Yahoo Tuning Groups Ultimate Backup tuning Mongolian Microtones

I thought it would be worthwhile to share with you the details of a
rather obscure microtonal recordings. This one is called 'Urtiin Duu' by
Mongolian singer Namdziliin Norovbanzad. The reference is JVC-5394-2.

The singer exhibits extraordinary range and expressiveness. According to
the sleeve notes the music is pentatonic in essence, and it has the
authenticity of all good folk music though I doubt if Liszt got his
hands on this one. But there are some 'wicked' microtones which merit
further study. The instrumental accompaniment brings to mind some of Lou
Harrison's music in parts, and presents to my ears a blend of Chinese
and American Indian. One interesting point for the composers out there
is the use of breaths as a structural feature of the songs.

There are three instruments. The 'lembe' is a six or eight hole bamboo
flute. The 'moriin Xuur 'is a paddle shaped cello with what looks like
two strings. The 'yatga' is the most incredible looking zither - "a 13-
stringed version based on the Korean Kayagum" with nylon strings and a
brass body. From the picture it looks to have a curiously bevelled body
about 5-6 feet long. Does anyone know anything more about this
instrument the yatga and its tuning and are there any contemporary
designs?

🔗Kraig Grady <kraiggrady@anaphoria.com>

Alison!
Outside of an Ocura (radio france) cd Mongolie-Chamanes et Lamas which opens with a
wonderful 19 min cut of an old woman shaman performing in trance. (Not for everybody but the
best of its kind IMHO), I have only a Musique Du Monde Musique de Mongolie 92591-2 which uses
all the instruments you mention.
from liner notes;
Morin xuur: The main instrument of mongolian music, this fiddle has two horsehair strings, a
horsehead-shaped scroll and a wood (formally skin) sound board. With his Left fingers, the
musician plays the string from under, a technique somewhat similar to that of the sarangi of
North india. "Progressive" Mongolian music uses morin xuur-s of different sizes, also used for
playing the repertoire of classical quartets.

By coincidence this CD has two tracks with the name Urtyn Duu (meaning long song) one with a
"amateur' (whew!) singer the other with a 15 year old woman with her father (whew!) playing
morin xuur. Both are highly ornamented melody higher in beginning of phrase.
the song afterwards is similar in style with these interesting notes.
The Mongols have retained the art of communicating with animals. Alimbi Tsedev sings here
a wordless melody, in a form very similar to that of the Urtyn Duu. She sings to convey to
convince a she-camel to feed a young orphan camel. The impact of the song is so powerful that
after a few minutes the she-camel starts crying.
You can actually hear the Camel crying or "baying" As for myself I must confess a pressure
in the chest area.,. (almost to the point i had to take it off!)

A reference to a book in the liner notes
A study of Urtiin Duu-Its Melismatic Elements and Musical Form
by Nakagawa Shin,
in Musical Voices of Asia. Report of (Asian Traditional Perfrorming Arts 1978) Heibonsha ltd
Publishers, Tokyo, 1980

Alison Monteith wrote:

> I thought it would be worthwhile to share with you the details of a
> rather obscure microtonal recordings. This one is called 'Urtiin Duu' by
> Mongolian singer Namdziliin Norovbanzad. The reference is JVC-5394-2.
>
> The singer exhibits extraordinary range and expressiveness. According to
> the sleeve notes the music is pentatonic in essence, and it has the
> authenticity of all good folk music though I doubt if Liszt got his
> hands on this one. But there are some 'wicked' microtones which merit
> further study. The instrumental accompaniment brings to mind some of Lou
> Harrison's music in parts, and presents to my ears a blend of Chinese
> and American Indian. One interesting point for the composers out there
> is the use of breaths as a structural feature of the songs.
>
> There are three instruments. The 'lembe' is a six or eight hole bamboo
> flute. The 'moriin Xuur 'is a paddle shaped cello with what looks like
> two strings. The 'yatga' is the most incredible looking zither - "a 13-
> stringed version based on the Korean Kayagum" with nylon strings and a
> brass body. From the picture it looks to have a curiously bevelled body
> about 5-6 feet long. Does anyone know anything more about this
> instrument the yatga and its tuning and are there any contemporary
> designs?
>
>
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-- Kraig Grady
North American Embassy of Anaphoria island
www.anaphoria.com

🔗Rick McGowan <rmcgowan@apple.com>

🔗Kraig Grady <kraiggrady@anaphoria.com>

Musique Du Monde Musique de Mongolie 92591-2 was the CD i was discussing but the other one
Ocora (radio france) cd Mongolie-Chamanes et Lamas.the label is listed first in both cases followed by
title number last which I now include for the latter. C560059 (corrected spelling of label is Ocora as
far as i know, they are distributed by Harmonia mundi ( at least in L.A.)

