Silk Road Journeys: When Strangers Meet

1	Mongolian Traditional Lon
2	Legend of Herlen
3	Blue Little Flower
4	Mido Mountain
5	Moon Over Guan Mountain
6	No. 3 Miero Vuotti Uutta
7	No. 5 Joiku
8	Avaz-E Dashti
9	Habil-Sayagy
10	Blue as the Turquoise Nig
11	Chi Passa Per'sta Strada
12	Desert Capriccio
Silk Road Journeys: When Strangers Meet
1.	Mongolian Traditional Long song 1:29
	Composed by Mongolian Traditional
2.	Legend of Herlen 11:20
	Composed by Byambasuren Sharav
	Performed by Yo-Yo Ma, Jim Pugh, Shane Shanahan, Joseph Gramley and Mark Suter
3.	Blue Little Flower 4:24
	Composed by Chinese Traditional
	Performed by Edgar Meyer, Yo-Yo Ma, Wu Man, Shane Shanahan, Xue Ke, Sandeep Das, Joel Fan, Joseph Gramley, Mark Suter and Wu Tong
4.	Mido Mountain 3:53
	Composed by Chinese Traditional
	Performed by Edgar Meyer, Yo-Yo Ma, Wu Man, Shane Shanahan, Xue Ke, Sandeep Das, Joel Fan, Joseph Gramley, Mark Suter and Wu Tong
5.	Moon Over Guan Mountains 11:50
	Composed by Zhao Jiping
	Performed by Yo-Yo Ma, Wu Tong and Yang Wei
6.	Finnish Folksongs (5), for cello & piano: No. 3, Miero vuotti uutta kuuta 1:58
	Composed by Michio Mamiya
	Performed by Yo-Yo Ma
7.	Finnish Folksongs (5), for cello & piano: No. 5, Joiku 2:27
	Composed by Michio Mamiya
	Performed by Yo-Yo Ma
8.	Avaz-e Dashti 6:04
	Composed by Persian Traditional
	Performed by Kayhan Kalhor and Siamak Aghaei
9.	Habil-Sajahy for cello & prepared piano 13:27
	Composed by Franghiz Ali-Zadeh
	Performed by Yo-Yo Ma
10.	Blue As the Turquoise Night of Neyshabur 15:36
	Composed by Kayhan Kalhor
	Performed by Edgar Meyer, Yo-Yo Ma, Todd Reynolds, Kayhan Kalhor, Sandeep Das, Edward Arron, Nicholas Cords and Siamak Aghaei
11.	Chi Passa per 'Sta Strada, for voices, lutes & violin 4:45
	Composed by Fillippo Azzaiolo
	Performed by Edgar Meyer, Yo-Yo Ma, Todd Reynolds, Wu Man, Shane Shanahan, Xue Ke, Sandeep Das, Joel Fan, Joseph Gramley, Mark Suter, Wu Tong and Yang Wei
	Additional Notes: arranged for European Strings, Chinese Strings & Percussion
12.	Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, film score: Desert Capriccio 1:34
	Composed by Tan Dun
	Performed by Yo-Yo Ma, Shane Shanahan, Xue Ke, Joseph Gramley, Wu Tong and Yang Wei

Barnes & Noble

Yo-Yo Ma has played tangos, jazz, and Appalachian fiddle music, but the Silk Road Project is certainly the most far-reaching of his musical explorations. Gathering together musicians from Iran, India, China, and other countries along the historic trade route, as well as a few Americans, Ma and musicologist Theodore Levin have woven a new tapestry of sounds from many different threads, some old and some new. The result is an ear-opening, mind-expanding kind of fusion. Among other pieces, Ma plays a work based on the classical traditions of Azerbaijan accompanied by a piano prepared à la John Cage, as well as Finnish folk songs. Recording in big jam sessions, Ma says he had "a huge amount of fun," and that's perhaps the most memorable feature of this disc. Authenticity is beside the point -- the disc captures a joyful spirit of sharing and cooperation among people whose backgrounds are vastly different. In today's world, so full of conflict and misunderstanding, this spirit is of incomparable value. Andrew Farach-Colton

All Music Guide

Recorded as part of the ongoing Silk Road Project, Silk Road Journeys brings together composers from the elusive, ancient Silk Road that crosses from China to the Middle East with musicians from both West and East. It's both ambitious and daring, two qualities that have been trademarks of Yo-Yo Ma's career. For its modernity and mix of Asian and Western instruments, though, it hews close to tradition (and not merely on "Mongolian Traditional Long Song"), although the departure into the Italian Renaissance for "Chi Passa Per'sta Strada" makes for an interesting, more formal and graceful aid in the whole. But the multicultural Silk Road itself makes for a good metaphor for this album, with the sheng, an ancient form of mouth organ, alongside the cello on the traditional "Blue Little Flower," for example. While it might seem strange to find Michio Mamiya's "Five Finnish Folksongs" here, it makes sense; the Saami people of Finland were nomadic, and traveled as far as the Silk Road. But the instruments, from Wu Man's pipa to Joel Fan's piano, work together, whether on traditional or commissioned material, to create something that's challenging to both listeners and performers and offers a strong impression of the journeys of the past. Chris Nickson

Gramophone

This CD opens with the spine-tingling sound of a Mongolian Long Song... Sharav provides some glorious voicings, [and] this 11-minute work sets out the Silk Road Project's fertile agenda admirably. Ganbaatar Khongorzul's vocals and the tones Ma draws from the morin huur often merge eerily and effectively.