Mongolie , Vocal and Instrumental Music (various artists) Maison des
Cultures du Monde W260009 (November 1988)
This well recorded CD contains five tracks of Ganbold’s
khöömii as well as a little of Yavgaans. There is some great long song singing
and morin khuur playing and unusually a good selection of darkhad songs.
1.
Jaakhan charga, a long, solo
song. “The little light bay". A song of praise and of love.
2. Erdene Zasguyn unaga, a
long, accompanied song. 'Erdene Zasag's foal". A song of filial love.
3. Morin
tövörgöön, morin khuur solo. "The
horse's gallop". Evoking the spaces of the steppe played in long style,
followed by a rapid tatlaga, to illustrate the horse's gallop.
4. Torguud
nutag, biphonic song. “The land of the Torgut". The melody of a short
song sung in tseedjnii khöömii or biphonic
voice, and accompanied on the morin
khuur.
5. Biphonic
song. Taravjav Ganbold accompanying himself on the ekhel, fiddle, presents
successively three techniques of biphonic singing, tseedjnii khöömii, bagalzuuriin khöömii and kharkhira khöönii
6. Khuren
khaalgatai delguur, biphonic song. The melody of a satirical song performed
in tseedjnii khöömii style.
7 Mandal Juujaa, morin
khuur, solo. The melody of a long
song followed by a tatlaga.
8. Dance
music played on the morin khuur.
9. Khangayn
magtaal, song of praise. A song in praise of Mount Khangai, performed in ayalakh style with khöömii,
ekhel and tobshuur accompaniment.
10. Dörvön Ual, short
song. “The four mountains". Evocation of the peaks surrounding Ulan Bator,
capital of Mongolia. This bogino duu
is composed of four identical strophes, each comprising several lines of four
bars in 4/4 time. It is accompanied by the shanz,
khuuchir and the morin khuur.
11. Alsyn
gazryn zereglee, short song of the Darigang. “Mirage of a distant
land". A song praising love and nature.
12. Budarmaar budarmaar salkhi, a popular
Khotogoyd song. “The wind announces the coming of the storm". This song,
inspired by a legend, tells of two brothers who were separated. It is performed
in long style with discrete accompaniment on the metal jew's harp or khon khuur.
13.
Chingin chivirin uus, a popular
Darkhat song. "The water of the Chingin Chivrin". A song of praise.
Each verse, broken by an instrumental interlude, includes two lines of two bars
in 6/8 time, arranged in an AC/BC pattern.
14.
Dursgalyn alchuur, a popular Darkhat
song. "The souvenir
neckerchief". A love song based on a model identical to that of the
preceding song.
15.
Tosonguyn oroygoor, a popular
Darkhat song "The summit of Mount Toson". A song of praise in long
style.
16
Kharmayn khagd, a popular Darkhat
song. In praise of the river Kharmaj. In this interpretation long song alternates with syllabic song.
17.
Dunjin garav, a song of praise.
Magtaal performed in ayalakh style,
dedicated to a mountain close to Ulan Bator. .
18. Enkh mendyn bayar, a
long song with accompaniment. A song of peace. The four verses follow the model
A B B B and each comprises four sentences.
19. Övöbn
chuuvuu, a long, solo song. "The old man and the bird". A song of
filial love.
20 Dörvön
oyrdyn uurya, a morin khuur solo. "The
four calls of the Oirat". A tatlaga played at Oirat festivals preceded by
an introduction in long style.
21. Uckhan zambuu tivyn naran, a
long, accompanied song. Hymn to the sun and to peace.
22. Altayn
magtaal, a song of praise. A song praising the mountainous chain of Altai.
After a short introduction in kharkhira
khöömii
style, the players alternate solo parts in khaylakh style with choral ones in ayalakh style. Instrumental accompaniment is provided by the ekhel fiddle, two tobshuur or lutes and
a khon khuur, metal Jew's harp.
Performers and the tracks on which they appear.
[1] Adilbish Nergui (singer)
[2] Damidinjav Tuvshinjargal (singer), Sodnompil
Ganaa (morin khuur).
[3] Luwsangombo Iderbat (morin khuur)
[4] Taravjav Ganbold (khöömii), S. Ganaa (morin
khuur).
[5] T. Ganbold (khöömii, ekhel)
[6] T. Ganbold (khöömiii)
[7] & [8] S. Ganaa (morin khuur).
