This Excellently
recorded CD features about six or seven tracks with Khöömii. There are three Khöömii
singers Ganbold, Yavgaan and Tubsinjargal. There is also some great long song
singing, Morin khuur playing and a shanz solo piece at the end.
1
Dörvön Nastai Khaluin/Gooj Nanaa (medley)
Popular songs of the Mongols are here sung
with astonishing clarity employing the Höömii technique.
The title of the first song means "The
Four‑Year Old Red‑Haired Horse", while in the second piece
Gooj is an official rank and Nanaa is a
personal name.
2 Bogd Dunjingarab Uulin Magtaal (Song
in Praise of the Sacred Mount Dunjingarab)
The Mongols have a long history of mountain
worship. Mount Dunjingarab is one of four peaks
surrounding Ulan Bator. This magtaal
belongs to a specific type in praise of this mountain.
3
Altain Magtaal (Eulogy of the Altai
Mountain Range)
The great Altai range of mountains is
located in the southwest of Mongolia and is capped year long
by snow. With their perpetual snow and
frozen rivers, the Altai Mountains have
been the objects of
worship since ancient times. They have
similarly been the subjects of many beautiful songs of
praise, which have been handed down the
generations.
4 Her Huuraar (Her Huur Medley)
This piece depicts the magnificent and
beautiful scenery of Mongolia. The jew's harp, or her huur as
it is known in the Mongol language, is the
most primitive aerophone employed in traditional
Mongolian music. The instrument is also
known by names including aman huur.
5
Mongol Höömiin Holboo Ayalguu (Höömii
Medley, 1)
This medley of pieces composed and arranged
by the performer is intended to demonstrate the features, types, and techniques
employed in the Höömii
style.
6
Höömii Olon Yanzin Ontslogood (Höömii
Ensemble)
There are various types of Mongolian
Höömii; each singer has his own favourite technique. The three Höömii singers
here demonstrate their own
individual methods of voice production.
7 Hoyor Bor (Two Dark Horses)
This song is based on one of the many
popular tales known throughout Mongolia concerning well‑built horses.
Urtin duu were originally songs of
great length, but they are today generally
performed only in part. When performed in such abbreviated versions, the
meaning of the text is often
obscure unless listeners are aware of the
whole story from which the text is only a short excerpt.
8 Mongol
Höömiin Gurban Törö1 (Höömii Medley, 2)
This medley demonstrates the following
three Höömii techniques:
i: It involves constricting the throat and
projecting the sound from the back of the oral cavity.
ii: In this method, the throat is
constricted and sound is emitted from the frame of the throat. This is also
known as the “lyrical Höömii”.
iii: This method is named after a mountain.
The singer emits a rough, low and complex tone colour by linking the upper part
of his body, his nose, and his throat.
9 Morin Huurin
Hög (Morin Huur Medley)
In this popular
melody, the performer shows how the morin huur is played, demonstrating its
features and its extraordinary powers of expression. Employing the varied
techniques of the instrument, the piece portrays horses at the gallop.
10 Dörvön Oirdin Uria (The
Call of the Four Oirat)
In this song, the
morin huur calls for solidarity among the four Oirat tribes who dwell in
western Mongolia. The melody, which appears here, beautifully portrays the
ceremonies and everyday life of the western Mongols. The original melody is
performed here in the traditional tuning.
11
Halh Jonon (Ruler of the Halh)
This piece offers a
musical portrayal of the trotting and galloping of horses, the animals that are
the source of life for the Mongols.
12 Tsagaan Sar (The
New Year)
This lyrical song present a eulogy of the beautiful girl and of the happiness which accompanies the advent of the New Year after the severe winter months. For Mongols dwelling in nomadic and inland districts, wheat and seaweed are foodstuffs of great value. This should be borne in mind when listening to this song.
13 Sankhiyu Göröm
This is a song in praise of horses, which are of course the origin of happiness for all Mongols. The Mongols greatly valued horses that could gallop involving alternate motions of the two right legs then the two left legs, since it allowed riders to ride for many hours without tiring. This song has been enormously popular both in the Republic and in Inner Mongolia.
14
Tumen Eh (Mother of the People)
This is a song in
praise of the boundless efforts and enthusiasm of the Mongol people. It is sung
in an atmosphere of respect before ceremonies.
15 Erdene Zasgiiin Unaga
This is a didactic
song, which tells of the need to love and respect both the wonderful horses,
which bring happiness to the abundant and beautiful plains of Mongolia and
one's ever‑loving parents.
16 Durtmal Saihan
This song is in praise
of the great expanses of nature in the singer's native place. Although on the
musical level this is a typical example of the urtin duu in the style of the
Halha people who constitute the main segment of the population of the Republic
of Mongolia, the text was composed relatively recently. The texts of urtin duu,
and in particular those written in recent years, are often obscure in meaning,
and any attempt to translate them runs the risk of provoking misunderstandings.
17 Enk Mendiin Bayal
It is a Mongol custom to praise one's homeland and the water and people of one's homeland. This is a song singing of the pleasures of banquets, considering equally important regardless of whether they are small ones celebrated on the family level or large ones held on the national level.
18 Ülgerin Holboo
A holboo is a type of
ulger, or long narrative poem sung to music. The present piece was composed for
the shanz (also known as the shudraga), and has been preserved through the ages
amongst the Mongol people. The main features of shanz performance are the
display of virtuosic technique and at the same time the way in which the
recitation incorporates the melodic patterns of the popular ulger to best effect
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