![Namgar](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/45/Namgar.JPG)
Namgar (
Buryat: Намгар) is a 4-piece music group that performs traditional
Buryat and
Mongolian music.
Its leader Namgar Lhasaranova comes from the east borderland where three countries,
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
,
Mongolia
Mongolia; Mongolian script: , , ; lit. "Mongol Nation" or "State of Mongolia" () is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south. It covers an area of , with a population of just 3.3 million, ...
, and
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
meet. She inherited a rich singing tradition of the Buryat people who reside in Russian regions of
Buryatia
Buryatia, officially the Republic of Buryatia (russian: Республика Бурятия, r=Respublika Buryatiya, p=rʲɪsˈpublʲɪkə bʊˈrʲætʲɪjə; bua, Буряад Улас, Buryaad Ulas, , mn, Буриад Улс, Buriad Uls), is ...
and
Agin Buryat Region. The group necessarily comprises singing of Namgar Lhasaranova and
instrumentalists
A musician is a person who composes, conducts, or performs music. According to the United States Employment Service, "musician" is a general term used to designate one who follows music as a profession. Musicians include songwriters who wri ...
from
Mongolia
Mongolia; Mongolian script: , , ; lit. "Mongol Nation" or "State of Mongolia" () is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south. It covers an area of , with a population of just 3.3 million, ...
. Instruments of the group include
morin khuur
The ''morin khuur'' ( mn, морин хуур, morin khuur), also known as the horsehead fiddle, is a traditional Mongolian bowed stringed instrument. It is one of the most important musical instruments of the Mongol people, and is considered ...
,
chanza, traditional percussion, etc.
Background
Namgar Lhasaranova performed solo or with modern groups at local and international venues since 1980 in a variety of genres including traditional songs, jazz and pop. It was in 2001 in Moscow that she and Evgeny Zolotarev (also spelled Zolotaryov) created a permanent group inviting Mongolian musicians Kh. Altangerel on morin khuur and
Jamyangiin Urantögs on yatga.
Their notable distinction from Mongolian groups are dance tunes extinct in Mongolia since 17th century, and the endorsement of Buryat tradition with minimum inclusion of songs from 20th century.
History
Launching Moscow concerts in March 2001, the group performed at the international festival
Riddu Riđđu
Riddu Riđđu is an annual Sámi music and culture festival held in Olmmáivággi (Manndalen) in the Gáivuotna (Kåfjord) municipality in Norway. The goal of the festival is to bring forward both Sámi culture and that of other indigenous peopl ...
(
Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...
) in July 2001 along with
Hedningarna
Hedningarna (''The Heathens'') is a Swedish, and for some years partly Finnish, folk music band that mixes electronics and rock with elements from old Scandinavian folk music. Their music features yoik or juoiggus, a traditional Sami form of s ...
,
Wimme,
Sainkho Namtchylak
Sainkho Namtchylak ( tyv, Сайын-Хөө Намчылак, russian: Сайнхо Намчылак, born 1957) is a singer originally from Tuva, an autonomous republic in the Russian Federation just north of Mongolia. She is known for her Tuvan ...
,
Mari Boine
Mari Boine (born Mari Brit Randi Boine, 8 November 1956) is a Norwegian Sámi singer. She combined traditional Sámi joik singing with rock. In 2008, she became a professor of musicology at Nesna University College.
Biography
Mari Boine was ...
,
Chirgilchin etc. The collaboration with the festival continues until today (2008), while the group became the official representative of the festival in Russia.
There were several appearances of the group at Russia's major TV channels and concert venues. For some years they would also open exhibitions of a leading Buryat sculptor Dashi Namdakov in Moscow.
Namgar's debut CD titled Hatar (Dance), was recorded and issued in October 2003 by Moscow World Music label Sketis Music. It attracted several international reviews, including Dirty Linen that would endorse both the music and the cover design by Dashi Namdakov (selecting just 2 CDs out of half a dozen Sketis CDs directed to them for review).
In 2005 Namgar performed at the
Rainforest world music festival
The Rainforest World Music Festival (often abbreviated as RWMF) is an annual three-day music festival celebrating the diversity of world music, held in Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia, with daytime music workshops, cultural displays, craft displays, ...
in
Malaysia
Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...
, in 2007 at Shark Taronalari festival in
Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan (, ; uz, Ozbekiston, italic=yes / , ; russian: Узбекистан), officially the Republic of Uzbekistan ( uz, Ozbekiston Respublikasi, italic=yes / ; russian: Республика Узбекистан), is a doubly landlocked cou ...
