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Namgar
Hatar (XATAP - Dance) (Sketis Music, Russia)
$15.99

Buryat vocalist Namgar Lkhasaranova leads the ensemble that takes her name, accompanied on traditional instruments from Buryat and Mongolian tradition. Here is an earthy sound from an expert ensemble of musicians from Russia and Mongolia.

Listen:
Arwan....
Buljamur

The ensemble says of itself:
Buryats live in Russia, where it borders with Mongolia and Manchuria. Buddhism, Shamanism, and the natural beauty of South Siberia contributed to their tradition. They share a lot of musical themes with their relatives Mongolians, with a special attention to dance tunes that became extinct in Mongolia. Namgar is a group of versatile musicians that create the sound both authentic and easily accessible. The group made their first appearance on the international stage at Riddu Riddu Festival in Norway in 2002, along with Mari Boine and a bunch of other World Music celebrities.

Musicians:
Namgar Lkhasaranova - vocal
Zhenja Zolotaryov - chanza (a three-stringed lute)
J.Urantugs - yataga (the Mongolian zither), chzhen (the Chinese zither), vocal
Altai (H.Altangerel) - morin-khoour, throat singing

More press from the record label:
The repertoire of Namgar consists of the songs and melodies shared by Buryats and Mongolians, embracing the world of sounds as big as from the Lake Baikal in the East of Russia to the Great Wall in China, from the songs of shamanist gatherings of Siberia to celebration songs you might hear at a midsummer fest in Mongolia to exquisite melodies from Inner Mongolia. Looking like characters from the ancient legends of Asia on stage, the group delivers the music that is both exotic and easily accessible.

Four musicians were drawn together by this ancient music little known to the world in January 2001, in Moscow, Russia Namgar Lhasaranova and Jipo from Ulan-Ude, Buryatia (South Siberia), Altay and Urna from Mongolia. Their collaboration sprung from the songs and music of the Hori Buryats, as well as from Mongolian compositions, as Buryats and Mongolians share many common musical traditions.

The heart of this project, Namgar (Namgar Ayushievna Lhasaranova) whose name was used to call the entire group, grew up in a Buryat family in a tiny village of Kunkur near the border crossing of Russia, Mongolia, and China. Hori Buryat tribes to which Namgar belongs, historically were supporters of Chingis Khan and important commanders of the Mongol Invasion. Their songs and dances date back to the glorious times of the Mongolian Empire, preserving many genres and songs that became extinct in the other parts of Mongolian world.

Being separated from each other politically since XVII century, Buryats and Mongolians still share many common traditions, and in search of cultural identity often think about each other as "true keepers of the ancient heritage".

The Album
In October 2003, Namgar released their first official CD entitled “Khatar” (round dance). It boasts a first ever collection of Buryat all-time favorites that are quite distinct and neatly arranged. It was a group of enthusiastic young people from Moscow who started a label called “Sketis Music” www.sketismusic.ru, specializing in world music, who gave the opportunity to the group to record their album, because they were sure this music was fantastic. Album cover was designed by Dashi Namdakov, the most prominent young artist among the Buryats.

The Group And The Instruments
Namgar (full name Namgar Ayushievna Lhasaranova) grew up in a family that preserved the Buryat musical tradition. She started performing traditional Buryat music on stage in mid-1980’s. Since that time, Namgar has performed solo in France, the Netherlands, Denmark, Germany, Norway, and the USA singing traditional songs and playing the zither yataga. In 1999, 2000, and 2001 she was taking part in the Norwegian world music festival Riddu-Riddu where she shared the stage with Jerry Alfred, Bolot Bairyshev, Mari Boine, Chirgilchin, Anneli Drecker, Lucie Idlout, Derek Miller, Sabjilar, Pamyua and other prominent native and world music artists.

Jipo (full name Eugene Zolotaryov), Namgar’s husband, comes from Ulan-Ude, Buryatia. Originally from a Chita Polish family, he graduated from East Siberian Institute of Culture. Originally bass guitar player in Ulan-Ude bands, he met Namgar, who came to join his group Selenga as a lead vocalist. In the group Namgar, Eugene plays chanza. Chanza is a long-necked spiked lute with an oval wooden frame and snake skin covering stretched over both faces. The three strings are fixed to a bar, which is inserted in the body. The instrument is struck or plucked with a plectrum made of horn or with the fingers. As the tones do not echo, every note is struck several times.

Altay (full name Altangerel Khishigtogtokh) is a young Mongolian musician. He grew up in a musical family in Ulaanbaatar, the capital of Mongolia. A morin huur player and a pianist, Altangerel studied musical theory in Ulaanbaatar and when his college training was complete in the late 1990’s, he came to Moscow for advanced study of composition. In Moscow, his instrumental skills became known to the Embassy of Mongolia in Russia, and he took part in many events organized by the Embassy in Russia, an also traveled to Finland to participate in a Mongolian exhibition there. Morin huur is one of the symbols of Mongolian and Buryat musical tradition, and maybe the ancestor of all bowed instruments of European music. In English, people frequently call it the horse-head fiddle. It is a bowed string instrument with a trapezoid body. It has the wooden head of a horse at the top of the neck, and its strings are made of horsehair. According to legend, there once was a Mongolian nomad whose beloved horse died. In the memory of the horse, the man created a musical instrument using the horse’s remains and thus made the first morin huur. Morin huur can beautifully imitate the horse’s voice, but its abilities are not limited to this imitation.

Urna (full name Urantugs Jamiyan), a girl from Uliastai, Mongolia, comes from the family of a popular Mongolian composer Jamyan. She started to study yataga, an ancient zither, in Uliastai while she was still a child. As Altay, she studied in a musical college in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. In 2000 in Moscow she joined Namgar, adding the royal sound of yataga to Namgar’s folklore ensemble. Yataga belongs to the family of Far Eastern zithers. Similar instruments with movable bridges can be found in Japan, Korea, China, and Viet Nam. The strings are plucked and the sound is very smooth. Yataga is constructed as a box with a convex surface and an end bent towards the ground. In the times of old it was regarded as an instrument of the court of the Khans and Buddhist rituals rather than a village folklore instrument.