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Four singers, eight voices
Uragsha brings its astounding Siberian-style polyphonic throat singing to New York listeners.
By ROBIN EISGRAU
Offoffoff.com
Siberia may not be the first locale that springs to mind when thinking of
places where great music comes from but it happens to be where a fantastic
musical ensemble calls home.
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| URAGSHA |
Sayan and Erzhena Zhambalov
Battuvshin and Badmahanda Aiusheyeva.
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On April 6, the World Music Institute will
present a concert at Symphony Space by Urgasha, a group from the Buryat
Republic in eastern Siberia that features remarkable throat singing. There
are few musical sounds as unique and captivating as throat singing. This
unusual vocal technique (also known as harmonic or overtone singing)
involves a single singer producing two notes simultaneously and the
resulting deep whistling sound is mystical and haunting.
Aside from the
vocals, the musicians in Urgasha play limbe (cross flute), khun khun
(plucked swan-headed lute), morin khyr (horse-head fiddle) and khese (shaman
drum). Members of the ensemble also wear elaborate traditional costumes.
The members of Urgasha are Sayan and Erzhena Zhambalov, Battuvshin and
Badmahanda Aiusheyeva. The Zhambalovs are celebrated artists at the Buryat
National Theater in Ulan Ude and in 1995 they were awarded the prize at the
International Contest of Singers in Ulan Bator, Mongolia. Battuvshin was a
Gold Medalist at the International Folk Music Festival iin Korea and the
Grand Prize winner at the all-Mongolian flute contest. Badmahanda Aiusheyeva
is often viewed as the best young singer of traditional Buryat songs and has
won awards as well. In recent years, Urgasha has appeared at Joe's Pub and
LaMama and this appearance uptown should be a treat.
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APRIL 3, 2001
OFFOFFOFF.COM • THE GUIDE TO ALTERNATIVE NEW YORK
Reader comments on Uragsha:
Uragsha from John Loiacono, Sep 7, 2001
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