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T
hroat-singing is still very much a growth industry as younger singers are inspired to realise that maintain- ing cultural heritage can also be a passport. Throat-singing or overtone singing, as we are about to describe, is a style popu- larly associated with Tuva, Mongolia and southern Siberia, that involves producing two or more notes from the voice at the same time. It would be impossible to describe this in just a few words, and as Carole Pegg has a feature on Anda Union elsewhere, I’ll be brief. Generally all throat-singing styles are referred to as ‘khoomii’ (spellings vary) and there are many terms, in both Tuva and Mon- golia, to describe the wide range of tonal styles. In Tuva the styles range from ‘sygyt’ – the high whistling style – to ‘kargyraa’; more of a low growling popularised by groups like Yat-Kha. Khoomii can be sung solo or accom- panied: usually by morin khuur (the horse- head fiddle), igil (a Tuvan upright fiddle), lutes (tovshuur or doshpuluur) and occasional- ly flutes, shaman’s drum or the mouth harp khomus (‘jew’s harp’).
These styles appear to have originated long ago around the region of southern Siberia and the Altai mountains. Many ques- tions still exist. Was the Tuvan style influ- enced by Tibetan monks, and what of the relationship between the jew’s harp and throat-singing? The mouth harp (khomus) is widely played by both men and women throughout Siberia. It was known to the early Scythian cultures and metal and bone instru- ments have been found in graves. And the very themes of khoomii from across the region also have much in common: ambient sounds, a strong spiritual awareness of nature and sense of place… and metaphors of horses.
Cream of the current crop is the Tuvan
group Alash, who have dedicated their fourth album Achai (Smithsonian SFWCD 40578) to the inspirational and ground- breaking singer Kongar-ool Ondar (1962- 2013). The release date is given as 2017, but anyone who was lucky enough to see them play London a couple of years ago, may already have it in an earlier form. Achai still holds up very well and there are some similar- ities with Huun Huur Tu. Many songs have that rolling grasslands rhythm, a kind of country music, with heartfelt songs about the landscape. The occasional igil/guitar/flute combination is also very appealing. High- lights are many but might include My Throat, The Cuckoo (Tuvan music encapsulated in a single piece), Flute Box (an improvisation fea- turing Shodekeh who has another life as a professional beat-boxer in America) or the final piece, Let’s Relax.
An Anthology of Mongolian Khoomii (Buda Records 4790383) is a wonderful set. In many ways it’s the all-encompassing, up-to- date review of Mongolian throat-singing you’ve always wanted. But just as the pho- tographs realistically include not only the steppes, but also the high-rise buildings of Ulaan Baatar, some recent examples may not
Alash
always appeal. The more modern tracks include bits of rap, metal, ethno-rock and polyphonic khoomii, and before that, theatre orchestras and a Soviet-influenced sound- track. The traditional styles have an amazing variety of songs and sources. Many of the older singers have now passed, but there are many radio and field recordings, female singers (khoomii is a male preserve in Tuva, but not in Mongolia), the familiar praise songs (magtaal) and a ‘short song’ of khoomii and rhythmic tongue play that could be best described as ‘diddling’. Many of the best singers are from the western province of Khovd, but my particular favourite is probably a piece by Toivgoo Ejee, known as ‘the king of breath control’. A really essential album.
Altai Khangai is a trio specialising in the music of western Mongolia: an area where throat-singing is particularly strong and from which it is generally assumed to have spread across Mongolia. The versatile leader Gun- zorig Nergui is an expert on the many variants of khoomii and plays morin khuur, tovshuur (lute) and several other instruments. He exerts a strong influence on the band’s music. Gun- bold Muukhai plays morin khuur and tovshu- ur, and a female member of the trio, Guravkhuu Budmaabazar, plays zithers, occa- sional percussion and vocals. Ongod, which possibly means ‘ecstasy’, (Buda Records 860240) is an interesting addition to the Mon- golian canon but it’s also something of a heavyweight. Bodlogshrol (Meditation) is one of the best and there are also some end- blown flute and mouth harp solos of note;
but although excellent in many aspects, this isn’t the most accessible of introductions to Mongolian music. There’s an earlier track by Altai Khangai on the Anthology Of Mongo- lian Khoomii.
The Art of Mongolian Khoomii (ARC EUCD 2613) featuring Bayarbaatar Davaa- suren may appeal more. A fine singer of khoomii and player of the morin khuur, he’s joined here on a couple of tracks by the zither player Chinbat Baasankhuu. Chinbat has her own album on ARC (The Art of the Mongolian Yatga EUCD 2516) and together they made a previous album for Frémeaux (Mongolie: Chants Diphonics Et Instru- ments Traditionels FA 5365). Daavaasuren was also born in the west and this album has rather more variety: from Magtaal Ger – a praise song to a yurt – to a shaman’s chant with khoomii intervals. Several of the songs approach the ten-minute mark and Davaa- suren is usually self-accompanied on morin khuur and tovshuur. On another he plays jew’s harp and khoomii together and concludes with several tracks of solo khoomii. ARC albums are not without their unintentional humour. One is described as ‘a long song that is fairly short’ (use of the word ‘long’ refers to the treatment of the syllables not the dura- tion of the song) and a PR sheet that calls it ‘relaxing’. Much as I love throat-singing I’d never call it relaxing – for either the partici- pant or the listener.
Between The Sky & Prairie by the Grasslands Ensemble & Daniel Ho (Wind Music TCD 5342) might be worthy of a pack-
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