Rick McGowan wrote:

> > Ocora (radio france) cd Mongolie-Chamanes et Lamas
>
> Seems very interesting. Do you have publisher & biblio info on the CD so that one might track it down?
>
> Thanks,
> Rick
>
>
>

-- Kraig Grady
North American Embassy of Anaphoria island
www.anaphoria.com

🔗Bill Alves <ALVES@ORION.AC.HMC.EDU>

🔗Kraig Grady <kraiggrady@anaphoria.com>

🔗David Beardsley <xouoxno@virtulink.com>

Bill Alves wrote:
>
> By the way, does anyone know of a reliable place on the web to order labels
> like Ocura, King, JVC and other non-US labels of non-West traditional
> music? I don't find them in the big outfits like amazon or CDnow. Thanks!

I'd recommend the World Music Institute, they never got their
e-commerce together but you can request their catalog:

http://www.heartheworld.org/

The retail store at their W27th St. offices has all those
Ocura recordings and much more.

They also promote a lot of concerts in NYC, mostly non-western/"world"
musics.

David Beardsley

🔗Alison Monteith <alison.monteith3@which.net>

Kraig Grady wrote:

> Alison!
> Outside of an Ocura (radio france) cd Mongolie-Chamanes et Lamas
> which opens with a wonderful 19 min cut of an old woman shaman
> performing in trance. (Not for everybody but the best of its kind
> IMHO), I have only a Musique Du Monde Musique de Mongolie 92591-2
> which uses all the instruments you mention.
> from liner notes;
> Morin xuur: The main instrument of mongolian music, this fiddle has
> two horsehair strings, a horsehead-shaped scroll and a wood (formally
> skin) sound board. With his Left fingers, the musician plays the
> string from under, a technique somewhat similar to that of the sarangi
> of North india. "Progressive" Mongolian music uses morin xuur-s of
> different sizes, also used for playing the repertoire of classical
> quartets.
>
> By coincidence this CD has two tracks with the name Urtyn Duu (meaning
> long song) one with a "amateur' (whew!) singer the other with a 15
> year old woman with her father (whew!) playing morin xuur. Both are
> highly ornamented melody higher in beginning of phrase.
> the song afterwards is similar in style with these interesting
> notes.
> The Mongols have retained the art of communicating with animals.
> Alimbi Tsedev sings here a wordless melody, in a form very similar to
> that of the Urtyn Duu. She sings to convey to convince a she-camel to
> feed a young orphan camel. The impact of the song is so powerful that
> after a few minutes the she-camel starts crying.
> You can actually hear the Camel crying or "baying" As for myself I
> must confess a pressure in the chest area.,. (almost to the point i
> had to take it off!)
>
> A reference to a book in the liner notes
> A study of Urtiin Duu-Its Melismatic Elements and Musical Form
> by Nakagawa Shin,
> in Musical Voices of Asia. Report of (Asian Traditional Perfrorming
> Arts 1978) Heibonsha ltd Publishers, Tokyo, 1980
>
> Many thanks for the information and references. For my part, I intend
> to track down some of the instruments we've mentioned (there must be a
> Mongolian community somewhere in London UK) because they seem to be
> tried and tested as to their timbral blend with each other, hence
> their incorporation into Mongolian chamber/orchestral ensembles. Some
> of these blends fit into my idea of 'new' orchestral sounds in terms
> of making new instruments. I love the rough 'folky' edge to the music,
> as well as the capacity for extreme tenderness. Phase 2 would involve
> incorporating voices and then coercing choristers into learning new
> intervals.

Another recommendation for everyone - Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma's
"Sampradaya". This features father and son on santoor (hammered
dulcimer) with tabla and tanpura. It is on the Real World record label
(licensed to Virgin) 1999. The beauty of the santoor is that no matter
how hard it 'rocks' the music is always tranquil. Feel free to splash
out with information about tunings.

Peace to All

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