For those of you, non-Chinese especially, who didn’t know the story behind this music and almost shed tears listening to this piece, you’re very right in feeling this way, as this music is describing a sad story (a true story which happened in a village south of Yan An in 1919) about a girl being forced to marry to an old landlord by her father who opposed the romantic love of his daughter. The daughter’s sweetheart happened to be a soldier, with whom she had an intimate relationship. The soldier was soon sent off to the battlefield leaving behind the girl. The girl’s family felt disgraced and wanted to marry her off. She resisted but to no avail. Broken heart and terribly missing her sweetheart, she finally died at the age of 24... However, the story described in the music is a little different from the true story, adding somewhat more dramatic twists to accentuate the sadness of the story....the girl escaped the bondage and tried to find her sweetheart, being pursued from behind by the landlord's cohort, she fell off a cliff and died... ------------------- *Addendum* (2020-02-25) : Here's the synopsis of the story. It should help viewers to follow the musical narration a lot better. dharma-documentaries.net/ballad-of-lan-huahua-played-by-yu-hongmei The following synopsis of the story is based on comments by Allen Zhou: The folk story depicts a farmer’s daughter whose name is Lan Huahua (literally a kind of flower in Chinese), she is probably 17 or 18 years old, presumably very beautiful, leading a poor but simple life. 3:00 She is playing in the mountains, maybe with flowers, happy and innocent. 4:24 She hears news she will be forced to marry a wealthy landlord because her father could not pay the rent. 6:09 Weeping and sobbing by herself, she wants to resist fate, but in vain, this is the saddest part of the piece. 9:41 She escapes from her husband and is chased by servants of the landlord. 10:40 Running uphill, the road becomes narrower and suddenly she is facing a cliff. 10:45 She jumps and falls into the river under the cliff and dies. 11:44 The author’s feeling for Lan Huahua. 12:25 In the village, people still remember her as in the past, but they will never see her again. ------------------ *Correction* (2020-02-25) : The real girl behind this true story was named Ji Yanling (姬延玲), born in 1919 in Yan An. And the soldier was with the Red Army. Yan An was the final destination of the epic Long March of the Red Army led by Mao. So the story probably happened in 1936 after the Red Army's arrival, and not 1919 as I wrote above. The girl was about 17 or 18 at the time. The basic song lyrics was said to be written by that soldier who came back years later. And the melody style was based on a form of local folk tune. The final version of the song was later edited/re-composed by two other musicians. Source : baike.baidu.com/item/%E5%85%B0%E8%8A%B1%E8%8A%B1/2372 Here's is the original song, with English translation of the lyrics attached in the description panel : ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-uxL9V7NdhcY.html The song version is a simple ballad made up of 8 periods, each period consists only two basic phrases. While the instrument version is more extended in development and rendition, with more melody segments to tell a fuller story. Here's a *flute version* of this music piece. Different flavor, but equally expressive and emotive, and superbly preformed with the same deep passion : ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-xFdWH3FTto8.html
+X-Ray Crystallography LOL, when there is NO chemistry between two people then it won't be with the "best" of intentions!!!!! When feeling is deep, then there is NO escape! Today's people don't feel deep anymore that's why marriages end after two years,LOL!!!!!!
This instrument hits something very deep in my brain, because I cry every single time I hear it. The women playing this is my favorite. She complements the erhu so nice.
@@minnielee3399but it is the handling of the bow that is exquisite, so the physical beauty is incidental to the musician within. But it is a very impressive presentation by two very talented youths.
Goes to show that making the most of what you have--only two strings, no frets or even a fretboard, in this case--can reap astounding results. Miss Yu is gorgeous and has massive talent as well. I nearly shed tears listening to this piece, and feel no shame in admitting that.
WOW! Fantasic performance. Her emotion is all over her face. She emotes her connection to the Erhu, the music, and with the other musician. The control and delicacy of her bow and finger movement are that of a master musician. The range of sound and chords coming from only two strings are unbelievable. She must have begun playing this instrument was a child. What a treasure she is. I loved the performance.
At 6:56 she felt that note she didn't play that note she felt that note her and that note were one in the same get out of here if y'all can't appreciate the Erhu I don't know what to tell y'all this woman is amazing
Since I am a westerner, American, of course I would not know about the story behind the song. It seems many cultures have similar stories, “Romeo and Juliet”. The Hatfield’s and McCoys. Being a musician I have loved traditional music from around the world. The Erhu being one of my favorite instruments. I even have a software that allows me to play my guitar and sound like an Erhu. The tone and level of technique this young lady exhibits is the best performance on the Erhu I have ever heard. I will have to repeat it again when ?I am done posting this.
