Mongolian music

On trips to India and China I have, of course, attempted to listen to and follow classical Indian and Chinese music as well as Beijing opera. Its impact is huge but, for a non-specialist brought up in Europe, difficult to grasp immediately in its formal structures and development. It therefore requires study to begin to get more from it.
On a trip to China I was therefore stunned to find a musical form of ravishing beauty that those raised in the European tradition can grasp immediately - but to which the Chinese respond equally. It combines musical techniques quite unknown in Europe with beautiful poetry of a sensibility that could only come from the country that produced it. Allow me to present as a new great enthusiasm - the music of Mongolia.
As, unless I am completely out of touch with current developments, Mongolian music does not have remotely the recognition that it deserves in Britain or the UK I hope readers will forgive an elementary introduction - experts on Mongolian music can doubtless turn up their noses at mistakes that follow. But I am being very serious that this is sensational music of a sensibility very different to Europe but immediately comprehensible. Naturally the only real thing to do is listen to it but in words a little can be described. A tiny repeating melodic fragment, in a modernised setting, can be heard at http://www.tala.com.cn/en/flash/main.html
As regards sensibility the distinctive feature of Mongolia is, of course, its vast grass plains. This is the origin of a horse based culture with consequent military prowess - the Huns and the armies of Genghis Khan conquering the greatest distances of any military forces in the world's history. It was not surprising, therefore, to find military strength and love of horses to be central in dances from Mongolia. But, in order to to reveal one's ignorance at once, what created the greatest impact of all was the combination of an aching beauty of the poetry with music. Translation, as usual, doubtless greatly fails to do justice to the original but the following conveys the point.

Horizon
There shine two stars on the horizon
It is the eyes in my dream
There envelops a sheet of mist in the mountain
It is your tenderness yesterday night
I want to climb the mountain to seek you in the mist
I want to straddle the horse to chase the stars faraway

There stands a big tree in the horizon
It is the green shade in my heart
There stands a high mountain in the distance
It is your abundant bosom
I want to gather under the tree to interweave my beautiful longings
I want to pasture by the mountain to chase your footsteps

I want to go with you horse by horse heading to the heart of the grassland
I want to fly with you side by side roaming in the blue sky

Or try this

The vagrant's homesickness

Father had described the distinct scent of the grassland
He couldn't forget it no matter where he roamed
Mother had loved to depict the vastness of the river
It flowed in Mongolian plateau, my hometown faraway

Now I see the great expanse at last
Standing here I shed tears like it rains
River is passing on the benediction of my ancestors
To bless the vagrant children find their way home

Ah, father's grassland, mother's river
Although I can't express myself in my mother tongue, Mongolian
Please accept my sadness and my pleasure

I am also a child of the plateau
There is a song dwelling in my heart
It sings father's grassland, mother's river!

Or this

Mother

In the cloudily land
You have brought me to the earth
Into my delicate heart
You have sown hope of life for me.

When I raise my eyes and look in the direction of my hometown
Your image flashes in the distance
When I see the geese flying to the distance
I want to call you, mother

In the sunny field
You have regarded me as your ideal
On my life voyage
You have born the hardship and the sadness on earth

When I raise my eyes and look in the direction of my hometown
Your image shakes in my tears
When I watch the geese flying to the distance
I want to call you, mother

Or try

The date with the grasslands

I have been looking forward to seeing your laughing face
I have been looking forward to hearing your voice
I have been looking forward to staying in your yurt
I have been looking forward to raising your goblet
I have made a date with the grassland
To seek our mutual root
Now I set foot on my hometown
I step into the sunlight to greet the spring

Your laughing face is so pure
Your voice is so charming
Your yurt is so warm
Your wine is so delicious
I have made a date with the grassland
To offer a sacrifice to our God
Now I step into the gate of my home
I am too excited to keep my tears

I have been looking at you in the distance
I have been dreaming of you
I have been praying for you
I have been fascinated by you
I have made a date with the grassland
To pour out my missing
Now I am snuggling in the bosom of the grassland
Let the date be eternity

Or I particularly liked

The sun, the moon and the stars
Daughter: Dad?
Dad: What!
Daughter: What are the sun, the moon and the stars?
Dad/Mum: They are three auspicious treasures!

Daughter: What are the leaves, the flower and the fruit?
Dad/Mum: They are three auspicious treasures!

Daughter: What are dad, mum and me?
Dad/Mum: They are three auspicious treasures!
Dad/Mum/Daughter: Three auspicious treasures, auspicious forever!

