The New Zealand String Quartet Photo: Adrian Harris
Jack Body (1944-2015) was fascinated by the music and cultures of Asia and was a powerful force in the introduction of China’s multi-faceted culture into New Zealand and subsequently New Zealand’s music into China.
This short piece comes from a collection of transcriptions and arrangements of music from some of the Chinese minority nationalities of Yunnan province in South-West China. The Bai people are one of 56 ethnic minorities officially recognised by China, and they number around two million people. This piece is a transcription of a field recording by Professor Zhang Xingrong of the Yunnan Fine Arts Institute and features a very ‘jazzy’ performance on a three-stringed plucked instrument called the sanxian.
Recorded 5 May 2019, St. Andrew's on The Terrace, Wellington by RNZ Concert
Sound engineer: Darryl Stack