[9] Guendenpil Yavgaan (singer, khöömii, tobshuur, jew's harp) T.
Ganbold (singer, khöömii, ekhel).
[10]
& [11] A. Nergui (singer), S. Ganaa (morin
khuur), Sosor Tosjargal (shanz), Jigdee Tsetsegmaa (khuuchir)
[12] Dechinzundui Nadmid (singer), G. Yavgaan
(jew's harp)
[13] et [14] [15] D. Nadmid (singer), S. Ganaa (morin khuur), S. Tosjargal (shanz), Tsetsegnnaa (khuuchir).
[16]
D. Nadmid (singer), S. Ganaa (morin
khuur), S. Tosjargal (shanz), J Tsetsegmaa
(khuuchir).
[17] G. Yavgaan (singer, tobshuur), T. Ganbold (khöömii).
[18] A. Nergui (singer), L. Idebat (morin khuur).
[19] D. Tuvshinjargal (singer).
[20] L. Iderbat (morin khuur)
[21] A. Nergui (singer), L. Iderbat (morin khuur)
[22] G.
Yavgaan (singer, khöömii, tobshuur), T.
Ganbold (singer, khöömii, ekhel), D.
Tuvshinjargal (singer, tobshuur).
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THE MUSIC OF MONGOLIA
A land of mountains
and steppes, the Peoples's Republic of Mongolia extends over an area of 650 000
square miles between the USSR and China. Its population of about 1850000
inhabitants is made up as follows: three quarters Khalkha and similar Mongols
(Khotogoyd), and Buriat and Darkhat to the north, Oirat or western Mongols
(such as Torgut) to the west, and finally other groups not ethnically Mongol:
Tunguz, Kazakh, Uriankhay and Tuva. Distinctly marked by nomadism and
pastoralism, Mongol culture also reflects the vestiges of ancient shamanic and
lamaic religions, notably on the occasion of the great community festivals when
combat, archery and horse racing hold pride of place.
Vocal art, a
privileged aspect of Mongol music, is characterized by its variety of styles,
its multiple social functions, and its repertory. As in most nomadic and
pastoral societies, everyone sings, so that song has a dominant role. It keeps
boredom at bay during long hours spent on horseback or guarding cattle, it
accompanies activities like milking and other various domestic activities.
Finally, it is found at all family reunions and when friends meet, as well as
at community festivals and ceremonies. The presence of specialized singers is
not necessarily required for every gathering. There is, however, a class of
semi‑professional bards or tuulchi, guardians of the epic tradition,
tuuli and of songs of praise, magtaal.
Themes treated in
Mongol vocal music are closely linked to the conditions of nomadic life.
Numerous references are made to the horse, hunting, and to nature in general.
Love theme predominate, love of the beloved, friendship, the love of the
horseman for his mount, and are couched in a lyrical tone marked, depending on
the case, by nostalgia, irony or praise.
Mongols distinguish
three styles of vocal emission.
The first, khaylakh (literally, "to cry
out") is the style used by men for the epic, tuuli and for magtaal songs
of praise. It is easily recognized by its recitative mode, its grave register
and its rough tone.
The second, duulakh "to sing" or ayalakh "melodious", is the
sung style properly speaking. It is used in long songs, short songs and in
certain magtaal. The voice, clear and strained, lends itself to various
ornamental techniques depending on the kind of repertory.
Finally, the third, khöörnii "pharynx", brings
together all the biphonic voice or singing drone techniques. The khöörnii is the simultaneous emission of
a basic sound or drone in khaylakh style,
and of a melody composed of overtones chosen by means of various pharyngal
and buccal techniques. Three of the six techniques listed may be heard in this
recording: tseedinii khöörnii or
chest khöörnii, with a relatively
high‑pitched, clear drone (upper G)
' bagalzuuriin khöörnii or throat khöörnii,
with a rough drone of medium pitch (upper D), kharkhira khöörnii, which makes use of resonators at chest level
and so emits a drone an octave lower than that of the bagalzuuriin khöörnii (lower D). Rarely sung by women, the khöörnii does not have a repertory of
its own. It is usually used for the melodies of short songs, for popular songs,
or as an interlude between magtaal, songs of praise.
