When I first heard the music on this disc, I was immediately enchanted by its utter beauty. The music transported me and I began to reflect on incidents from my life; a hundred scattered memories, forgotten dreams, and lost loves. I also contemplated the significance of the music of the Guzheng for the Chinese race. For over 2000 years the Zheng’s sinuous, sensuous melodies have sounded out, adding lustrous splendor to royal feasts of the Tang Dynasty, accompanying the passionate and heartfelt Ci (词) poems of the Song Dynasty, inspiring moon-drunk poets in the Yuan Dynasty, providing a refined soundtrack for Ming Dynasty mandarins and finally, achieving its perfect form and greatest popularity during the Qing Dynasty. Throughout its millennia of existence, the Zheng has been a traveler – moving from humble village to imperial court and even beyond the boundaries of China, where the Zheng would become the Japanese Koto, the Mongolian Yatga, the Korean Gayageum and the Vietnamese Dan Tranh.

The timeless music of the Zheng speaks from the heart and when played by a master musician, can create a world of sound; it’s rippling glissandos evoking the rustling of leaves, the fluttering of proud battle flags, and cascading waterfalls.

As I listened to each track, I found myself caught in a musical/magical web– I could actually see the disconsolate imperial concubine Yang Yuhuan’s intoxicated pirouettes, as she sought to drown her sorrows in a nocturnal soliloquy of drinking and dancing upon hearing “The Drunken Beauty: Past and Present.” For the ancient poets,songs played upon the Guzheng was the saddest music in the world. Today when we hear the sound of the Zheng, we may dream of ancient times, faraway places, beautiful maidens, and elegant gardens while its exquisite melodies surround us in a multi-colored tapestry of sound.

Rhymoi Music is proud to present the talents of one of China’s most gifted young artists, Chang Jing - known to her fans as “The Zheng Beauty.” Ms. Chang not only performs here but also composed and arranged every track. She has recorded several very popular albums in the past, but “Apricot Blossoms” will be her first international release.

Throughout our special program, Zheng virtuoso Chang Jing’s marvelous performances are complimented by sensitive orchestrations – the chiming of bells on “A Moonlit Night On The Spring River”, the haunting, otherworldly sound of the Xiao bamboo flute on “The Tao” a tender cantilena played by the cello on “Bon Soir” and even singers from Chinese opera on " A Walk in the garden: A Dream of flowers falling o'er the pool " and “The Drunken Beauty: Past and Present” - each arrangement perfectly capturing a mood or describing a scene of ineffable beauty.

For producer Ye Yunchuan, this program of improvised music posed special challenges. Working closely with each of the artists, he inspired and encouraged them to explore the limits of their creativity. Once in the studio, Li Dakang one of Asia’s master recording engineers captured each new “composition” digital on tape. Finally, after enough material had been compiled, the artists and technicians together with Mr. Ye selected the very best performances for your enjoyment. Post-production mastering was done by the audiophile engineers at Stockfisch Recording Studios (Germany).

All of us at Rhymoi Music invite you to join us on this musical journey with the “Zheng Beauty” as she reveals to us the magical sound world of one of China’s most ancient instruments – the Guzheng.