History of the Music

Astana the new capital of Kazakhstan

Traditional music is highly part of Kazakhstan’s effort to build a modern nation rooted from its history and national identity. Folk ensembles, concerts, festivals and anthologies of recorded music all provide civilians with a sense of cultural heritage sponsored by the state. The country is rapidly industrializing and already a worldwide exporter of oil and natural gases and of course potassium.

The country of Kazakhstan’s sparsely settled steppe and grasslands have been inhabited by pastoral nomads, and Kazah music has been largely shaped by the demands of nomadic life. The geographical sensory immersion in the landscape and soundscape (an acoustic environment created by a sound) of the natural world. Traditional music of Kazakhstan is highly influenced upon nomadic spirituality. The nomadic spiritual power has a range of spiritual natural phenomena and living creatures, nomadic music and sound-making often serve as a means of representing an accessing the power of spirits.

Much like other nomadic people in inner Asia, the Kazakh’s developed the art of solo vocal and instrumental music to a high level. Different styles of music arise such as narrative pieces called kui (“frame of mind,” “mood”) which tell stories or represent specific images, feelings or qualities of human character through melody and rhythm. The dombra is a musical instrument commonly used to play kui’s, it is a long necked fretted instrument with two strings that has become a national instrument of Kazakhstan. Other instruments used for the performance of kui are the qyl-qobys, an archaic bowl fiddle with two horsehair strings that was formerly played by shamans, and the Jew's harp (shang qobyz).

Vocal arts are represented by two kind of performers. One of them being poet-improvisation (aqyn), which is composed lyrically, often philosophical texts and sets them, to music. Aqyn’s frequently took part in poetry contests known as aitys that are important part of traditional Kazakh social life, and are presently undergoing a revival. The other kind of performer is the storyteller-epic narrator (jyrau). Epic traditions are alive o this date within Kazakhstan and rangefrom a variety of genres, from heroic tales kown throughout the Turkic-speaking world ("Kör-ogly," "Alpamysh," "Yedige") to local tales, epis and narrative songs.

Kazakhstan has a large Russian population and a cosmopolitan major city (Almaty), fusion music growing more and more popular which combines traditional instrumental and vocal genres with pop, jazz and rock. One of the most popular fusion groups is Roksonaki, which features a driving, amplified Jew’s harp supported by electric guitars and drums. Beginning in the early 1990s, Almaty's "Voices of Asia" festival has offered a showcase for young musicians striving to develop global connections while remaining rooted in an authentic tradition.

Sweet old dude with shades playing a dombra

Jew's Harp functions much like a harmonica or kazoo (it is about the size of a persons palm)

Song Analysis

Go here for the song

Artist: Turik

Song: Ulytau

General

• Instrumentation: Electric Guitar, Traditional Nomadic Dombra, Violin, Electronic drums and synthesizer and Jew’s harp.
• Pop Fusion music of Kazakhstan, incorporating traditional instruments along with a new twentieth century pop twist.
• Due to growing popularity in pop music, Kazakhstan's influenced public demands the need for more modern music but reminding of traditional aspects of their music by keeping traditional instruments and similar rhythms.
• Modern version of Kazakhstan music
• No Vocals, only instruments
• Stringed trio Guitar, Dombra and Violin
• Synthesizer is kept as drone

Structure

• 00-00:20 song introduction build up for climax, crescendo to the introduction of the other instruments.

• 00:21-00:34 antecedent decedent phrases with violin and a three quarter note strike of the electric guitar forte.

• 00:35-00:48 Dombra plays initial theme of the song guitar accompanies in the background, waiting for the entrance of the violin

• 00:49-01:06 violin plays melody and dombra rephrases and mirrors the exact of the violin.

• 01:07-01:35 Tutti of the instruments and repeats twice

• 01:36-01:47 Music goes back to main theme with drums, three quarter notes forte and violin answers, repeats then dombra answers violin pauses, drum repeats again dombra and violin answer electric guitar kept constant background.

• 01:48-01:56 electric guitar enters forte with some solo measure. Violin answer to guitar, dombra repeats violins exact notes.

• 01:57-02:09 instrumental pause of strings, Jew’s Harp begins solo

• 02:10-02:25 drums break the solo, dombra repeats main theme again and ends on cadence toward the electric guitar solo.

• 02:26-02:42 guitar solo the domra enters rephrasing the main theme.

• 02:43-03:12 main theme is repeated 4 times until recapitulating to the finale.

• 03:13-03:18 closing theme.

Contents

• Central Asian band from Kazakhstan

• Produce pop fusion music using modern and traditional instruments of Kazakhstan.

• Well known within the Russian community and central Asia.