| View this email online if it doesn't display correctly |
|
|
|
| December 9, 2016: Issue #7
|
| | | | Mongol Music Archive: Capturing everyday uses of traditional music in the daily lives of Mongolian herders – Dimitri Staszewski |
| Coming to Mongolia for the first time in 2013 I met and interviewed a
nomadic herder named Tsevengdorj. Talking about how he used music in his
daily life he asked, half perplexed, why I didn’t just come back the
next day to record him singing to his herd—something he explained to me
that he did every day. I accepted and ended up capturing what would
become a foundational recording (which can be found here). |
| | The goal of Mongol Music Archive (mongolmusicarchive.com)
is to capture everyday uses of traditional music in the daily lives of
Mongolian herders. As a general shift from nomadic to industrial and
urban lifestyles occurs in Mongolia, it is important to capture these
moments and performances. While traditional music will remain part of
Mongolian culture with or without nomadic herding, these performances
exhibit something that staged performances by professional musicians
cannot. In addition to capturing location specific songs, these
recordings aim to showcase the perspective the performers give them.
Herders sing about actions they carry out on a daily basis, the
environment they inhabit, and use songs as tools to calm and train their
animals. |
| | | Interviewing Jarkin “Jaka” Duisen (29), a Kazakh herder and local entertainer from the Tolbo region in Bayan Ulgii. He explained that he learned old folk songs from cassette tapes he found in the city of Ulgii – photo credit Dimitri Staszewski |
| It is difficult, even for Mongolians living in Ulaanbaatar, to see
these types of performances first hand. Mongol Music Archive is a free
resource open to anyone with an internet connection. As the collection
of recordings grows, I hope to bring awareness to this underrepresented
facet of traditional Mongolian music, create a valuable research tool,
have the videos serve as inspiration for professional and
non-professional musicians, and educate listeners worldwide.
|
| | | A Kazakh wedding singer laughing and smoking with friends after a recording session – photo credit Dimitri Staszewski |
| My work has brought me all over Mongolia. Traveling with a small backpack of audio and video equipment, I have recorded a mouth harpist in the South Gobi, ridden two days on horse back to capture Dukha reindeer herder folk music, and lived with Kazakh eagle hunters in western Mongolia.
I recently returned from nine months living in Mongolia, which allowed
me to capture close to two hundred recordings. I’m still editing those
recordings, combing through thousands of photos, and organizing my
thoughts so I can continue to write about and share what I experienced.
Note: Top image of a Mongolian herder bringing his herd of horses across a river in summer - photo credit Dimitri Staszewski.
|
| |
About "Mongolia Field Notes" Mongolia Field Notes connect research work conducted by Mongolian and international researchers to issues in contemporary Mongolia. The goal is to highlight researchers and their areas of expertise, and to provide information in a tight, concise format. Field Notes can cover any topic related to Mongolia, including politics, economics and business, science, environment and technology, or people, history and society. Field notes are compiled online at the ACMS website.
We are currently encouraging American, Mongolian and other
international researchers to submit their short articles for review. A Field Note should explore an academic concept or research
related to contemporary Mongolia in a lively and jargon-free piece of 300 to 1000 words. At this time, only submissions in English are
accepted. Where possible, integrate current
events into your Field Note. Your submission should effectively convey a
key idea or point, backed up by concise arguments and evidence.
|
|
|
|
|