, and in 2008 at Alianait Art Festival in
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
.
In 2006–2007, Namgar were invited to take part in two film soundtracks by
Alexei Aigui
Aleksey Aygi (stylized as Alexei Aigui, born 11 July 1971) is a Russian composer, violinist, and leader of the 4'33" Ensemble.
Biography and career
Aigui is ethnically Chuvash and the son of Chuvash national poet Gennadiy Aygi.
A graduate ...
and his Ensemble 4'33". One of these works was for TV detective serial ''Syschik Putilin'' (2007), partly staged in Mongolia, and its CD included three tracks by the group, issued as Alexei Aigui / The Prince Of The Wind. Ensemble 4'33", Moscow Film Orchestra, 2008.
In late 2000s, they evolved their repertoire to include compositions with strongly changing rhythm and key. In late 2008, they completed a new album ''Nomad'' that comprises songs in at least three styles: traditional Mongolian/Buryat music, pop music, and ethno-rock.
They opened 2009 with their first visit to the US for NYC's GlobalFest. On January 9, they were on air on WFMU radio in Transpacific Sound Paradise, played at globalFEST at Webster Hall on January 10, 2010, making it to the ''New York Times'', and on January 12, they played in Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C., getting back to New York on January 14 to play at the Shrine.
In 2012, Namgar returned to New York City for an exclusive chamber engagement at 287 Spring Art Gallery & Performing Space in SoHo (www.287Spring.com).
In September 2012 in Hannover, Germany, Namgar completed their new album ''The Dawn of the Foremothers'', produced by
, with guest musicians Benni Schäfer, Tobias Reber, Alex Anthony Faide, Vlad Oboronko, and
Enkhjargal Dandarvaanchig
Enkhjargal Dandarvaanchig ( mn, Дандарваанчигийн Энхжаргал, born 1968, Ulaanbaatar), also known as Epi, is a Mongolian musician, overtone singer, and Morin khuur
The ''morin khuur'' ( mn, морин хуур, morin khu ...
.
At the
Riddu Riddu festival 2013, in order to complement Namgar Lhasaranova's voice and to provide an exciting contrast, Namgar went into a musical liaison with
Sami
Acronyms
* SAMI, ''Synchronized Accessible Media Interchange'', a closed-captioning format developed by Microsoft
* Saudi Arabian Military Industries, a government-owned defence company
* South African Malaria Initiative, a virtual expertise net ...
singer
Niillas Holmberg.
For this collaboration, the Norwegian musician
Ole Jørn Myklebust
Ole Jørn Myklebust (born 30 April 1977 in Eidsdal, Norway) is a Norwegians, Norwegian Jazz musician (trumpet, flugelhorn and vocals), educated at the Norges Musikkhøgskole. Known for performing in Subtonic (band), Subtonic, Sigurd Køhn, Køhn ...
created a new repertoire by rearranging traditional music from Buryatia, to which he added own, completely new compositions. The lyrics for the new music pieces were written by the Buryatian poet
Bayan Gunzinov with the help of Niillas and Namgar Lhasaranova.
Under the new band name ''Nordic Namgar'', a new album with the title ''Running Horses'' was finally released in 2014 from live recordings of the 2013 Riddu Riđđu music festival. In the new band's line-up are Namgar Lhasaranova (vocals), Niillas Holmberg (vocals), Ole Jørn Myklebust (trumpet, xaphoon, vocals), Fredrik Ellingsen (guitar, electronics), Kjetil Dalland (bass), Herman Rundberg (drums, percussion) and Evgeny Zolotarev (chanza).
References
#О.П.Лешев,журнал"Буквица"Канада.Ванкуве
рассказ о Намгар#Наталия ЛЯЛИНА."Академия на курьих ножках
#
ttp://mk.burnet.ru/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=4285&Itemid=12Коллективу Константин Куц,Моковский КомсомолецНамгар 10 лет
#25 ноября 2009, [«Аргументы Недели», Наталья СТРЕБНЕВА."Наследница бескрайних степей"
External links
Namgar on Red Orange Arts AgencyOfficial homepage NamgarNAMGAR on MySpace Music
In scholarly papers
* Newyear, Tristra. Crossing Borders: Buryat Traditional Music in the Post-Soviet Era \\ Harvard Asia Quarterly, Winter 2000, Vol. IV, No.1
{{Authority control
Buryat music
Russian world music groups
Musical groups established in 2001