TUVAN THROAT SINGING AND JOHN WILLIAMS Corey Woodfield Period 6.
Study Guide - Arts Midwest€¦ · the top lip. The performer then plays the flute while at the...
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Study Guide Learn more at www.artsmidwestworldfest.org About the Artists Anda Union is a band of performers with roots in different ethnic Mongolian tribes from across Inner Mongolia. Each performer was trained in traditional Mongolian music from a young age, and they are part of a musical movement that is finding inspiration in old and forgotten songs. As “music gatherers,” Anda Union brings together ancient Mongolian music and traditions that had all but disappeared from modern life. They are on a mission to stimulate their culture and reengage young Mongols, many of whom no longer speak the language of their heritage. Inner Mongolia Inner Mongolia is not Mongolia. Inner Mongolia is an autonomous region in northern China and one of the largest provinces in China. The province has its own local government in the capital city Hohhot, where Anda Union was formed. Mongolia is an independent country that borders China on the south and Russia on the north. However, many of the cultural traditions and music presented by Anda Union come from a time long before these borders existed. Inner Mongolia has a population of nearly 3 million people, most of whom connect strongly to the history and culture of Mongolia. In fact, signs for businesses and roads in Inner Mongolia must include both Chinese and Traditional Mongolian writing. Hills, rivers, lakes, deserts, and grasslands appear in various shapes and sizes throughout Inner Mongolia’s rugged landscape. Its forest area is the second largest in China. Inner Mongolia’s climate is as diverse as its landscape. Warm, breezy springs are followed by short, hot, rainy summers, and frosty autumns lead to long and very cold winters. Nature and History Traditional Mongolian people were nomads who moved with their herds and lived in temporary houses called gers (a Mongolian word) or yurts (a Kazakh word). This lifestyle created a close connection with the environment, and the music of Anda Union is heavily influenced by the natural sounds and landscape of the Mongolian Grasslands. The legacy of Genghis Khan is another source of inspiration for Anda Union. Genghis Khan was a Mongolian ruler in the 1200s who united the Mongol tribes and launched a campaign of conquest that ultimately created the world’s biggest land empire. Today Genghis Khan is revered by Mongolians as the founder of their culture. Resources Smithsonian Folkways: Throat Singing www.folkways.si.edu/explore_folkways/throat_singing.aspx Columbia University: The Mongols in World History http://afe.easia.columbia.edu/mongols China: Anda Union Anda Union in the grasslands of Inner Mongolia. Photo by Delger. Ar Horchin Grasslands. Still from the film Anda Union: From the Steppes to the City A traditional ger. Still from the film Anda Union: From the Steppes to the City
Transcript of Study Guide - Arts Midwest€¦ · the top lip. The performer then plays the flute while at the...
Study Guide
Learn more at www.artsmidwestworldfest.org
About the Artists
Anda Union is a band of performers with roots in different ethnic Mongolian tribes from across Inner Mongolia. Each performer was trained in traditional Mongolian music from a young age, and they are part of a musical movement that is finding inspiration in old and forgotten songs. As “music gatherers,” Anda Union brings together ancient Mongolian music and traditions that had all but disappeared from modern life. They are on a mission to stimulate their culture and reengage young Mongols, many of whom no longer speak the language of their heritage. Inner Mongolia
Inner Mongolia is not Mongolia. Inner Mongolia is an autonomous region in northern China and one of the largest provinces in China. The province has its own local government in the capital city Hohhot, where Anda Union was formed. Mongolia is an independent country that borders China on the south and Russia on the north. However, many of the cultural traditions and music presented by Anda Union come from a time long before these borders existed. Inner Mongolia has a population of nearly 3 million people, most of whom connect strongly to the history and culture of Mongolia. In fact, signs for businesses and roads in Inner Mongolia must include both Chinese and Traditional Mongolian writing. Hills, rivers, lakes, deserts, and grasslands appear in various shapes and sizes throughout Inner Mongolia’s rugged landscape. Its forest area is the second largest in China. Inner Mongolia’s climate is as diverse as its landscape. Warm, breezy springs are followed by short, hot, rainy summers, and frosty autumns lead to long and very cold winters. Nature and History
Traditional Mongolian people were nomads who moved with their herds and lived in temporary houses called gers (a Mongolian word) or yurts (a Kazakh word). This lifestyle created a close connection with the environment, and the music of Anda Union is heavily influenced by the natural sounds and landscape of the Mongolian Grasslands. The legacy of Genghis Khan is another source of inspiration for Anda Union. Genghis Khan was a Mongolian ruler in the 1200s who united the Mongol tribes and launched a campaign of conquest that ultimately created the world’s biggest land empire. Today Genghis Khan is revered by Mongolians as the founder of their culture. Resources
Smithsonian Folkways: Throat Singing www.folkways.si.edu/explore_folkways/throat_singing.aspx Columbia University: The Mongols in World History http://afe.easia.columbia.edu/mongols
China: Anda Union
Anda Union in the grasslands of Inner Mongolia. Photo by Delger.
Ar Horchin Grasslands. Still from the film Anda Union: From the Steppes to the City
A traditional ger. Still from the film Anda Union: From the Steppes to the City
Study Guide
Learn more at www.artsmidwestworldfest.org
China: Anda Union
Morin Huur
The morin huur, or horse head fiddle, has two strings and is played upright with a bow, similar to a cello. Rather than pressing down on the strings, a performer touches the side of the string to change the note. The horse designs pay respect to the most important animal in Mongolian culture, and almost all Mongolian houses have a morin huur hanging in the hallway.
Photo by Tiffany Rodgers
Throat Singing
Throat singing, called hoomei in Mongolian, is a vocal style that allows the singer to sing two notes at the same time. It is an ancient Mongolian art form, and many Mongols believe throat singing has powers that can help heal a person who is ill. Throat singing takes years to master, and singers begin training when they are very young. Anda Union has trained in many throat singing styles, and you will hear that they use a range of low- and high-pitched singing. The sound of throat singing reminds the listener of animals and the wind blowing through the Mongolian Grasslands.
Long Song
Long song is another ancient style of singing. The name is derived not from the length of the song but from the long notes held during a song. Often this type of song has very few words—a song that lasts three minutes might have only ten words! This style of singing evolved in the grasslands as Mongolians tended their sheep, and the music reflects the landscape in the rising and falling of notes that correspond to the land itself. Typically accompanied by the horse head fiddle, a long song singer can call up the landscape of distant places, transport us to the vast grasslands of Mongolia, and remind us of the power of nature.
Photo by Delger
Moadin Chor
The moadin chor is a Mongolian flute made from a reed. The flute is played vertically and positioned under the top lip. The performer then plays the flute while at the same time singing hoomei, or throat singing. Very few people are able to play this instrument, and Chinggel of Anda Union is one of only four musicians in Inner Mongolia that have mastered the moadin chor!
Photo by Delger
Photo by Delger
