Folk Music of China, Vol. 4: Folk Songs of Guangxi

This series explores China's rich and diverse musical heritage. The songs featured in this recording are folk songs of four of the minority ethnic groups of Guangxi province - Zhuang, Bouyei, Mulao, Maonan. As with Chinese traditional visual arts, the song titles explain their mood and origin. It is noteworthy that the music of the Dong-Tai language speakers presents a common feature of incorporating polyphonic or heterophonic songs. Although this feature is present in the music of more than 20 minorities in China, it is rare that the speakers of a whole language family all incorporate multi-voice songs in their music. The performance forms of these multi-voice songs include nearly all the types found in folk music. The number of harmonic intervals is limited because the songs usually employ only one octave. Aside from pentatonic scales, the folk music of the Dong-Tai language speakers also incorporates the scales of three or four notes.

1    Zhuang–    Guo Shan Qiang 1:27
2    Zhuang–    Sui Min Tune 1 1:53
3    Zhuang–    Sui Min Tune 2 1:50
4    Zhuang–    Sui Min Tune 3 1:50
5    Zhuang–    Zhuang Love Song 1 2:35
6    Zhuang–    Zhuang Love Song 2 1:55
7    Zhuang–    The Steelyard With The Sliding Weigh 2:01
8    Zhuang–    The Stars And The Moon 1:05
9    Zhuang–    Today Is A Good Day 1:54
10    Zhuang–    Its Been A Long Time Since You Came Around 1:12
11    Zhuang–    Zhuang Love Song 3 2:10
12    Bouyei–    Wandering Song1:04
13    Bouyei–    Hesitation 2:07
14    Bouyei–    Gathering Joy 1:26
15    Bouyei–    Passing Down Traditions 1:03
16    Bouyei–    Remembering Bouyei Songs 2:07
17    Bouyei–    Learning To Sing 2:01
18    Bouyei–    A Bouyei Toasting Song 0:36
19    Bouyei–    A Bouyei Tribe Labour Song 1:29
20    Bouyei–    A Bouyei Song To Welcome Guests 1:22
21    Bouyei–    A Bouyei Welcome Toast 2:07
22    Bouyei–    Bouyei Nuo Opera Excerpt 1 1:31
23    Bouyei–    Bouyei Nuo Opera Excerpt 2 1:04
24    Bouyei–    Bouyei Nuo Opera Excerpt 3 1:12
25    Mulao–    December Love Song 1:15
26    Mulao–    Take My Boredom Away 1:31
27    Mulao–    Spring Comes 1:27
28    Mulao–    Sing A Song Regardless Of The Words 1:28
29    Mulao–    Watching Flowers Grow 2:47
30    Mulao–    Opening Celebrations For A Joyous Event 1:20
31    Mulao–    The Inquiry 3:42
32    Mulao–    No Able Men At My Side 1:20
33    Mulao–    I Join The Troupe 1:13
34    Mulao–    The Encounter (Part 1) 1:23
35    Mulao–    The Encounter (Part 2) 1:22
36    Mulao–    A Mulao Love Song 3:14
37    Maonan–    The Five Word Song (Bi Dan Tune) 3:15
38    Maonan–    I See A Boy Passing By My House 1:36
39    Maonan–    We Are Both Old 1:26
40    Maonan–    The Pledge Of Love 1:04
41    Maonan–    Shua Diao 1:01
42    Maonan–    Bi Nong Ne 1:08
43    Maonan–    Joyful Morning Tune 1:06
44    Maonan–    Sending Flowers 0:52
45    Maonan–    Pray For Blessings From God 1:13
46    Maonan–    A Song Of Praise 0:54
47    Maonan–    A Toast To The Deities 1:32