I know of no equivalent European sensiblity because there is no equivalent European physical place. But the power of the emotion is evident - and far more powerful when set to music than purely the words convey.
While I can judge the poetry I naturally have no standards by which to judge to what degree the performances I heard, and recordings purchased for me by Chinese friends, were traditional and authentic and to what degree influenced by modern development - a mixture of both I would guess. The audience at the performance however was definitely overwhelming Chinese with only a few Europeans. A number of costumes were definitely modernised in the performances I saw but the fundamental vocal techniques and melodies had nothing to do with Europe or the US at all - how much they reflect Chinese influence, as this was a specifically Inner Mongolian performance, I have no standard by which to judge. But whatever the degree of modernisation it was highly worth watching and listening - some CDs were even better. The music had immediate immense impact on someone of European background. The live performances I went to were at http://www.tala.com.cn/en/flash/main.html.
As regards the musical technique the best is to quote the relevant entry from Wikipedia - which immediately shows, of course, that these are not musical forms and methods derived from Europe at all http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mongolian_music.

'Music of Mongolia

'Music is an integral part of Mongolian culture. Among the unique contributions of Mongolia to the world's musical culture are the long songs, one of the greatest features of the Mongolian music, overtone singing and morin khuur, the horse-headed fiddle. The music of Mongolia is also rich with varieties related to the various ethnic groups of the country: Oirats, Hotogoid, Tuvans, Darhad, Buryats, Tsaatan, Dariganga, Uzemchins, Barga, Kazakhs and Khalha.
Besides the traditional music, Western classical music and ballet flourished during the MPR. Among the most popular forms of modern music in Mongolia are Western pop and rock genres and the mass songs, which are written by modern authors in a form of folk songs.
The Mongolians are renowned for their love for music and singing. Any celebrations by the Mongolians always turn into a celebrity of singing.

'Long song
'This genre is not called "Long song" (Urtyn duu) because the songs are long, but because each syllable of text is extended for a long duration. A four-minute song may only consist of ten words. Lyrical themes vary depending on context; they can be philosophical, religious, romance, or celebratory, and often use horses as a symbol or theme repeated throughout the song. Eastern Mongols typically use a morin khuur (horse-head fiddle) as accompaniment, sometimes with a type of indigenous flute named limbe. Oirat groups of the Western Mongols typically sing long songs unaccompanied or accompanied with the ikel.

'Horse-head fiddle
'The horse-head fiddle, or morin khuur, is a distinctively Mongolian instrument and is seen as a symbol of the country. The instrument is two-stringed and is bowed like a cello. There is some controversy regarding the traditional carving of a horse on the upper end of the pegbox. Some scholars believe that this is proof that the instrument was originally a shamanistic instrument, as the staffs of shamans have a horse similarly carved on top; the horse is a much-revered animal in Mongolia.

'Throat singing
'Perhaps the best-known musical form of the Mongols is the throat singing tradition known as hoomii, extant among all or most Mongols though best known internationally from Tuva. Sung differently than traditional vocals. In Mongolia, the most-famous throat-singers include Khalkhas like Gereltsogt and Sundui, while the Tuvan group Huun-Huur-Tu has an international following. This unique type of singing involves the production of two distinctively audible pitches at the same time, including a low pedal note, or drone, derived from the fundamental frequency of the vocal cord vibrations, and higher melodic notes that result when the singer's mouth acts as a filter, selecting one note at a time from among the drone's natural overtone series pitches.

'Pop music
'Largely unknown outside of Mongolia, there is a thriving popular music scene centred in the city of Ulaanbaatar. Actually, this is a mixture of various kinds of popular music. It is often subdivided into pop, Rock, hip hop and alternative (consisting of alternative rock and heavy metal). The pop scene includes boy bands like Camerton and Nomin talst, girl groups like Kiwi, Emotion and Lipstick and solo artists like Serchmaa, Delgermoron and the renowned Ariunaa [1], the alternative scene bands like Nisvanis, Hurd and Night train, the rock scene rock-n-roll like the Pilots, folk rock like Altan Urag and hard rock bands like Haranga, and there are also some techno bands like Khar Sarnai. A few of the younger Mongolian popular artists are becoming increasingly well established internationally, mostly notably, the young female singer Nominjin (singing in 8 languages in a variety of genres) and Borkhuu Amarkhuu, a star of the Russian pop music.
'Hip hop/Rap has gained considerable popularity in Mongolia. From early 1990s, Mongolian teenagers and youngsters formed dancing groups with anywhere between three to thirty members that started to compete in national tournaments. This was the beginning of the Mongolian hip hop movement. For some reason single rappers had never “made it” into the Mongolian hip hop scene.
'Early bands include Har Sarnai, Har Tas and MC Boys. These groups represented the beginning of rap in Mongolia. Their songs mostly stressed on social issues, philosophy and rebellious ideas. A later generation consisted of bands like Dain Ba Enkh, 2 Huu, Erkh-Choloo, Lumino, Mon-Ta-Rap, Ice Top and URMC. They continued with similar messages as their predecessors, but also came to include “soft” touches in their songs, which faced with strong resistance from hard core rap fans but welcomed by the general public.

