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CHINA GIRL - THE CLASSICAL ALBUM 2

VANESSA-MAE INVESTIGATES HER CHINESE-NESS AND HER ROOTS

China Girl: the Classical Album 2 - track listing

Butterfly Lover Violin Concerto - Act 1; Act 2; Act 3 (Ho Zhan Hao & Chen Kang)
Violin Fantasy On Puccini's Turandot (Vanessa-Mae)
Happy Valley - The 1997 Re-Unification Overture For violin, Orchestra and Chorus (Vanessa-Mae & Andy Hill)

(Recorded at Air Studio, Abbey Road Studios, Comforts Place Studios and CTS Studios)

Overall impression:
China Girl is an underestimated album that received, at least in my opinion, to little attention from both media and, strangely enough also, among fans of Vanessa-Mae. Partly this can be explained because this album was overshadowed by Vanessa-Mae's second pop album 'Storm' that was released in the same period. 'Storm' made an enormous impact and it's success with hold 'China Girl' the attention it so greatly deserved. Prompted by the death of her Chinese Grandfather in 1994, Vanessa-Mae decided to investigate her Chinese-ness because with the death of her Grandfather she had lost her only direct connection with the homeland of her mother's side of the family. 'China Girl' is the very interesting result of this quest. 'China Girl' is a epic album with Chinese oriental motives that lie in the adventure, romance and self sacrifice of the past as well as in the adventure, hope and joy the future is predicted to bring us. All these moods are nicely interpreted and expressed to the listener, brilliantly played by Vanessa-Mae on her acoustic Guadagnini violin.

The art work:
(Click the thumbnails to view larger images!)

The art work is beautifully designed completely in black and white with a few red marks of Vanessa-Mae's name spelt in Chinese characters (Vanessa-Mae in Chinese is Chen-Mei). The cover photo is a close up of Vanessa-Mae in soft focus that renders a very distinguished look, and Vanessa-Mae's long Chine style coat adds to this. Inside the booklet is only text, no other photography. The booklet contains a personal note from Vanessa-Mae, a biography, a remembrance page for her grandfather and descriptions of the music in which the mythical background of the stories is told, as well as the historic significance of Vanessa-Mae's own composition 'Happy Valley.'

Vanessa-Mae's personal note
Vanessa-Mae's personal note is shown on the scans on the second row of the scans above. In these notes, Vanessa-Mae explains that with the death of her Grandfather her only direct connection with China as homeland of her mother' side of the family was lost. She tells that she is sure that her Grandfather would be proud of her today, although he felt is as not done to make a living out of music for anyone and especially not by girls. Vanessa-Mae also narrates over the struggle that her Grandfather had to fight against Chinese government to have his real-estate and lands returned to family property after having seen it dispossessed during the cultural revolution under communistic dictatorship. Fortunately, Vanessa-Mae's Grandfather saw victory during the final periods of his life. Vanessa-Mae comforts herself with the idea that her Grandfather would have liked the music on this album very much and that he would have taken her to China one day to show her the country, the heritage of the family and explain to her what it is being 'Chinese.'

Biography
Vanessa-Mae's biography as written in the booklet is given in the third and fourth scan from the left on the top row. It contains the basic facts and information on Vanessa-Mae's life and career.

Remembrance of and dedication to Tan Lip Kee
Vanessa-Mae's remembers her Grandfather Tan Lip Kee dedicates her album to him as shown in the fifth and sixth scan on the top row.

Description of the music

Butterfly Lover Violin Concerto
The lines of the romantic story are described in the booklet. The passages are given in the scans on the third row. The music is sweet, true romantic and lyrical. Vanessa-Mae tells the story by playing her violin in such an adequate and brilliant way that the listener sees the story unfold before his eyes seeing and experiencing the feelings of two people in love. Orchestration in this piece is nice and supports the romantic mood very well. The London Philharmonic Orchestra performed superbly in this. Great is the passage when the violin engages in a duet with the cello symbolising the first meeting between two people who fall in love instantaneously.

Violin Fantasy On Puccini's Turandot
Vanessa-Mae wrote this transcription for violin brilliantly resulting in a true virtuoso showpiece. The violin part mimics the voice of Prince Calef and its moods and emotions in 'Nessun Dorma' brilliantly.

Happy Valley: The Re-Unification Overture
Vanessa-Mae and Andy Hill composed this piece for the re-unification of Hong Kong with China. Vanessa-Mae explains in the 'Storm On World Tour' documentary that she considers this music as a 'song of hope and a dance of joy for people of all races, cultures and ages all over the world.' Symbolically performed for the first time in Hong Kong at it's handover to China in the famous Happy Valley horse race stadium where luck and sadness lie side by side, this music makes the listener feel the optimism flow through the veins.

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