Article: Rural Chinese music the family way; WORLD.

Byline: SIMON BROUGHTON

Hua Family Shawm Band

St Luke's, EC1

A QUARTER of the world's population is Chinese, yet we hear so little Chinese music in the UK. If we do, it's likely to be anodyne Canto-pop or refined courtly traditions.

What the Hua family brought was the shrill, visceral and immensely exciting music of rural northern China - the soundtrack of weddings, funerals and temple fairs. With bulging cheeks, flurrying fingers and mischievous twinkles in their eyes, two shawm players spun out piercing melodies on their wooden oboes, waving their wide metal bells in the air, accompanied by rattling drums, clacking sticks, clashing ...

Related newspaper, magazine, and journal articles:

 
 
Newsweek Harper's Magazine The Washington Post Chicago Tribune Crain's Chicago Business PRNewswire Pediatric News The Nation Advertising Age The Economist (US) A FREE trial gives you access to over 80 million articles! Access over 6,500 publications with a FREE trial!