TUVIN FOLK MUSIC
By
A. N. Aksenov
Editor's Note. The following consists of
excerpts from A. N. Aksenov's Tuvinskaia narodnaia muzyka (
Aksenov (1909‑62) was initially a composer. He graduated
from Moscow Conservatory In 1931, became a member of the Union of Soviet
Composers the following year and remained in
The sections included here are excerpted from two sections of
the book: first, a general discussion of Tuvin folksong and then a presentation
of the four styles of the extraordinary ‑Tuvin manner of throat‑
singing, i.e. a way of one man's singing two parts simultaneously.
The Tuvins, who speak a Turkic language, joined the USSR In
1944 dissolving the Tuvin Peoples' Republic begun in 1921. The 1959 census
indicated a population of ca. 100,000 Tuvins in the
Tuvin
folk songs are primarily performed on holidays, during young people's
promenades and while nomadizing or on excursions into the steppe. On holidays any songs are sung. No
observer of Tuvin musical folklore has remarked on songs assigned to specific
holidays or on special
wedding or funeral songs, and I have not succeeded in finding, them either.
One
of the greatest Tuvin holidays is New Year’s (shagai) celebrated on the night
of January 22nd. In addition New Year’s and domestic holidays each
region (Khoshun) marked its own, local festivals. Noted singers, storytellers
and instrumentalists gathered in the Khoshun centres for these holidays….
At the khoshun festivities the noions (apparently clan,
elders or chiefs‑‑MS) organized singing contests, sometimes
lasting all day. The performers chose their own songs.
The winner or best singer was served liquor (arak) and was given the title
kha (noions singer). As a mark of acquiring this title a special attachment
of coloured stone (or glass) was affixed to the singer's hat, after
which the kha took an oath of allegiance to the noion. Among the kha's duties
was the singing of panegyric songs which accompanied the serving of arak to the
noion. The kha's obligations also included fulfilling small chores for the
noion. If the kha appeared at fault in some way or sang little and badly, the
noion took away his title, struck him in the face with a shaaga (a leather belt
for beating on the cheeks) and drove him out. The singer them became a commoner
again.
Instrumentalists also competed at the noion's contests. They
travelled from village to village earning their keep this way. Instrumentalists
principally played song melodies, varied in virtuoso style. A special genre of
Tuvin instrumental music consists of programmatic pieces. Contemporary instrumentalists
only know two of these: "Oskus‑kasa" ("The Orphan Goose”)
and "Buga, shari" (Oxen, Bullocks"). Both pieces are played only on the igil (a fiddle) and
only by the most talented instrumentalists: these performers are highly
esteemed.
Not only instrumentalists, but also
singers of tales (tool, toolchi; “tale”, “reciter of tales") travelled
from settlement (aal) to settlement. Like the instrumentalists, the
toolchis were ordinary folk. From time to time they dropped their households
and moved off to tell tales in nearby settlements, usually within the
boundaries of a small region. Their arrival was also associated with various
festivities. The people invited the toolchi to their tents, fed them abundantly
and gave them gifts (furs etc.) Crowds gathered in the tent in which the
toolchi stayed. The spectators
listened to the tales with unabated attentiveness for several consecutive days
with breaks for meals. One tale lasted two to three days.
Some genres of Tuvin tales (heroic and some fairytales) are
recited melodically, with a recitative tune and rhythmic prose text. These are
often accompanied by the chadagan, a stringed Instrument (zither‑‑MS),
which either follows the melody of the vocal recitation (continuously or
sporadically) or plays Instrumental interludes periodically interrupting the
vocal recitation. Other genres of Tuvin tales (domestic, animal stories and
some fairytales) are not performed melodically, but are simply narrated.
The heroic tale "Dash‑khuren a' ttig Tanaa‑Kherel"
. ..is built on a stepwise descending melody with phrases built on fourths.
Each new text phrase of the tale begins with the high melodic pitches, and then
descends gradually in the range of a twelfth, rising at the end of the phrase
to the higher pitches, from which the next phrase begins. Along with such
melodically developed forms of recitation one also finds Tuvin heroic tales
built not on melodies but rather on repetitions of short tunes of three or four
pitches in a narrow range.
