Роль запоминания и импровизации в передаче и исполнении алтайского эпоса

The author of this paper will examine the role of both improvisation and memorisation in the oral performances of the Altai epics. In order to do this, initially the author will describe for the reader the Altai epics, their plots, the values that they reinforce, the singer and his instrument. Then, based on a discussion about the context in which the epic is performed and the poetic features of the epics, this paper will explore the theory that the epic teller is not repeating an exact text but is improvising and composing throughout the performance of the epic, producing a different version each time. The author bases her research in particular on several personal interviews with oral epic singers in the Altai Republic. One of these interviews was with Anatoly Turlunov from the Kosh-Agach district, who is a famous performer of the epic in the Altai Republic and now teaches throat singing. The second was with Nikolai Sergetkishov, a young epic singer living in Gorno-Altaisk, who is trying to revive the tradition of epic storytelling. The final interviews were with Aydin Kurmanov, also a famous epic singer in the Altai Republic, who received many awards for his performances, and Yuri Chendeev, a musician who created his own Altai musical ensemble, and currently teaches music. Автор данной статьи рассматривает роль импровизации и запоминания в вопросе устного исполнения алтайского эпоса. Для этой цели автор вначале описывает алтайский эпос, его сюжеты, ценности, которые они утверждают, исполнителя и его музыкальный инструмент. Затем, основываясь на анализе среды, в которой исполняется эпос, и поэтических особенностей эпоса, в статье рассматривается теория о том, что сказитель эпоса не повторяет точный текст, а импровизирует и сочиняет на протяжении всего исполнения эпоса, каждый раз создавая новую версию. Исследование автора строится, в частности, на нескольких личных интервью с исполнителями устного эпоса в Республике Алтай. Одно из таких интервью прошло с Анатолием Турлуновым из района Кош-Агач, который является известным исполнителем эпоса в Республике Алтай и сейчас преподает горловое пение. Второе было с Николаем Сергеткишовым, молодым эпическим певцом, живущим в Горно-Алтайске, который старается возродить традицию эпического повествования. Заключительные интервью были с Айдыном Курмановым, также известным эпическим певцом в Республике Алтай, который получил множество наград за свои выступления, и Юрием Чендеевым, музыкантом, который создал свой алтайский музыкальный ансамбль, а в настоящее время преподает музыку.

Khorekteer as a melodic and lyric introduction of Tuvan khoomei

This article discusses the notion of khorekteer in Tuvan throat-singing, khoomei, as a vocal method of performance in khoomei, executed with a constricted diaphragm or chest. The author regards khorekteer as an integral element of khoomei with semantic content. Khorekteer can precede musical composition in the form of melodic, introductory poetic strophes and be interlaced with “double-voiced episode”, or, conversely, can follow the double-voiced episode. Khorekteer as a performance method in khoomei was supposedly introduced by the outstanding Tuvan throat- singer Khunashtaar-ool Oorzhak, later described by Russian musicologist I. A. Bogdanov at the turn of the 1980s. Earlier, this method could have been called khoomei. The importance of khorekteer is evidenced by the examples of one’s chest (khorek in Tuvan) praising in khoomei texts provided in this article. The author also stresses that khorekteer is a key element distinguishing Tuvan throat-singing from solo double-voiced singing of other peoples. Researchers have described khorekteer as a musical piece, introduction with a psalmodic recitation of song words, melodic introductory recitative, one-voiced type of throat-singing in the low register with recitative melody, ditty with text, or just the initial part of musical composition. The article provides introductory poetic texts of Tuvan virtuosos of khoomei, differing by genre and melody diversity. The author agrees with Zoya Kyrgys, who was the one to put forward the theory of an exclusive role of khorekteer in Tuvan khoomei and suggested the term khorekteer instead of khoomei for the whole phenomenon of Tuvan throat-singing.

Overtone focusing in biphonic tuvan throat singing

Khoomei is a unique singing style originating from the republic of Tuva in central Asia. Singers produce two pitches simultaneously: a booming low-frequency rumble alongside a hovering high-pitched whistle-like tone. The biomechanics of this biphonation are not well-understood. Here, we use sound analysis, dynamic magnetic resonance imaging, and vocal tract modeling to demonstrate how biphonation is achieved by modulating vocal tract morphology. Tuvan singers show remarkable control in shaping their vocal tract to narrowly focus the harmonics (or overtones) emanating from their vocal cords. The biphonic sound is a combination of the fundamental pitch and a focused filter state, which is at the higher pitch (1–2 kHz) and formed by merging two formants, thereby greatly enhancing sound-production in a very narrow frequency range. Most importantly, we demonstrate that this biphonation is a phenomenon arising from linear filtering rather than from a nonlinear source.

Overtone focusing in biphonic Tuvan throat singing

Khoomei is a unique singing style originating from the Central Asian republic of Tuva. Singers produce two pitches simultaneously: a booming low-frequency rumble alongside a hovering high-pitched whistle-like tone. The biomechanics of this biphonation are not well-understood. Here, we use sound analysis, dynamic magnetic resonance imaging, and vocal tract modeling to demonstrate how biphonation is achieved by modulating vocal tract morphology. Tuvan singers show remarkable control in shaping their vocal tract to narrowly focus the harmonics (or overtones) emanating from their vocal cords. The biphonic sound is a combination of the fundamental pitch and a focused filter state, which is at the higher pitch (1-2 kHz) and formed by merging two formants, thereby greatly enhancing sound-production in a very narrow frequency range. Most importantly, we demonstrate that this biphonation is a phenomenon arising from linear filtering rather than a nonlinear source.

Firekeepers

Sápmi is the term of the imagined nation of the Saami people, covering a territory that goes across Norway, Sweden, Finland and Northern Russia. The joik is the specific form of Saami chanting. It coveys lyrics, melody and throat singing techniques, with a high level of abstraction in rendering the relation to people, natural sites, places, animals and events, that we attempted to understand contextually and historically. The cultural complexity emerging in this multivocal and multisited project shows the embodiment of verbal recollections, gestures, conversations, lyrics, chants, improvisations, outbursts and secretive features of the Saami chanting endeavor. Among the socio-political issues that the film addressed is the poignant reality of fading away languages: Southern Saami is today spoken by less than 500 speakers in Norway.

Tuning a Throat Song in Inner Asia

This chapter seeks to distinguish musician Valeriy Kechilovich Mongush’s vocal gifts of xöömei, kargyraa, and sygyt from the so-called throat-singing or overtone singing practices that have circulated internationally (especially since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991) and become dissociated from local meanings and values in the Tyva Republic. In particular, the author is concerned that the global awareness of these practices has focused on the “acoustic facts” of voice production to the exclusion of the histories and responsibilities that these gifts carry—the knowledge of where these practices originate, what they mean, how their history reflects a changing and sometimes repressive political landscape, the intentionality of voicing as action, and the aesthetic and ethical dimensions of voicing song as a social practice. The chapter asks what Valeriy is doing—both real and imagined—when he is doing xöömei, kargyraa, or sygyt. What stories does he tell himself and others? How do his vocal practices reflect a changing political landscape? And what, in Valeriy’s estimation, should practitioners of these “three main techniques” (üsh kol xevir) do in order to understand them as vocal gifts and use them with a sense of purpose, care, and respect for local traditions? The author poses these questions and Valeriy answers with more stories, told from his own perspective.