Tuvans

Just saw Huun Huur Tu, the Tuvan throat singers, do a brief
performance at a local record store...they are deep, profound, and
timeless. Their album "Fly, Fly My Sadness" (with Angelite) is one of my
favorite albums. An article in a local paper had this to say about their
music...(Ted Levin, who works with them, is the source of the quotes)
"This is music that's centered on a relationship to humankind and the
forces of nature. The music comes out of a belief that the natural world
is inhabited by spirits, and that the way to establish contact with
that spirit world is to imitate the sounds of natural things. The music
is absolutely, intimately connected with the landscape. That's what it's
all about." This concept is actually quite common in many cultures
around the world...music is intimately associated with spiritual
matters; there is no separation. Unfortunately, this attitude has been
lost, to a large degree, in today's "modern" culture...some folks think
we have evolved beyond such "primitive" beliefs; but I think we have
lost something of irreplacable value. The Tuvan's music could certainly
be called "minimal," if you will...very simple rhythms and melodies,
nothing intellectually complex in the sense of advanced chords or
scales. But, this is some of the most beautiful music I've heard...it
hits me in a place that has little to do with the logical, intellectual
side of things.
The only drag was when one of the musicians used a 12 eq guitar to
accompany some of the tunes...if there's one place where 12 eq is
inappropriate, this is it...it changed the sound of the music, like
putting it in a box. I don't know Tuvan tuning practices, but I'm sure
their tuning is closely related to simple ratios of the harmonic series.
They are something else...Hstick