This integration of Eastern music with Western aesthetic shines on many levels, and four new compositions add to the brilliance of these elements.

Each beautifully presented album comes with an extensive full-color booklet, written in both Chinese & English. The booklet includes:

• complete album credits

• bios and photos for each musician

• contextual notes and musical instrument credits for each song

• Producer’s note from Daniel

Composer, producer, and ‘ukulele maestro Daniel Ho has produced many innovative crossover albums. This time, he visits the water towns of southern China and thoughtfully weaves ‘ukulele, guitar, piano, and percussion like silk into classical Kunqu opera and Suzhou Pingtan melodies. Top-rate Pingtan musicians Yuan Xiaoliang, Chen Yong, Wang Jin, Mei Mengdi, Zhou Sanbo, Huang Feiyan, Shen Bin, and Yu Qun; Kunqu opera singers Zou Jianliang, Liu Yu, and Tang Xiaocheng; and instrumentalists Wang Hong, Hua Lei, Su Hanlu, and Helen Rees have come together to weave a diverse musical panorama.

TRACK LISTING

1. Five Silken Threads (sheet music also available as an instant download)

2. The Water Sleeves Waltz (sheet music also available as an instant download)

3. Each Lovely Step

4. Black Silk Robe

5. Mountain of Pink Peach Blossoms

6. Garden of Reveries (sheet music also available as an instant download)

7. Along Willow-Lined Waterways (sheet music also available as an instant download)

8. Viewing the Moon on Mid-Autumn Festival (from Legend of the White Snake)

9. Thinking of Autumn

10. Beautiful as Peach Blossoms

11. Seeing Her Again (from Pearl Tower)

12. Saying Goodbye to Liang Shanbo

Review by Joshua Cheek

Anyone who knows me knows my passion for that most sublime of all performing arts: Kunqu opera! Otherworldly in its beauty and serenity, this gorgeous relic of Ming civilization would influence the subsequent development of many other forms of Chinese opera.

So, when SIX TIME Grammy-winner Daniel Ho shared a link with me about his new album featuring his take on both Kunqu AND Pingtan (评弹), (ANOTHER favorite Chinese performing art), I sat up and took notice.

The Chinese are fiercely proud of the cultural attainments and rightly so, and even with all the vicissitudes of time and changing tastes, extraordinary efforts are made to preserve and update the traditional arts. This has certainly been true of Chinese opera, and several prominent performers have attained international notoriety for their efforts to fuse traditional performing styles with a "hip, smart, sexy" presentation, (Zhang Jun, (张军) and Kunqu, Wu Qiong (吴琼) and Huangmei opera, Li Yugang (李玉刚) traditional Peking opera in drag!).

In his new album, Embroidering Melodies, Daniel's approach was to let the music speak for itself, choosing to provide four lovely musical sketches of his own compositions as preludes to the traditional performances featuring Ho’s delicate arrangements. Purists worried about a heavy hand or excessive "westernization" in Daniel's arrangements can set their minds at ease: these are exquisitely sculpted, beautifully etched accompaniments, providing a little timbral depth to the treble-heavy sound of the Chinese originals and as well as fleshing out some of the implied harmonies. It's incredibly effective!

As a passionate fan of these art forms, I sincerely hope that Daniel can use his bully pulpit to introduce this music to new listeners.

An incredibly beautiful project that reminded me why I LOVE Kun opera so much!

Album Release date: 7/29/19