Long song
Long song | |
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Native name | Urtyn duu |
Cultural origins | Mongolian music |
Typical instruments |
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Urtiin Duu, traditional folk long song | |
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Country | Mongolia |
Reference | 00115 |
Region | Asia and the Pacific |
Inscription history | |
Inscription | 2008 (3rd session) |
List | Representative |
The long song (Mongolian: ᠤᠷᠲᠠ ᠢᠢᠨ
ᠳᠠᠭᠤᠨ, Urtyn duu) is one of the central elements of the traditional music of Mongolia. This genre is called "Long song" not only because the songs are long, but also because each syllable of text is extended for a long duration. A four-minute song may only consist of ten words. Certain long songs such as Uvgin shuvuu khoyor, also known as Jargaltain delger (lit. 'Old man and the Bird') take up to three hours to sing at full length, with all thirty-two stanzas. Lyrical themes vary depending on context; they can be philosophical, religious, romantic, or celebratory, and often use horses as a symbol or theme repeated throughout the song. Eastern Mongols typically use a Morin khuur (horse-head fiddle) as accompaniment, sometimes with a type of indigenous flute, called limbe. Oirat groups of the Western Mongols traditionally sing long songs unaccompanied or accompanied with the Igil.
Description
The Mongolian long song folk music tradition has ties to other national traditions and customs, including Mongolian history, culture, aesthetics, ethics and philosophy. The main feature of the long song is the shuranhai (prolonged,
Three major styles are identified in long songs: besreg urtyn duu ("minor long song"), suman urtyn duu ("ordinary long song") and aizam urtyn duu ("major' or majestic long songs"). Again, the styles reflect the way of the performance of the shuranhai and other techniques rather than the lengths of the songs. The word ‘Aizam’ comes from the non-lexical vocable of ‘Aya, zee khu’ at the beginning of the grand long song, which features a broad melody with a context of philosophical theme, ceremony and quality of ode, honor, respect or solemnity. The aizam grand long songs are sung in a sequence at the beginning of a ceremony or feast, in accordance with the special ceremonial rules, and constitute the summit of the long songs which test the skills and capability of the singer and morin khuur (horse-headed fiddle) player.[2]
Modern history
UNESCO declared the Mongolian Long Song one of the Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity in 2005.
On April 12, 2013, the 'Mongolian Statehood Long Song' was officially exalted at the Mongolian Statehood History Museum located in the State Ceremony Great Hall of the Government House of Mongolia.
Music researcher Ojuna W. Pilcher has published several studies of the long song in the region of Alxa League in Inner Mongolia. She has observed that the long song today expresses a nostalgia of the past after modernization, and “visual and zoological metaphors connected to the nomadic lifestyle are not only highly significant to urtyn duu’s song texts, categorization, and singing technique but are also closely related to ornamentation, the achievement of vocal timbre, the singers’ understanding of nomadic herding life, and their feelings of longing and nostalgia as expressed through the music.”[9]
References
- ^ 'Sunny Mongolia today' International magazine for Mongolian railway passengers, Issue #17. p.64-65. 2012]
- ^ 'Sunny Mongolia today' International magazine for Mongolian railway passengers, Issue #17. p.64-65. 2012]
- ^ News on the exaltation of Mongolian Statehood Long Song at the Statehood History Museum on Mongolian news site. Date April 12, 2012
- ^ 'Mongolian Statehood Long Song' Triple-CD album. Author: M.Dorjdagva. Translation by G.Delgermaa. 2013
- ^ A TV program of Mongolian scholars valuing the importance of the 'Mongolian Statehood Long Songs' /in Mongolian/. Soon English subtitle will be available
- ^ 'Mongolian Statehood Long Song' Official Facebook page /in Mongolian/ English page coming soon by Dec 1, 2014
- ^ Cultural Heritage Center of Mongolia under the Culture, Sports and Tourism Ministry of Mongolia. Official site
- ^ Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Mongolia Archived 2014-11-29 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ PILCHER, Ojuna W., “‘You Can’t Sing Urtyn Duu If You Don’t Know How to Ride a Horse’: Urtyn Duu in Alshaa, Inner Mongolia,” Asian Music, 2018, pp. 4–33.
Further reading
- Bao, Darkhan, and Wuyuntaoli (2007). Mongolian Long Song. Hangzhou: Zhejiang People’s Publishing House.
- Carrizo, Liliana (2010). “Urtyn Duu: Performing Musical Landscapes and the Mongolian Nation.” Master's thesis, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
- Chao, David (2010). “Urtyn Duu: The Mongolian Long Song in Mongolia and China.” PhD diss., University of California.
- Pegg, Carole (2001). Mongolian Music, Dance & Oral Narrative: Performing Diverse Identities. Seattle: University of Washington Press.
- Pilcher, Ojuna W. (2018). “‘You Can’t Sing Urtyn Duu If You Don’t Know How to Ride a Horse’: Urtyn Duu in Alshaa, Inner Mongolia,” Asian Music, 2018, pp. 4–33.
- Yoon, Sunmin (2011). “Chasing the Singers: The Transition of Long Song (Urtyn Duu) in Post-socialist Mongolia.” PhD diss., University of Maryland.