Bach – Brandenburg Concerto (First Movement)
Beethoven – Fifth Symphony (First Movement)
Blind Willie Johnson – Dark Was the Night
Chuck Berry – Johnny B. Goode
J.S. Bach – The Well-Tempered Clavier
China – Flowing Streams
Georgia (Caucasus) – Tchakrulo
India – Jaat Kahan Ho
Japan – Tsuru No Sugomori (Crane’s Nest)
I chose these songs from the track pretty quickly. It was vaguely overwhelming to me to go through so many songs and then narrow it down to 10. In listening back through my choices, I noticed most of them have a sense of richness and intricate melodies. Having played classical flute for many years when I was younger, I found myself drawn to songs I had played. As well, Liu Shui is a song that my family played often around the house growing up. It is played on a 古琴 (Guqin) which is a seven-string Chinese instrument that is instrumental in Chinese culture and history (UNESCO, 2003). Ultimately, it is the comfort of what I had grown up with over time that drew me to these 10 songs.
References:
UNESCO. (2003). Guqin and its music. UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage. Retrieved February 21, 2025, from https://ich.unesco.org/en/RL/guqin-and-its-music-00061