Everyone Listen Close—Wanp-wanp Jangl Kap

Title: Everyone Listen Close—Wanp-wanp Jangl Kap
Author: Mu Qian/Yandong Grand Singers
Year of publication: 2019
Category: CD
Published by: Pan Records

Additional Information

Total time 55:26
liner notes and photography (Tongguan, 4th May 2019) -- Mu Qian
Recorded on 4th May 2019 by Mu Qian on a Zoom H6 digital recorder in the open air on a covered bridge in Tongguan, Yandong Township, Guizhou Province, China, except #7 which was recorded on 3rd May 2019 at Wu Xuemei's home in Yandong Village
Produced by Mu Qian
Lyrics transcribed by Wu Chuanjuan and translated by Wu Chuanjuan and Leon Lee
All songs are traditional repertoire

Design -- Jos Hendrix
Editing -- Pan records
Executive producer -- Bemard Kleikamp

The Yandong Grand Singers:
Wu Jinyan (b. 1984)
Ou Huaqing (b. 1986)
Wu Xuemei (b. 1960)
Wu Peiyuan (b. 1967)
Wu Qianchun (b. 1984) - govkgis (plucked lute)
Wu Dingkang (b. 1975) - biicbav (bowed lute)

Polyphonic grand songs from the Dong in Guizhou Province in China
Anthology of music in China #12
The Dong people, or Kam, as they call themselves, have one of the most unique musical traditions in China—the Grand Song, a kind of polyphonic a cappella that has been passed on orally from generation to generation for hundreds of years.
Grand Songs are often inspired by natural sounds, and many songs involve mimesis, or the imitation of natural sounds in singing.

About the Author

MU Qian received his PhD from SOAS, University of London, with a dissertation on music and meaning in Uyghur Sufism. His publications appeared in Central Asian Survey, European Journal of Musicology, Ethnographies of Islam in China, and The Routledge Companion to Ethics and Research in Ethnomusicology. He is also the Chinese translator of Alan P. Merriam’s book Anthropology of Music.

Besides his academic work, MU dedicates himself to reviving traditional music by curating concerts, giving lectures, and producing CDs. "Everyone Listen Close—Wanp-Wanp Jangl Kap", a CD he recorded and produced of the polyphonic songs of southwestern China’s Kam/Dong people, was selected by the Transglobal World Music Chart as the Best Asia & Pacific album of the 2019–2020 season. MU also hosts serial radio shows on the BBC to introduce Chinese music and contributes to magazines such as Songlines and Folklife.