CHINA • MUSIC OF THE UIGHURS

Uighur culture is one of the most ancient in Central Asia. Its core is in Xinjiang (Chinese Turkestan), but it is also present in the Uighur diaspora, particularly in Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan. The Uighur music is rooted in a brilliant cultural background which blended indo-persian, turk, muslim, and also buddhist and manichean elements. A touching, groovy and stimulating music, which sounds clearly as Central Asian, with sometimes a small flavour of Far East which recalls Mongolian music. This album presents some highlights of the classical muqâm (maqâm) repertoire, the onikki muqâm of Kashgar, and folk pieces from the Ili region.