While mainstream Chinese music fans are focused on Cantopop and Mandopop, there is still hope to preserve traditional music in Asia coming from dedicated fans and organizations. China Music Radar recently highlighted one such inspirational group — the Pentatonic Workshop (PW), a not-for-profit organization whose vision “is to return arts and culture to its place as an integral function within society.” PW’s focus is on Asia, specifically China, and achieves its mission by collecting and documenting rare or authentic traditional music of Asia on CDs or videotape to preserve for future generations.
Mu Qian, one of the partners of PW, spends much of his spare time trekking to obscure areas of China to record ethnic minority musicians. One example of Mu’s praiseworthy efforts is to document the Dong ethnic minority in China’s Guizhou, Hunan and Guangxi provinces:
They sing a capella, rare for China (where traditionally singing is usually accompanied by instruments and often lacks harmony). Dong music, which takes its cue from natural sounds like cicadas singing, is “beautiful,” says Mu, “especially if you go to the area to hear it.”
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