Best of Silk Road
In 1980, few people knew about the Japanese synthesizer player named Kitaro.  He'd released a few albums in Japan, butSilk Roadwas the album that put Kitaro on the map.  Originally recorded as the soundtrack to a Japanese TV series about the trade route between Europe and China, Kitaro subsequently released it as a double LP.   This disc contains some of the best themes from that recording as well as some other songs, including 1996’s "Flying Celestial Nymphs" and "Caravansary" featuring Yu-Xiao Guang’s delicately expressive lines performed on a native Chinese violin called the huquin.The Best of Silk Roadconcludes with two new pieces, "Pray at Xian/Mercury," nearly 18 minutes in length.  They feature Kitaro on Native flute playing over gentle arpeggiations.  Although these pieces do become tiresome in their repetition, the Japanese composer's melodic trade-offs with To-san on Chinese pipa are a serenely austere respite from Kitaro's often overly lush orchestrations.  --John Diliberto