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ANDA UNION
THROAT SINGING WORKSHOP Presented by the Chan Centre for the Performing Arts at UBC in association with Wesbrook Village
SUNDAY MARCH 26, 2017 at 11am MBA House - 3385 Wesbrook Mall, Vancouver
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Anda Union Nars morin huur, ikil, hoomei, guitar Saikhannakhaa vocals, tob shur, morin huur, hoomei Uni tob shur, ikil, hoomei, morin huur Urgen vocals, morin huur Urgen drums Chinggel percussion, moadin chor, hoomei Chinggeltu morin huur Tsetsegmaa urtyn duu Biligbaatar urtyn duu “Our music draws from all the Mongol tribes that Genghis Khan unified. We all have different ethnic backgrounds and we bring these influences into our music. There is a wealth of folk music for us to learn, so far our repertoire of songs is like a drop in the ocean” Since its formation in 2000, Anda Union has influenced a generation of young Mongolians in Inner Mongolia. Hailing from differing ethnic nomadic cultures, the band unites their unique tribal and music traditions in an exhilarating fusion. Anda Union’s most recent album, Homeland, was released in September of 2016 to great acclaim. It was recorded with 14 time GRAMMY Award winning producer and sound engineer Richard King whose credits include Yo-Yo Ma’s Silk Road and the film soundtrack for Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon among others. The Guardian praised Anda Union’s most recent recording, calling it “stirring, sophisticated Mongolian folk.”
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Anda Union Instruments
The morin huur, commonly known as the “horse head fiddle”, is a twostringed instrument that is played with a bow. It has a distinctive and beautiful sound that has become synonymous with Mongolian culture. One legend about the origin of the morin huur tells of a shepherd named Namjil the Cuckoo who receives the gift of a flying horse. At night he flies to meet his beloved, until one day a jealous woman has the horse’s wings cut off, causing the horse to fall from the air and die. The grieving shepherd crafts the first horse head fiddle from the horse’s skin and tail hair. The tob shur is a Mongolian two-stringed lute, traditionally used to accompany a singer.
The moadin chor is a Mongolian reed flute that is performed while simultaneously singing in the hoomei throat singing style. Anda Union’s Chinggel is one of only four known musicians in Inner Mongolia to have mastered this rare and difficult instrument. The double-sided sheep skin Mongolian drum used in performance by Anda Union was designed and created by members of the group, with influence from ancient Tuvan drums. The skins were tanned locally in the grasslands of Mongolia.
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Anda Union Singing Styles
Hoomei is a style of singing also known as overtone or throat singing. To create the overtones, the singer manipulates the resonances created as air travels from the lungs, past the vocal folds, and out the lips to produce a melody. This unique type of singing involves the production of two distinctively audible pitches at the same time. There are many styles of hoomei from the different parts of Mongolia and Tuva and Anda Union have been trained in a range of these methods. In the concert, you will notice the very distinctive styles, from very low singing to high pitched. The sound is very reminiscent of the wind blowing through the grasses on the Mongolian grasslands. Styles of hoomei used by Anda Union include: the low, soft, drone-sounding khomeii; the whistling or flute-like isgre; the growling kargyraa; the acrobatic and quivering uyelje; the pulsating ezenggileer; and the chirping chylandyk. The name urtyn duu, or long-song, is derived not from the length of the songs but rather the long notes which are held. Often a song has very few words, one three minutes long might only have ten words. This style of singing evolved in the grasslands as the Mongolians tended their sheep and was used to sing to the animals to call and to calm them. Mongolian music records and maps the landscape of their land, not merely in words, but in the rising and falling of notes corresponding to the flow of the land itself. UNESCO declared the Mongolian long-song one of the Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity in 2005.
Anda Union in Concert
Sunday March 26, 2017 8:00pm Chan Centre for the Performing Arts at UBC 6265 Crescent Road, Vancouver Hailing from differing ethnic nomadic cultures from all over Inner Mongolia, the nine-member band Anda Union utilizes a wide range of instruments and vocal throat singing styles in a fusion that would make Genghis Khan proud. Tickets from $38 at chancentre.com. Pre-show Talk 7:15, Royal Bank Cinema, Chan Centre With Tim Pearce, Manager of Anda Union Concert 8:00pm, Chan Shun Concert Hall, Chan Centre