Buddhist Music of Tianjin and Naxi Music from Lijiang

The Cultural Revolution in China, which lasted for ten years (1966-76) brought with it many horrors. Music-making like that heard here - with its roots in the religious ceremonies of the temples and of ritual societies - had, like many other activities, been precarious since the 1950s. Come the Revolution, such activities were completely proscribed, but since 1978 more liberal policies have allowed traditional culture, including religious practice, to make a substantial revival. The discs in this collection present two very different musics, but bound by the thread of ceremony, be it Buddhist, Taoist or Confucian.