The long song, urtyn duu, performed a capella or accompanied
by the morin khuur or fiddle, is a
slow, strophic song, unmeasured, in which the structure and the text mixed with
meaningless syllables, are masked by long vocalized and richly ornamented
phrases. Its range easily covers two and a half octaves, and the women pass
with ease from chest to head voice. Each note is embellished with glissandi,
appoggiatura, with trills both normal and yodelled and other vocal feats.
The short song, bogino duu is a strophic, syllabic song
with little ornamentation. Its regular form results from the way in which the
verses are cut up into lines of four 4/4 bars. It is usually accompanied by the
morin khuur oi fiddle, or by a small
instrumental ensemble consisting of a morin khuur,
a khuuchir fiddle and a shanz lute.
The various
populations of Mongolia also cultivate artyn duu, popular vocal traditions,
which although not strictly resembling the long and short song forms, are
somewhat similar in style.
The magtaal or song of
praise, is a syllabic song close in style to the epic song. The stanza is
composed of a variable number of lines songs on mottoes of one or two bars of
4/4 time. These mottoes may undergo variations or melodic transpositions
between one line and another. The magtaal is generally accompanied by the tobshuur lute or ekhel fiddle.
Stringed instruments,
fiddles, lutes and zithers, figure pre-eminently in the Mongol instrumentarium.
Used alone or in small ensembles, their main function is to accompany song or
dance.
The main stringed
instrument is the morin khuur or "horse
head fiddle". The trapezoidal sound box formerly covered with skin is
nowadays provided with a sounding board in wood. The two strings are of
horsehair. The neck is mounted on a peg box carved in the shape of a horse or a
dragon head. The fingers of the left hand rest on the strings in various ways:
vertically with the pad (third and little finger), or sideways with the nail
(index and middle fingers) to give greater precision in glissandi and grace
notes, and to facilitate the emission of overtones. Even more simple made than the
morin khuur, the ekhel is a two‑stringed
fiddle whose trapezoidal sound box is covered with goat or sheep skin.
Exclusively masculine instruments, the morin khuur and ekhel accompany song and dance, or may also be used as a solo
instrument, notably to charm camels refusing to suckle their young.
The khuuchir fiddle is Chinese in origin. It
is made up of a small, cylindrical or polygonal sound box, covered with sheep
or snake skin, with a neck of bamboo onto which are stretched two strings of
gut or silk.
The shanz is also of Chinese origin and is
the women's favourite instrument. This is a longnecked lute whose three strings
are plucked with a plectrum.
The tobshuur or two‑stringed lute is
the instrument of the bards. Its naviform sound box is covered with goat or
sheep skin.
Instrumental music
comprises adaptations of popular songs or short songs and a repertory of
tatlaga for morin khuur or ekhel. These
short pieces, played as a solo or to accompany dancing (byelekh), consist of several sections each with their own metre
(2/4, 3/4, 4/4, 6/8) and their own tempo. Each section, formed by the
repetition of a short motto played on both strings, illustrates a sound heard
in nature or a horse's gait. Depending on the case, the tatlaga may be preceded
by a slow, unmeasured prelude, richly embellished, in long song style.
Mongol musical
language is founded on an anhemitonic pentatonic system. This system,
comprising five main degrees and two complementary floating degrees, may appear
under five different modes Analysis of Mongol pieces presented in this
recording reveals a clear predominance of modes 1 and IV and an even more
exceptional use of modes 11 and V. Furthermore, each mode is characterized by
two main degrees whose structural function in the articulation of the melody is
best demonstrated by their melodic weight in the incipits and cadenzas, their
stability throughout the different variations of a motto, and their
substitution function in the transposition of melodic mottoes. Apart from the
melodic particularities peculiar to each style of Mongol music, some general
characteristics may be noted: the limited use of complementary degrees,
important skips (from a fourth to a ninth), and a distinct preference for
ascending progressions by conjunct intervals and descending ones by disjunct
movements. The Mongol metric system functions on the basis of binary, 2/4, 3/4
or 4/4 bars, and of ternary bars of 6/8 or 12/13. The composition of syllabic
songs and measured instrumental pieces reveals a regular structure and a
tendency to symmetry, while avoiding the pitfall of monotony by means of a
subtle play of unwedgings and leaps. Their architecture which proceeds by
interlocking is the result of applying the principle of breadth at each level
of division of the piece, and of a dualist organization of mottoes
(question/answer) which rests on the relation of opposition and attraction of
main degrees. Usually, the pieces include several verses, which are divided up
into two or four phrases, each composed of two or four bars.