Her expressiveness throughout the performance, her skill at playing, and her connection to the soul of the story; I was brought to tears by the sheer beauty of the ballad.
Somehow, erhu enchants me. The sound from it is delicate and at the same time free, it indicates plains and journeys through the soul and broadens the horizons, shows pure beauty of the nature and world around that cannot be seen with mind set only on things that bring us gain or temporal happiness. I'd say it's a seed of eternity. And awe for it is natural, as we change and pass by. Still, we can do so much. Achieve so much... And start it by just opening our ears... and eyes.
Toby blake, This is not the "Chinese guitar," the "pipa" is. This 2 string instrument is known as the "Erhu," & is commonly referred to as the "Chinese violin."
Yu Hong Mei talent and music brings notes from all over the winds from mountains and streams flowing into my heart to summon my passion for her melody.
Such a simple instrument, but very expressive in the right hands. I'm sure she's making it look far easier than it is. Such is the case with mastery of any endeavor. I also love the way Chinese use color. Bright vibrant reds, golds, yellows, blues, etc. Yu's natural beauty and passion for the song adds a great deal to the video as a whole.
As a lover of music and beauty I am happy sort of wandered around and found this . I must thank the internet for exposing the world to beautiful things of all cultures which otherwise they might never be exposed to in their lifetime :) watching Yu Hongmei play the instrument it is obvious she is very skilled I like the way the instrument the Erhu looks like playing it is very fluid and natural the movements look sort of like the music sounds a lot of the time and you could play what you are feeling ..I think the skill of Yu Hong Mei makes this instrument look easier and I would not find it easy heh heh ..I am learning piano actually keyboarding if I ever learn an instrument implementing the use of a bow I think I would enjoy playing this instrument and would treat it with the respect and fun that comes with loving music and enjoying life . I enjoyed this video .Thanks for posting and good wishes to all
This is the best erhu player in the world! I heard she is currently woed by a Wall Street multi-millionare from Taiwan. Hope she will catch these millions while she is still so pretty and popular. Taiwan's Teresa Teng never had such a chance and passed away in Thailand tragically.
Anybody who doesn't feel the sadness and romance in this music is either stone cold dead or is dead but doesn't realise it yet. The story behind this piece is in many senses universal and consequently the emotional content knows no cultural boundaries. Here in Ireland similar stories are told of arranged marriage and lost love. The beautiful player not only conveys perfectly the hurt in the music but also in her facial expression and body language. A perfect performance all round and utterly moving.
Your comment is right on the mark... universal human emotions. I am intrigued by your mentioning of similar stories in Ireland. Has there been any musical piece written for such stories?
You really know you're seeing something special when you see her play. I'd bet that if you watched her play the same song ten times over, it'd be exactly the same each time. Every expression, each nod of her head, and every angle of her body. I'll bet even her eyes go to the same places as she watches the mental cues in her mind that trigger muscle memory throughout her body. That sounds unromantic, but is really special - the song flows completely through her mind and body in order to be played
What a stellar performance! Both musicians are fantastic in their art and well trained. Yu's emotion to the piece really adds character to it. Lovely and the Ladies too!!
The erhu may sound sad but it will always gives u a peace of mind n it is also simply breathtaking. As for the Pipa it is always gives u a lot of encouragement n also the adrenalized l guess.
Respect is mutual, my experience: Treat other people the way you want to be treated. This is the Plataform to enjou LIFE!!! seen the music as the lifE expression!!
I agree with you oomsanti, the Phillipines were one of the asian nations who were colonized by Spain. Our old traditions,rituals and our language's alphabet were gone because of the greedness of some nation. We lost our last names and real names because of the colonization. We carry spanish names and traditions now.
+Hongmei Yu Miss Yu, thankyou for having enriched my life with such beautiful music. I am from Hong Kong and look forward to your next performance here.
the sound of the Erhu is of beauty and of sweet sounds such things are of miss in my life every time I heir the sounds of it, it brings a tear to my eye
Thisstring instrument I have seen, I play the Iranian kamanche and this has such a different sound but there are of course many similarities. Love to the friends who have kept this instrument alive including to those listening now.
look I've made comments on this video before maybe I was too excited because I messed up my last comments but I'm back again to make another comment look at 5:21 she reached from the spiritual to grab that note and brought it to the natural that is how profound it is for a lack of better words it's just simply amazing