Games and competitive sports are an unchanging feature of Tuvin
holidays, both old and contemporary. These include khuresh (wrestling
matches) and a't khooleer (horsemanship contests), accompanied by
special musical recitations. Wrestling (in which any devices but blows are
allowed) is very popular among all strata of the population, irrespective of
social status. The number of contestants is not restricted, usually consisting
of 8, 16, 32, 64 or 128 wrestlers. The wrestling match lasts many hours, to the
unabated, tense attention of spectators. Wrestlers appear with seconds (salikchi)
dressed in bright national cloaks, with six to eight salikchi for 30 to 40
wrestlers.
The wrestlers are dressed in costumes of rawhide or other
material (ringed with rawhide to protect the hands and body from injury. The
costume consists of shorts and a short jacket with long sleeves barely covering
the back just below the shoulder‑blades. The jacket is fastened by a
rawhide thong so that the opponent can't jerk it. The legs are covered with
Leather maimaks (embroidered boots with turned‑down sharp‑ended
socks). Before the beginning of the match two equal groups of wrestlers
gradually approach from different corners with a particular dance
like gait depicting “the flight of the eagle", the eagle being the symbol
of strength and agility. They caper in a zigzag manner
from foot to foot and smoothly clap their hands to the rhythm of the jumps to imitate
the rustle of wings. Approaching each other, both groups return to opposite
corners of the field with the same dance like gait.
The salikchis approach each group
taking alternate wrestlers by the hand and leading them to the centre of the
field. Next, both salikchis come forth and simultaneously intone the
traditional “call” in the form of an improvised melodic recitation, often
concluded by a speech. In the “call” the salikchis praise the strength and
agility of their wrestlers and their former victories.
Our
strong man has com, bring out his opponent!
This outstandingly famous strongman has taken
part in 64 matches!
Bring out our strongman’s opponent! There
he's come!
Be careful, be careful! This is an
experienced strongman!
He has taken part in 64 matches'. He is as
strong as a tiger and a lion!
Be
careful, be careful, grab hold!
This singing appearance of the
salikchi is limited only to one episode of the match: the
appearance of the wrestler in the arena. Each salikchi improvises melodies for
this recitation in his own way. They vary considerably in melodic style and
cannot be assigned to one specific type….. The wrestler's success depends
considerably on the salikhchi. He encourages his wrestler with words and
gestures, ridicules the opponent, amuses the audience and between jokes warns
his wrestler of the intentions and tricks of his opponent, whom He observes.
… No less popular is another Tuvin sport: horse‑racing
... several neighbouring khoshuns compete in horseracing, in which 10 to 100
riders take part... and up to 200 to 300 in large races. The ride to the gate
is accompanied by the riders' improvised song in recitatory style. In
these songs the riders praise the endurance,
strength and other qualities of their horses just as the ....salikchis praised
... the wrestlers. However, of late the riders arriving at the gate
most often sing recitatory melodies without words.. . The voice of the riders,
resounding far into the steppe mixes into a long multi‑voiced
uninterrupted roar.
... After the winners are decided. … a ceremonial procession
of the participants is begun. At this time a singer comes forth, holding a
saucer full of arak in upraised
palms, covered with a bright silk kerchief. The singer tenders the cup of arak
to the winning rider, and in a solemn song, praises the winning horse;
Its eyes are like two saucers of arak.
lts' breath Is like mist in the
valley,
Its gait is like a strong wind in the
steppe, etc
Along with horseracing and wrestling, marksmanship must also
be included among sports beloved of the Tuvins. No special songs were devoted
to these games, but the spectators often cheered on the contestants with shouts
or songs of the kozliamik genre (a song with refrain‑‑MS)
with Improvised words.
Until recently the Tuvins had no folk dances outside of the
pantomimic imitation of the "eagle's flight" at the entrance of
wrestlers.
Khoi alzir songs are a special section of the Tuvin folksong tradition.
These are melodic recitations accompanying the pastoral ceremony of transferring
baby sheep, goats, cows and horses to another mother when their original mother
does not have milk, refuses to nurse its child or has died. They led the young
to its new mother, placed them next to each other and turned to both with the
words of traditional animal‑goading noises (e.g. "tiro. tiro,
tirogat" for sheep, "chu, chu, chu" for goats and
"oog,,oog, oog" for cows), sung to melodies In recitatory style. The
tunes of these melodic recitations are close to each other and are strikingly
close to Tuvin lullabies (urug opeileer) with melodies of analogous
recitatory style. For rocking children such melodies are sung to a few words.
