I enjoy green tea and sip several cups a day, brewed from fresh leaves. My favorite tea is Dragon Well, 2nd or 3rd grade for daily sipping.
Recently I’ve been listening to Chinese music, which Naxos has featured for Chinese New Year (Feb 18) and the Spring Festival. I’ve enjoyed probably 10 discs now.
These tracks pay homage to the ever-important tea – offering varaitions of a traditional melody:
Feng Yang Flower Drum - Plucking Tea Leaves (Track 5) – this is an orchestral version with Yi Sun playing the violin.
Zhao Songting: Orchid in Spring – Busy Picking Tea Leaves (Track 3) – this is a much less western version with Song Ting Zhao (as the title indicates) playing the Dizi, a type of flute.
Dizi Favorites – Busy Plucking Tea-Leaves (Track 6) – Guo-ji Jiang plays the Dizi to minimal Chinese instrumental accompaniment. Very Chinese.
Beautiful Lady Hanfei – Song of the Tea-Pickers (Track 3) – an ensemble version, restricted to traditional-sounding Chinese instruments. Very Chinese.
