work Heart of the Dragon Ensemble Ensemble, Ying Xiao Guzheng, Xiao Ying Guzheng
6	Dream till Tomorrow	4:16			$0.99
Er Nie Composer Golden Snake Dance Work Heart of the Dragon Ensemble Ensemble, Ying Xiao Guzheng, Xiao Ying Guzheng
7	Golden Snake Dance	3:41			$0.99
Tian-hua Liu Composer Liang Xiao, for erhu Work Ying Xiao Guzheng, Xiao Ying Guzheng, Lisha Li Pipa, Ruilin Su Xiao
8	Liang Xiao, for erhu	4:55			$0.99
Jiang Lin Composer Bamboo Dance Work Heart of the Dragon Ensemble Ensemble, Ying Xiao Guzheng, Xiao Ying Guzheng
9	Bamboo Dance	5:06			$0.99
Yi Shong Composer Small Knives Club, musical Work Heart of the Dragon Ensemble Ensemble, Ying Xiao Guzheng, Xiao Ying Guzheng
10	Gong Wu (Bows and Arrows Dance)	5:16			$0.99
Qingzhu Yu Composer Beautiful Africa, for yang-qin Work Heart of the Dragon Ensemble Ensemble, Ying Xiao Guzheng, Xiao Ying Guzheng
11	Beautiful Africa, for yang-qin	4:54			$0.99
Ma Ke / He Jingzhi Composer Nan Ni Village Work Heart of the Dragon Ensemble Ensemble, Ying Xiao Guzheng, Xiao Ying Guzheng
12	Nan Ni Village	4:44			$0.99
Shuhua Lou Composer Return of the Fishing Boats Work Ying Xiao Guzheng, Xiao Ying Guzheng
13	Return of the Fishing Boats	4:37			$0.99
Chinese Traditional Composer Xiao Baicai Work Heart of the Dragon Ensemble Ensemble, Ying Xiao Guzheng, Xiao Ying Guzheng
14	Xiao Baicai	4:26			$0.99
Jiang Li / Liu Xiaohu Composer Xiao Music at Midnight, for xiao Work Heart of the Dragon Ensemble Ensemble, Ying Xiao Guzheng, Xiao Ying Guzheng
15	Xiao Music at Midnight, for xiao	5:42			$0.99