"opei, opei ("rock‑a‑bye"), "udui ber,
olgum" (“sleep, my son"). or "sariim" (“yellow one, "
an endearing term). The Tuvins say that from a far one cannot distinguish
whether one is rocking a baby or accustoming a calf, kid or lamb to a new
mother…
It is characteristic that in the past Tuvin shamans turned to
the same type of melodic recitation. The tunes of their séances (according to
the faithful account of Kok‑ool) wore similar both to the tunes of
lullabies and to the melodic
recitation accompanying the domestication of animals... (EX . 1)
The Tuvins divide folksong into two groups of genres: irlar
(“songs”) and kozhamik (songs with refrains). Irlar is the plural of ir,
“song”, from the verb irlaar, "to sing. " The word kozhamik
stems from the verb kozhar (“to unite," connect”, “pair off “).
According to the Tuvin poet S. Piurbiu, this term is explained by the pairing
of strophes of poetic text, characteristic of the kozhamik, especially for one
if its typical forms a dialogue of two singers. To the irlar genre belong slow
melodic lyric songs with poetic texts mainly of a contemplative nature (about
the homeland, pastoralism or hunting. love and separation, complaint about one's
hard lot in the old days), and also historical songs (e.g. about the uprising
of the “60 heroes") and a large part of contemporary folk songs. To the
kozhamik genre belong fast melodic lyric songs often with refrains (kozhumak)
with largely improvised texts. The themes of love and youth are most
characteristic for the song texts of the kozhamik genre, since songs of this
type are mainly sung by young people during holiday promenades…..
Songs
of both genres are traditionally sung solo, but on holidays and during young
people's promenades they may be sung by a chorus in unison. Heterophonic
departures from unison are looked down upon by the Tuvins as being the result
of untalented performance. They use unison singing as a means of learning new
songs.
The guttural or throat song (Khomei) is a special vocal
genre of Tuvin folk music. This is the simultaneous performance by one
singer of a held pitch in the lower register and a melody (composed of overtones)
in the higher register. Throat singing is known not only to the Tuvins, but
also to several neighbouring peoples (Mongols, Oirats, Khakass, Gorno Altais
and Bashkirs). However, among the Tuvins it has been preserved in the most
developed and widespread form, in that there is not one but four stylistic
varieties of throat‑singing. It appears that Tuva is the, centre of the
Turco‑Mongol culture of throat singing…
The solo ostinato two‑voice throat (or guttural) singing
of the Turkic peoples has aroused the amazement of all observers. It has seemed
incomprehensible and inexplicable to everyone. “It is unnatural for a human
being to carry two voices simultaneously”, wrote L. Lebedinskii apropos of the
Bashkir uzliau throat singing. “The timbres themselves of uzliau are
unnatural, as is the ostinato lower organ point, as well as the sounds of the
upper register; the necessity of such lengthy breath ‑holding is
unnatural too”. (Lebedinskii 1948.50‑51). The unusual timbre of throat
singing and the enigmatic character of its technique has been characterized by
observers as "forest wildness" (Rybakov 1897.271), or they have seen
in it traces of shamanism. (Lebedinskii 1948:51).
The
Tuvins make no connection between throat singing and shamanism. They view
it in purely every‑day aesthetic terms and approximate it to the purely everyday act of playing on the khomus (Jew’s harp) to which the art
of throat singing is strikingly close both in musical style and in the character
of the sound. In fact the melodic style of one genre of Tuvan throat singing (kargiraa) is reminiscent
of pieces played on the iash khomus (wooden Jew's‑harp‑‑MS).
The Tuvins' converging of the art of throat singing and the art of Jew's‑harp
play is certainly not coincidental. Both these types of Tuvin music
arts based on a common technique of producing melodic sounds; they differ
only in the technique of producing the ostinato basis of the melody (organ‑point).
..
In throat
singing the performer sings only a single low fundamental rich in upper partials;
the partials, forming a melody, are selected from this unceasing sound through
changes in the width of the mouth cavity just as in playing on the Jew's‑harp.
However, the melodic possibilities of throat singing are incomparably richer than
those of the Jew's‑harp. On the khomus one can produce a fundamental of
only one unchanging pitch and timbre, and in throat singing the singer can
produce (with the vocal chords) several alternating fundamentals of varying
pitch and can select partials (forming the melody) from each.
... The types of throat singing of various
peoples differ not only in melodic style, but also in the height and timbre of
the fundamentals forming their melodic possibilities. In Tuva, four genres of
throat singing and four associated melodic styles are found. Each has its own
name: kargiraa, borbannadir, sigit and ezengileer.
