Music : Tan Dun - Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon

Rating: - Eternal Silk Road to Beauty
The cello is the voice of mystery, of depth, of secret and dark caves in the mind of the living, in the memory of the dead. The cello opens the door to the other side of today, here, now, me, to the other side, virtual or real, virtual and real, of what our five senses can capture and even what our mind, the sixth dimension of our sixth sense, can perceive and conceive. When Tan Dun adds to this voice from beyond the grave and the fire of some terrific dragon his own sense of being within and without, inside and outside Chinese music or western harmony, he can reach the power of thunder and the speed of lightning as well as the delicate falling and landing or morning dew on the light leaves of grass that pierce the dawn with their green blades. He is unique at creating an atmosphere that will evoke the long-toothed tiger in the strong-fanged dragon and the fire-spitting dragon in the fiery fire-eating tiger. Even percussions become something unforeseen, unbelievably surprising in that trip to the exotic unknown and to the undecipherable emotional. Have you ever hovered in the dainty light lacy clouds that so artistically hang on the misty flanks of Chinese mountains ? If you haven't you will probably not recognize the cello climbing from one bunch to the next, up up and away into the vapoury sky of silky blue. Tan Dun is able to use all western musical instruments and techniques not to westernize Chinese music but to make western music sound just as much Chinese as if it had always been and born within the Great Wall of China.

Dr Jacques COULARDEAU, University of Paris Dauphine & University of Paris 1 Pantheon Sorbonne

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Rating: - Beautiful
Simply put, the soundtrack to 'Crouching Tiger...' is beautiful. Tan Dun uses traditional Chinese instruments in conjunction with the poignancy of Yo-Yo Ma's cello solos to great effect, especially in the theme that stands by itself and is also woven into many of the other tracks. The music ranges from sweeping, romantic arrangements ('The Eternal Vow') to simpler percussion arrangements combined with subtle use of string instruments ('Desert Capriccio', 'Farewell', 'To the South'). It succeeds in capturing the nature of this film- grand and romantic at first glance, but really telling a simple and intimate story about desire, regret and ultimately sorrow. My only real issue is that recording seems to be at a very low volume- which results in turning it up to near maximum volume with little effect. I'm also not very keen on the theme song- particular the English version (too cheesy)- but I cannot fault CoCo Lee's vocal, especially in Mandarin.

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Rating: - Amazing!!!
I don't usually buy soundtracks, but I bought this for a music project I was doing and when I listened to it I was amazed. This is a beautiful soundtrack full of emotion and excitement. I do think there was a bit too much chello though, which didnt seem very classical chinese. The soundtrack also features a great comtempary love song at the end, in english and mandarin. I reccomend this to anyone who likes music with emotion in it. People with sharper hearing will be able to make out a person breathing on some songs, who seems to have a cold, and makes a whistling noise out his nostrils! I thought this was a bit unprofessional but that aside, it's a great cd! Highly reccomended.

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Rating: - when the forest turns to jade....
As a stand-alone recording, this Original Soundtrack from the movie Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon will take you on a journey beyond the clouds.

From the opening strains to a crash of percussion instruments, this work shows you the meaning of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. Within, the music is yin/yang - leading you to burst with emotions and then stops you right there before you do. The gentle and the strong, the good and the bad, love and hate, feminine and masculine....are all played here.

This is Tan Dun in his most coherent self. Superbly brought to Life by Shanghai Symphony Orch., Shanghai National Orch., and the Shanghai Percussion Ensemble. Other ethnic instrumentalists also bring forth their fantastic contributions. No doubt the spotlight burns down on Yo-Yo Ma. Tan Dun and Ma worked together on the Symphony 1997 Heaven, Earth Mankind for the handover of Hong Kong back to China.

Here, the powerful and intense drumwork leaves you breathless in the NIGHT FIGHT. The Erhu and the Cello weave a blend of magic together throughout the main themes. Every feeling of lightness especially brought on by the Dizi, there is an undertone of the percussions, warning you of the Hidden Dragon. While this work does not evoke mystery, it is a great piece of work from and for the heart. The imagery and poetry is fascinating.

For listeners who know Tan Dun's other works, this will be most accessible indeed. Grab this soundtrack and "read" it before you watch the film. After watching the movie, let this take you back to the images and themes so well put together by Director Lee Ang.

The only jarring moments are the English/Mandarin versions of the Love theme sung by Coco Lee. While they are nice and pop on their own, it breaks an otherwise superb programme. It should have ended with FAREWELL - the strings and the rhythmic percussion leaves a disturbed longing.......

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Rating: - a beautiful score
an absolutely beautiful soundtrack from an abslutely beautiful film. the cello is haunting, and the listener is transported through all of the emotions found in the film visuals without actually seeing it. there is enough variation of mood not to get tired of this cd, but each track gels well into the score as a whole. great to unwind, study, think, or read to, altho the english version of the final song, which is used as the credits roll, does somewhat spoil the mood. the instrumental tracks are far superior. i highly recommend this score.