The ensemble Alash is a
throat singing
Throat singing refers to several vocal practices found in different cultures around the world. The most distinctive feature of such vocal practices is to be associated to some type of guttural voice, that contrasts with the most common types of voi ...
band from
Tuva
Tuva (; russian: Тува́) or Tyva ( tyv, Тыва), officially the Republic of Tuva (russian: Респу́блика Тыва́, r=Respublika Tyva, p=rʲɪˈspublʲɪkə tɨˈva; tyv, Тыва Республика, translit=Tyva Respublika ...
, Russia, that performs traditional
Tuvan music
Tuva is a part of Russia, inhabited by a Turkic people. Tuvans are known abroad for ''khoomei'' (''xöömej''), a kind of overtone singing.
Traditionally, Tuvan music was only a solo effort. The musician's intention was usually to emphasise timb ...
with some non-traditional influences.
History
The musicians of Alash are Bady-Dorzhu Ondar, Ayan-ool Sam, and Ayan Shirizhik. All were trained in traditional Tuvan music since childhood, first learning from their families and later becoming students of master throat singers.
Originally called Changy-Xaya, the group was formed at Kyzyl Arts College in 1999 and quickly became the resident traditional ensemble. At the same time, the young musicians were learning
harmony
In music, harmony is the process by which individual sounds are joined together or composed into whole units or compositions. Often, the term harmony refers to simultaneously occurring frequencies, pitches ( tones, notes), or chords. However ...
, theory,
and western
classical music
Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical music, as the term "classical music" also ...
. They began to incorporate non-traditional elements and instruments that mesh well with the sound and feel of traditional Tuvan music. They use old instruments such as the murgu, limpi, and
shoor
The tsuur (Mongolian), choor (Kyrgyz) or chuur (Tuvan) is an end-blown flute of varying lengths that is common among Inner Asian pastoralists.
It is similar to the sybyzgy (Kazakh) and kurai (Bashkir). In western Mongolia it is mainly used by t ...
(
wind instrument
A wind instrument is a musical instrument that contains some type of resonator (usually a tube) in which a column of air is set into vibration by the player blowing into (or over) a mouthpiece set at or near the end of the resonator. The pitc ...
s) that are not frequently played in Tuva today, as well as distinctly western instruments such as the guitar and
accordion
Accordions (from 19th-century German ''Akkordeon'', from ''Akkord''—"musical chord, concord of sounds") are a family of box-shaped musical instruments of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone type (producing sound as air flows past a reed ...
.
The outgrowth of this musical exploration is the ensemble Alash, which is named for the Alash River that flows through the musicians' home region of Tuva.
Kongar-ool Ondar
Kongar-ool Borisovich Ondar ( tyv, Ондар Коңгар-оол Борис оглу, ''Ondar Konggar-ool Boris oglu'', , russian: Конгар-оол Борисович Ондар; 29 March 1962 – 25 July 2013) was a master Soviet and Russia ...
was the first
artistic director
An artistic director is the executive of an arts organization, particularly in a theatre or dance company, who handles the organization's artistic direction. They are generally a producer and director, but not in the sense of a mogul, since the ...
, and he played a key role in the development of the ensemble. Since its inception, Alash has undergone several personnel changes. Former members include Sergei Sotpa, Mai-ool Sedip and Nachyn Choodu.
In 2004, Alash won first prize at the International Xöömei (throat singing) Symposium competition. In 2005, ensemble member Bady-Dorzhu Ondar was named the best male singer at the Üstüü-Xüree festival, and in 2006 he was named People's Xöömeizhi (throat singer) of the Republic of Tuva, the youngest person ever to receive this prestigious award. At the 2008 International Xöömei Symposium, Bady-Dorzhu Ondar won the grand prize, while Ayan-ool Sam and Ayan Shirizhik won first and second prizes for individual throat singing. In 2009, Ayan Shirizhik was awarded the title "Distinguished Artist of Tuva."
Alash toured the United States in 2006 at the invitation of the Open World Leadership Center at
the Library of Congress
The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library is ...
with funding from the
National Endowment for the Arts
The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal ...
. Their trip was organized by CEC ArtsLink, an organization that orchestrates cross-cultural arts exchanges and grants between the US and
Central Europe
Central Europe is an area of Europe between Western Europe and Eastern Europe, based on a common historical, social and cultural identity. The Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) between Catholicism and Protestantism significantly shaped the area' ...
, Russia, and
Eurasia
Eurasia (, ) is the largest continental area on Earth, comprising all of Europe and Asia. Primarily in the Northern and Eastern Hemispheres, it spans from the British Isles and the Iberian Peninsula in the west to the Japanese archipelago a ...
.
Alash has toured the United States every year since, playing at a variety of venues. They also conduct workshops at schools and colleges to share their music and culture with American young people. In December 2008, December 2009 and December 2010, Alash toured with the American group
Béla Fleck and the Flecktones
Béla may refer to:
* Béla (crater), an elongated lunar crater
* Béla (given name), a common Hungarian male given name
See also
* Bela (disambiguation)
* Belá (disambiguation)
* Bělá (disambiguation) Bělá, derived from ''bílá'' (''whit ...
to promote the Flecktones' Grammy winning album
Jingle All the Way
''Jingle All the Way'' is a 1996 American Christmas family comedy film directed by Brian Levant. It stars Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sinbad as two rival fathers, mattress salesman Howard Langston (Schwarzenegger) and postal worker Myron Larabe ...
, which features Alash as guest artists. While touring with the Flecktones, Alash also had the opportunity to perform their traditional Tuvan music.
In August 2007, the group performed for
President Vladimir Putin while he was on holiday in Tuva.
Sean Quirk, an American scholar and musician who resides in Tuva, is the group's manager, producer, and interpreter. In 2008, Quirk was named Merited Artist of Tuva for his promotion of traditional Tuvan music and culture both inside Tuva and abroad. Quirk and the other members of Alash are also members of the
Tuvan National Orchestra The Tuvan National Orchestra reflects the complex history of the Tuva, Republic of Tuva (sometimes spelled Tyva), a Federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia which sits at the southern edge of Siberia, with Mongolia to its south. Over th ...
.
Recordings
Alash Live at the Enchanted GardenMarch 2006
April 2007
September 2008. Guest artists on the grammy-winning CD by the
FlecktonesBuuraMay 2011
Spring 2015
Fall 2020 (digital only)
External links
*
Washington Post concert review.June 21, 2007 - scroll down to Alash
Open World Program Offers Rare Glimpse of Unique Musical ArtFebruary 1, 2006
Hearts In Their Throats Newsweek, March 17, 2006
Bady-Dorzhu Ondar and Maya Akhpasheva are Best Singers at the Ustuu Khuree Festival Tuva Online, July 9, 2005
Who Are This Year's Khoomei Champions in Tuva?Tuva Online, July 29, 2004
{{Authority control
Russian folk music groups
Musical groups established in 1999
Musical groups from Tuva
Culture in Kyzyl
Throat singing
1999 establishments in Russia