The Kargiraa.Style: The fundamental, similar in timbre to
the lower register of the French horn, is produced by the singer with half‑opened
mouth. Among various performers its height varies in the range of the four
lowest pitches of the great octave. During performance it may be kept
unchanged, but sometimes it is moved down a minor third for a short period.
The melody, placed in the upper pitches of the first and lower
pitches of the second octave, is made from the eighth, ninth, tenth and twelfth
partials of the fundamental, though some performers add the sixth partial as
well. The change to a fundamental down a minor third is used by the performer
only when the eighth partial sounds, which then also shifts down the same minor
third. This is a traditional means of widening the scale of the tune. The
partials forming the melody sound cleanly are heard clearly and distinctly and
are reminiscent of reed‑pipe tones in bright and whistling timbre. Each
partial sounds to a specific vowel sound and the melodic change from one
partial to another is accompanied by a change of vowel‑sounds. (Ex. 2a).
The repertoire of kargiraa throat‑singing consists most
commonly of, special ornamented broad‑breathed melodies not performed as
songs, though distinctive musical pieces might also be performed in kargiraa.
These pieces begin with a psalmodic recitation of the text (sometimes any text
and sometimes special kargiraa opening texts) on two pitches or, more accurately,
on one fundamental tone in two positions: raised and lowered by a minor third.
In such recitations the eighth, or more rarely the ninth, partial sounds
simultaneously with the fundamental (in both its positions). Each half‑strophe
of the song of these opening recitations is interrupted by a wordless melody
usual for kargiraa throat singing. This melody is analogous to the traditional
melodic line at the end of each text‑line or half‑strophe of Tuvin
folksong, featuring a melodic figure for each syllable.
The Borbannadir style: The
fundamental in the borbannadir style is softer and quieter, similar to the timbre
of the bass clarinet’s lower register. It is produced by the same position of
the vocal chords as the kargiraa style but with a different position of the
lips, almost totally closed (as in pronouncing the voiced fricative consonant v)
Due to this, the breath is released significantly more economically in
borbannadir style than in kargiraa. In the former the performer can encompass a
greater number of melodic tones (partials) than in the latter. Thu fundamental
in borbannadir style remains unchanging in pitch as opposed to the kargiraa style,
where it moves down a minor third occasionally.
The height of the fundamental varies among individual
performers within the range of the three middle pitches of the great octave.
The melody, placed in the range of the whole second octave and the lower third
octave, is made of the sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth, tenth, twelfth and
sometimes thirteenth partials. It sounds more resonant and soft than in the kargiraa style, reminiscent of the
harmonics of the viola and cello. (Ex. 2b)
In contrast to the kargiraa style,
which remains unbroken for the space of an entire breath, singing in the
borbannadir style is sometimes interrupted and sometimes broken. In unbroken
singing the fundamental and its melodic
partials are heard only as a single tone‑colour of the consonant v.
In the broken singing of this style the intoning of v is interrupted by
the full closing of the lips followed by opening either on x the plosive
voiced consonant b or on the nasal consonant m. The timbre of the
sound on m has two nuances differing in the height of the tongue: The lowered
tongue sounds a usual m while the raised tongue (as for pronouncing...n)
along with closed lips (as for . ..m) sounds like ... mn. ..
The Tuvins consider the borbannadir
style as technically similar to the kargiraa style. All performers who
master the ... kargiraa style master ... borbannadir style, but many cannot master
the remaining two styles of throat singing, which depend
on a different technique of sound production. The technical similarity
between kargiraa and borbannadir styles allows sudden changing from one
to the other in the same vocal piece, as often happens among skilled
performers. Some pieces begin on barbannadir, change to kargirua in the middle
and return to borbannadir at the end. Other pieces begin with a melodic
recitation of text in the
kargiraa style and then move to the borbannadir style instead of
kargiraa for the melodic section (after each half‑strophe).
The
Tuvins sing only special songs
belonging exclusively to borbannadir in that style. Characteristic of the melody is descending motion,
beginning with the high pitches
(predominantly from the twelfth partial) and descending through leaps usually
to the seventh, or more rarely the eighth partial, which is lengthily ornamented in a varied complex
rhythm, mostly by trills. Pieces of
this sort, but without the ornamenting on the seventh and eighth partials, are
also typical for instrumental tunes on the iash hkomus. In some locales the
borbannadir style is also known under a different name, khomei (a term
also used by the Mongols for a related style‑‑MS). In the locales
where borbannadir is called khomei they use the term borbannadir for melodic
recitation of song texts beginning with several pieces in kargiraa style.
