Robert posted “Kublai Khan” today. I just happen to have here a damsel with a dulcimer. She’s Wenzhuo Zhang, who took first place in the National Hammered Dulcimer Championship at Winfield Saturday. Although Zhang lists her address as Fredonia, NY, I believe she’s originally from Beijing, and she plays the Chinese dulcimer, the yangqin. Here’s a view of her instrument, showing the multiple bridges.
Here’s one of the pieces she played in the competition.
What is that piece? Stylistically it seemed to wander around and at one (brief) point I thought it was channeling Enya.
Of course, what I know about Chinese yangqin musick could be put in a box of matches without taking the matches out first.
I don’t know. I would guess that her competition pieces were all arrangements of Chinese tunes. Her encore was a Bach invention.
I will add that her performance, beyond that of all the other competitors there, was notable for the absence of obvious missed notes. Plus, it was always clear where her melody was. (I gather that both of those qualities are rather challenging on a hammered dulcimer.)