Prelude to the Divine Realm

While the pipa lute and guqin zither are each highly respected and culturally representative instruments of traditional Chinese music, they’re seldom heard in tandem. Leave it to Gao Hong & Zhao Xiaoxia – both internationally acclaimed pioneers – to break new ground, with a collection of semi-improvised arrangements of ancient melodies and original compositions. Recorded in just one afternoon at Miao Temple Studio in Beijing, the music the pair have produced belies the brevity of the session. There’s a crystalline stillness to each piece, created by the musicians’ willingness to let the sound fade into silence and allow the melodies to breathe. Opener ‘Drunken Immortals’ is a gorgeous variation on a well-known guqin melody by Three Kingdoms-era scholar Ruan Ji. ‘Plum Blossoms Swinging in the Breeze’ is the first pipa/guqin arrangement of a Tang Dynasty piece, which takes full advantage of the two instruments’ complimentary array of techniques. Impeccably performed and arranged, Prelude to the Divine Realm successfully taps into the timeless spirituality of Chinese music to create a work that is both vital and ancient.