The sigit style: The fundamental
is tenser and higher than in the kargiraa and borbannadir styles. Its height
varies according to performer around the middle pitches of the small octave,
and is similar in timbre to a muted French horn or at times to a cello playing ponticello.
It is produced by a special strained position of the vocal chords with half‑open
mouth and sounds markedly weaker than the
kargiraa style. During the course of a single piece it does not remain fixed
but changes, but according to a different principle than in kargiraa. The
character of its motion is the distinguishing feature setting off sigit from
the other styles of Tuvin throat singing.. The fundamental is used not only as
an ostinato tone with melodic partials but as a mobile, lower melodic voice
without melodic partials.
Two types of throat singing alternate in sigit: a monophonic
one only in the low register and a two‑voiced type with a simultaneous
lower and upper line. At the beginning a special melody (not from a song) of
recitatory nature is sung with the fundamental to the words of any song. Next
(either after the ending of each line or, in songs with a refrain (dembildei
after each verse) the melody remains on a held pitch (the fundamental) on
the basis of which the performer selects partials for a second, ornamented
melody in higher register.
In. pieces with a two‑voice melody each odd line of
verse (first or third) is ended with a fundamental of one pitch while the even
lines (second or fourth) end with a fundamental of a different height, a tone
below the first. In the continuation of two‑voiced episodes after an even
line the fundamental sporadically and briefly lowers a minor third, as in
kargiraa style, and each two voiced episode ends with a traditional glissando
fall of an octave, along with its partial.. . (Ex. 2c)
Ornamented melodies of partials are produced in two‑voiced
melodies after each line, from both alternating fundamentals. In two voiced
melodies, following the odd‑numbered lines of song text such ornamented
melodies are built on the eighth, ninth and tenth overtones ... and on the
eighth, ninth, tenth and twelfth overtones after even numbered lines…...
The partials on which ornamented
melodies are built in sigit sound in
a very high register (upper part of the third and beginning of the fourth
octaves) in a sharp, whistling timbre reminiscent of the piccolo in the same
register. The vocalisation of vowels in such a high register can hardly be
distinguished and the corresponding relationship of vowels and their partials
cannot be established. The upper voice in sigit…. Does not constitute a melody
so much as an ornamented trilling and punctuating rhythm principally on two
pitches (the ninth and
tenth partials of the two fundamentals). This special melodic hallmark sets
sigit off from all the other
styles of Tuvin throat singing, in which the upper voice constitutes a
developed melody.
The Ezengileer Style: This style is identical in sound production and
timbre to sigit, and is special only in melodic
terms. The fundamental in ezengileer is
placed in the same register ... as in sigit, but in contrast to sigit it does
not move during the course of the entire piece. The opening melodic recitation
on the fundamental, typical of sigit, lacks in ezengileer.
The melody of the partials has melodic
significance, as in kargiraa and
borbannadir, and is not merely ornamental as in sigit. The melody in ezengileer is quite varied as it is
improvised by performers from various partials.
Thus, in one piece of this style recorded on a disc in 1934 from the performer Soruktu, in based
on the sixth, eighth, ninth, tenth and twelfth partials (Ex. 2d), whereas a piece in the same style
recorded in 1932 ... from D, Trubacheev is built on the eighth, ninth, tenth, eleventh, twelfth and
thirteenth partials (Ex. 2e)
In all the details just described (Including
sound production and timbre) ezengileer is strikingly close to sample of
Bashkir throat singing, uzliau. The latter differs from. . ezengileer only in
the national character of the melody. In addition, the use of agogic accent in
pieces of Tuvin ezengileer style sets it off from Bashkir uzliau.
In the melody of
the partials, as In the sounding of the fundamental of ezengileer one clearly
hears the uninterrupted dynamic pulsations (alternation of strong and weak
tones) in the rhythm of a… gallop… This characteristic dictates a tradition of
performing pieces in this style on horseback. The term ezengileer in literal translation
means “stirupped”, from the word ezengi, "stirrup”.... The
persistent upward leaps of a third and a fourth (to the twelfth partial) with holds on the upper pitch….sound like
fanfares or calls.
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