The Silk Road: A Musical Caravan (Disc 1)

The Silk Road, that amorphous region that stretches from China to the Middle East, might just be Earth’s final frontier. Crossing many countries and regions, for centuries it’s been the conduit of trade and culture. Part of the culture is the music and the way the travelers have spread the influence of sounds in both directions. The result is music from many areas with common themes — horses, for example — and modes and ideas that mix, but which also often keep a remarkably unique flavor, perhaps best typified by the unearthly Tuvan throat singing. Many of the examples given here, both in the Masters & Traditions disc and the Minstrels & Lovers, are field recordings made across Asia and the Middle East with some stunning fidelity. One of the most intriguing things about the nomadic music that fills so much of this collection is the lack of rhythmic instruments (as opposed to settled cultures, which value drumming) and the curious rhythms of the songs and instrumental pieces, which seem to reflect the gait of horses. There’s plenty of wonderful music here, but to Western ears, the transcendent player has to be Mashq-e Javanan, a player of the stringed dutar from Tajikistan. He’s not traditional, but his fluency and creativity — not to mention his speed — make him the equal of any guitar god. However, that’s not quite the point of the overall exercise here, which is to expose people to all the music and cultures that comprise the Silk Road. In that it succeeds completely, as part of the overall Silk Road project headed by Yo-Yo Ma. Extraordinary, exotic, and frequently majestic, this is indeed a journey. – Chris Nickson