Qinggele & Darima Matouqin CD

This album is a collection of pieces for the matouqin, the Mongolian fiddle. The matouqin has a warm, mellow tone and plays in approximately the same range as the viola. In the right hands it is capable of fluent double-stopping and interesting effects, like the abrasive churning sound in "White Steed" (where it also imitates a horse). On this album it is usually accompanied by what sounds like a Chinese hammer dulcimer, but it is hard to be sure because the notes do not credit the instrument or the musician. Sometimes the matouqin plays solo, which is more accessible than you might imagine, especially on tracks like "Brown Eagle," where fiddler Qineggele uses harmonics to create the illusion of playing three or four strings at once (the matouqin only has two strings). Although the matouqin is a folk instrument, the accompanying instruments, the pacing, and the ambience make this album frequently sound more like Chinese classical music than Mongolian folk. Not that that is a bad thing, but the reason for it is doubtless China's long-standing domination of Mongolia. An interesting hybrid. ~ Kurt Keefner

Recording information: Inner Mongolian Television Broadcast Station (01/18/1998/01/19/1998); Recording Studio Of Inner Mongolian Television Broadcas (01/18/1998/01/19/1998).