Prelude to the Divine Realm – Gao Hong and Zhao Xiaoxia

Posted By ARC Music | Tags: Gao Hong, Zhao Xiaoxia, Artist, Pipa, guqin, China

Prelude to the Divine Realm, a collaboration between renowned pipa master Gao Hong and guqin virtuoso Zhao Xiaoxia, is released on January 24th, 2025. Since the dawn of civilisation, China has warmly embraced spiritual ideas. A country with a venerable and mythical history awash with the magical and teeming with transcendental tales of deities and mortals living together in an ancient harmony. Some believe the arts that greatly enrich society today – calligraphy, poetry, dance and music, to name a few – are gifts from the very gods of these age-old stories. These enigmatic offerings evoke eternal gratitude in our artists and serve as the inspiration for Prelude to the Divine Realm – an album created as an expression of thanks for the beauty left behind by these divine beings.

Read more | Nov 25, 2024

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Alondra – Gao Hong & Ignacio Lusardi Monteverde

Posted By ARC Music | Tags: Artist, Gao Hong, Ignacio Lusardi Monteverde, Pipa, flamenco guitar, China, Spain

Alondra – the latest collaborative album from Chinese Pipa Master Gao Hong and featuring renowned Flamenco guitarist Ignacio Lusardi Monteverde – will see its global release on February 23rd, 2024. The eponymous Alondra (Spanish for ‘Skylark’) – is perhaps the perfect totem of inspiration for such an album. This remarkable bird is known for singing some of the most complex melodies of the avian world as it flies higher than most of its kind. The song, of course, is performed in search of companionship. A romantic notion that has stimulated countless imaginations throughout the ages, it is believed that the Skylark has inspired more songs and poems than any other bird.

Read more | Jan 02, 2024

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Terri Kunda - Gao Hong & Kadialy Kouyate

Posted By ARC Music | Tags: Terri Kunda, Gao Hong, Kadialy Kouyate, Artist, Chinese pipa, West African kora

March 24th, 2023 sees the release of Terri Kunda – an exciting collaborative album from musical virtuosos Gao Hong and Kadialy Kouyate. One could consider Terri Kunda to be a truly unique album. For it contains the rare yet captivating combination of possibly two of world music’s most mesmerising instruments: the Chinese pipa, and the West African kora. Infused within these stringed instruments are the histories and traditions of their respective cultures, and they share these stories through musical conversations skilfully conducted by the artists.

Read more | Feb 21, 2023

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Lin Shicheng and Gao Hong - Hunting Eagles Catching Swans

Posted By ARC Music | Tags: Hunting Eagles Catching Swans, Lin Shicheng, and Gao Hong, pipa, Chinese music

Hunting Eagles Catching Swans is a historical, honorary album of one of the greatest pipa masters of all time: Lin Shicheng. Lin is often referred to as the Ravi Shankar of the pipa, first for his unprecedented skill on the instrument and second for his years of profound contribution to the artform in teaching many of the prominent pipa players in the world today.

Read more | Sep 15, 2020

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