WOMAD

Wu and Wang Duo

From China (Peoples Republic)

Wu Suhua plays the Erhu which is an Asian cello – a two-stringed instrument with a bow. It is often used in the Peking opera by soloists, and has its roots in classical Chinese music.The Erhu’s origins are from the Silk Road and – it's originally from Persia and the Steppes, and is almost exclusively played by women. It is a fairly common instrument. – there are a lot of Erhu players in the world. The only person who has really mastered all types of Erhu is Suhua and she is one of the premier masters outside China. Suhua is a classically-trained musician, who has worked with classical and traditional folk musicians, as well as contemporary Chinese and Western musicians. She has won many prizes.Her partner, Chengyi Wang plays the Yang-qin (the Chinese version of hammer dulcimer), which is also an instrument which came to China through the Silk Road – originally from the Middle East, then evolved to became a royal and classical Chinese instrument.This type of hammer dulcimer is called the Yang-qin – a hammer dulcimer on a table.The Erhu and Yang-qin are always played together – Erhu is the soloist, and the Yang-qin is rather the accompanyment and covers the harmonics.Chengyi comes from a family of musicians – both her parents played different instruments including the dulcimer. She started playing at the age of 3.They play 4000 year old music from the south of China, and the Left Bank of the River Yangtze.