Nishizaki, Takako (violin) - Violin Meets Pipa

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Leveranstid: Skickas vanligtvis inom 2-5 dagar

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Takako Nishizaki, violin
Dehai Liu, pipa

The pipa is one of the most popular Chinese instruments. In form it resembles a pear-shaped lute, but the use of Western instrument names to describe Chinese instruments can be misleading. The term "lute" is, incidentally, also used by some to describe the horizontal plucked instrument, the Qin, an instrument for the scholar and gentleman in earlier times.

The pipa is said to have derived its name from its sound. The pi was played from right to left, the pa from left to right, upwards. This form of instrument was foreign in origin but by the time of the building of the Great Wall of China had come into fairly wide use. The earliest surviving example is from the eighth century A. D., and certainly in the time of the Tang Dynasty (A. D. 618-906) it enjoyed very great popularity.

The pipa generally has four strings and sixteen frets, in the manner of a four-stringed guitar, but there are other varieties, with numbers of strings varying from 2 to 13, and a variable number of frets. As is usual in Chinese music, there is symbolism even in the four strings, which represent the four seasons. It forms an important element in the group of instruments traditionally classified under "silk", from the material out of which its strings are made.

The combination of Western violin and Chinese pipa is an unusual one. Nevertheless the timbre of the bowed instrument and of the plucked strings of the Chinese lute go well together. The programme includes pieces originally for pipa solo or for violin solo. These pieces have been arranged by the well-known Chinese composer Huang Xiaofei for both instruments.