The Asia Society
presents the US debut of Altai Hangai, one of Mongolia's
most exciting musical groups. Their concert of traditional
music is inspired by the life of nomads and a love of nature---conveying
images of travelling in the Mongolian steppe. The repertoire
for this concert includes music composed for the horse-head
fiddle and folk tunes noted by the fascinating sound of
"throat singing." Altai Hangai is presented by
the Asia Society at Florence Gould Hall, French Institute/Alliance
Française, 22 East 59th Street (between Park and
Madison) on Thursday, July 20 at 8:00 P.M. Tickets are $20
($16 for Asia Society members, $10 for students/seniors)
and are available at the Asia Society Box Office at (212)
517-ASIA.
According to Rachel
Cooper, Associate Director for Performing Arts and Public
Programs at the Asia Society, "We are thrilled to introduce
American audiences to these extraordinary musicians. Altai-Hangai
has found a balance between traditional and modern elements.
They keep their repertoire and inspirational sources fresh
by constantly renewing their material, creating musical
variations on the spot, improvising lyrics, and making slight
adjustments in their arrangements. It's going to be a treat
to have them here in New York."
Altai-Hangai, established
in 1993, is named after the Altai Mountains and Hangai Steppes,
which form large natural areas in West- and Central Mongolia,
the area from which the group's musical roots stem. While
their basis is in traditional Mongolian music, Altai-Hangai
has cooperated with jazz musicians, symphonic orchestras,
dancers and actors at numerous venues in Germany, Holland,
Denmark, Belgium, Italy, and Norway.
The members of Altai-Hangai
include Ganbold Muukhai, born to a family of camel drivers/dancers,
musicians and singers and professionally trained at the
Music and Dance College in Ulaanbaatar, who plays horse-head
fiddle, piano, accordion, and cello; Ganzorig Nergui, who
learned to sing and imitate birds on strolls through the
steppe with his herdsman father, and is a throat- or overtone
singer who also plays the horse-head fiddle; and Byambakhishig
Lhagva, the son of a wood carver and singer, who sings and
plays the horse-head fiddle.
So important is
the horse-head fiddle (called "morin khuur" in
Mongolian) that there is a Mongolian saying, "A family
should not be without a morin khuur. Without it the family
is cursed." The horse-head fiddle is decorated with
a horse's head carved from wood, and has two strings made
of horsehair. The instrument has a hoarse voice, combined
with an unexpectedly clear tone. While resonating, the independent
hairs in each string create a diffuse sound of overtones
through interference, a quality greatly admired in Mongolia,
with many tones seemingly unintentionally jumping around
the general melody.
The tovshuur is
a plucked instrument with an oval sound-box covered with
skin, and is a familiar instrument in Western Mongolia.
Legend has it that it was first made from a saucepan for
milk and decorated with a swan's head to commemorate a sad
story involving a woman with a beautiful voice. The tovshuur
is used for the simple but charming accompaniment of singing
without having a virtuoso repertoire of its own.
The music Altai
Hangai plays can generally be called "tatlagas"
- music to commemorate social occasions, both happy and
sad or just to play for relaxation. Tatlagas, however, like
much of Mongolian culture, differ depending upon the area
of the country in which they are performed. This is true
of singing styles and techniques, the most famous of which
is throat singing, where the singer creates a bitonal sound.
Audiences will be able to hear several varieties of singing
in the Asia Society concert, as well as Mongolian non-bitonal
singing.
Support for Altai
Hangai and the Mongolia programs are made possible by the
Trust for Mutual Understanding, Frank and Lisina Hoch, John
Guth, The Cynthia Hazen Polsky and Leon B. Polsky Fund,
Kathryn and Ernest H. Frank, Eleanor Briggs, Susan Lynch,
and Frederick W. Richmond.
Support for the
Asia Society's Cultural Programs is provided by the Friends
of Asian Arts, Wallace-Reader's Digest Funds, The Starr
Foundation, The Armand G. Erpf Fund, The Arthur Ross Foundation,
the Harold J. and Ruth Newman Philanthropic Fund, and the
New York State Council on the Arts.
The Asia Society
is America's leading institution dedicated to fostering
understanding of Asia and communication between Americans
and the peoples of Asia and the Pacific. A nonprofit, nonpartisan
educational institution, the Asia Society presents a wide
range of programs including major art exhibitions, performances,
media programs, international conferences and lectures,
and initiatives to improve elementary and secondary education
about Asia. The Asia Society is headquartered in New York
City, with regional centers in Washington, D.C., Houston,
Los Angeles, Hong Kong and Melbourne, Australia, and representative
offices in San Francisco, Seattle, Manila and Shanghai.
For more information, contact the Asia Society, 725 Park
Avenue, New York, NY 10021. (212) 288-6400. (www.asiasociety.org). Note:
While the Asia Society headquarters building is undergoing
renovations (to be completed Fall 2001), visit us at our
interim location, Asia Society at Midtown, 502 Park Avenue
(at 59th Street), New York City.
