Mu Dan Ting

This is an album for lovers of the flute – in this ease the transverse flute known as the dizi and the end-blown flute called the xiao. The first of these Chinese instruments is a part of the statutory accompaniment to the Jiangsu Province opera form, kunqu; it has a membrane covering a hole between mouthpiece and finger-holes that acts as a kazoo-like resonator. The second, only heard here on three of the 19 tracks, plays in a lower pitch range, and is featured in all sorts of Chinese music. If you were harbouring the suspicion that 19 tracks of solo flute might be a tad monotonous, even when beautifully played and cleanly recorded, you wouldn’t be alone. Not least since the music adheres to the injunction of the liner notes that the flute in opera ‘must support the singer, but not be overpowering’. While each track portrays a scene from one of two operas, we lack here the vocals and the ensemble of strings, wind and percussion that would bring the scenes to life. The two operas concerned are The Peony Pavilion (attributed to Tang Xian Zu) and Jade Hairpin (composed by Gao Lian), which date back to the 16th century.

Kunqu itself is today going through something of a revival and a growing number of amateur and professional groups now jostle for attention. On the plus side, Zeng Ming is an established expert with a solid reputation at home and abroad, and the booklet notes are extensive and informative: think of this album as an anthology of flute accompaniments to opera arias.