The Alash Ensemble performs Tuvan throat singing in von der Mehden Tuesday night.

Tuva performers light up von der Mehden

By: Katherine Smith

Posted: 4/1/09

For UConn students Tuesday night, the talents of Tuva and the art of throat-singing, or xöömei, were on display and in full force, straight from the heart of the Siberian plain to Storrs for one night only.

   The stage at von der Mehden Recital Hall was stripped down to bare wood, with no elaborate set pieces or fancy lighting designs to distract the audience's attention. None of that was needed. The five-man Alash Ensemble, resplendent in their traditional robes, effortlessly brought the grasslands and horse paths of their homeland to their listeners' ears. They drew the distinct sounds of jingling bridles, scornful country maidens, and cricket-heavy summer nights out of their rustic woodwinds and from the strangest instrument of all: the human voice.

    The ensemble pulled out a range of instruments over the course of the concert, ranging from the zither-like chadagan to the horse-headed, bowed igil. The rhythm of horses trotting, and other sounds and sights of Tuvan country life - reindeer herding, prize tractor-driving--were felt both in the group's music and singing.

    Although throat-singing is an ancient art, and a cultural mainstay of the Tuvan region, the practice has been influenced in later days by contemporary music from the West.