'Popular folk music
'There is also a long established and distinctive "Mongolian pop" genre that occupies the same place on the musical spectrum as Japanese Enka music or Western soft-pop-oriented folk music or country music. Classic singers from the late 20th and early 21st centuries include Vandan and Dulamsüren, Batsükh, Tömörkhuyag and Egschiglen. Some of the repeatedly heard lyrical themes are very distinctive for Mongolia: heartfelt tributes to the songwriter's mother, for example, or paeans to great horses. This type of music is not considered world music in the west and was long generally unavailable outside Mongolia, but can now be downloaded from various Mongolian websites. It may be filed under the designation Зохиoлын Дyy (schlagers).

'Classical music
'Mongolia features a rich tradition of classical music and ballet. The classical music ows its prosperity in the 2nd half of the 20th century to a patronage of then Socialist government that favoured Western and Russian/Soviet classical arts to Western pop culture. In addition, the Mongolian composers developed a rich diversity of national symphony and ballet.'

As the long song is indeed a highly distinct element its wikipedia entry is reproduced in full. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long_song

'The Long song (Mongolian: Уртын дуу, Urtyn duu) is a central element of the traditional Music of Mongolia. This genre is not called "Long song" because the songs are long (even if some of them are), but because each syllable of text is extended for a long duration... Lyrical themes vary depending on context; they can be philosophical, religious, romantic, or celebratory, and often use horses as a symbol or theme repeated throughout the song. Eastern Mongols typically use a Morin khuur (horse-head fiddle) as accompaniment, sometimes with a type of indigenous flute, called limbe. Oirat groups of the Western Mongols traditionally sing long songs unaccompanied or accompanied with the Igil.
'The main feature of the long song is the prolonged, tenuto notes with deeply modulated vibrato on the vowels. These majestic vibrating notes called shuranhai give the song profound philosophical, meditational character and they often depict the spacious mountain valleys and the tranquility of the Mongolian soul.
'Three major styles are identified in long songs: besreg urtiin duu ("mini long song"), urtiin duu and aizam urtiin duu ("majestic long songs"). Again, the styles reflect the way of the performance of the shuranhai and other techniques rather than the sizes of the songs.
UNESCO declared the Mongolian Long Song one of the Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity in 2005.'

It is also worth citing from a booklet to an album 'A Brief Introduction to "Khoomii" - Throat singing'

'Throat singine refers to a type of old and traditional way of singing mainly used in Mongolia and Inner Mongolia. Throat singing has been a precious Mongolian traditional folk art as well as a unique and valuable cultural legacy in the world. It is also called 'throat choir'. Throat singing in the modern days originated from a kind of ancient vocal music which was similar to whistle. It was mentioned largely in the ancient historical records and been at least over 2,600 years long.
'This particular type of singing differs from normal singing in that a singer can produce two or more notes at the same time. Its special way of singing has aroused worldwide interest and it has been praised highly by everyone who touched once. It was officially entitled as one of the Non-material Cultural Heritages of the People's Republic of China in 2006. In recent years, throat singing has begun to spread widely in other countries, and the number of researchers and learners has increased greatly. It has also been more and more popular among young people, and some of them began to practice its technique as well. The motivation of releasing this album is that nations have great chance to reach throat-siniging from a zero distance, so that they can enjoy it and even practice or study it. Let this treasure of art spread further.'

This is an unashamed plug for Mongolian music and it completely deserves it. I am totally prepared to join in.
As an introduction to a non-European musical tradition this is sensational, immediately comprehensible, and with high artistic quality. CDs naturally cannot capture the impact of seeing performance and dance but they are quite enough to grasp it.
Unfortunately none of the CDs I was bought were available on Amazon. In particular immediately appealing is 'A Heavenly Rhythm: Khoomii' - which is a mixture of folk songs with what I take to be modern folk influenced Mongolian pop. Also excellent, but with definitely modernised accompaniements, is 'The Sun, the Moon, and the Stars' - from which the poems quoted are taken. I am now trying to locate more strictly original Mongolian CDs.
So evidently penetration of music from Mongolia into Europe is limited. This is an impoverishment of our culture and for me opened up an entire new musical world that not only Chinese but anyone from Europe can enter.