Audio Samples from Field Recordings

Updated 30 October 2007
Many followers of my project have been asking me to post some samples of the audio I've collected so far, so after much delay in finding web hosting, here are some examples from the traditions I've been studying. All these files are rough, low-fi, unedited samples. Please don't use/distribute without permission (these recordings are intended for educational use and not for any economic gain).

NOTE: if you can't hear the audio, post a comment -- I'm still troubleshooting this hosting server. Thanks.

Tuvan throat-singing (khoomei) audio samples

1.) Kargyraa (deep mountain voice) - Kaigal-ool Khovalyg

2.) Khoomei (with lip tremolo technique, some call it byrlang) - Kaigal-ool Khovalyg

3.) Sygyt (whistling voice) - Kaigal-ool Khovalyg

I made these khoomei recordings during an interview with Kaigal-ool in my apartment in Kyzyl, Tuva (October 2005). For more about throat-singing and my travels in Tuva, click here.

Mongolian throat-singing (xoomi or khoomi) audio samples:

Dorvon Nastai Haliun (xoomi) - Tserendavaa
This is a melodic variation of the Mongolian folk song, Dorvon Nastai Haliun, whose lyrics translate as follows:

     Four-year-old chestnut horse
     Stretching my leg to the stirrup, he takes a gentle trot
     I see something in the distance
     A shortcut I will take to my lover!

     The mirage in the distance grows dark
     Reminding me of a steppe bush
     She braids her hair in five parts
     Reminding me of a steppe bush

Recorded in Tserendavaa's ger in Chandman sum, Mongolia (November 2005). To read more about Mongolian throat-singing, click here.

Tibetan harmonic chant (yang) audio samples:

1.) Saji yang (faster chant) - T.J.

2.) Djojung yang (slower drone) - T.J.

3.) Djojung variation (more melodic) - T.J.

I made these yang recordings during an interview with lama T.J. at the Gyuto Ramoche Monastery in Dharamsala, India (December 2005). Permission from higher lama was granted to demonstrate yang outside of religious puja. To read more about Tibetan harmonic chant and my travels in India, click here.

Inuit Katajjaq Throat-Singing audio samples:

1.) "Little Puppy" (female duet) - O.I. and M.J.

2.) "Little Puppy" (male solo) - R.W.

Samples 1 and 2 are both the same song, Qimmiguluapik, or "Little Puppy," but the second version allows you to hear what each voice is doing individually (demonstrated here by a male voice). The first version shows how the voices of two girls interlock in the throat-singing competition, ending in laughter.

The song "Little Puppy" was written by some women in Puvirnituq and, while lyrically simplistic, it tells the story of a husky sled dog that was abused (something not tolerated by Inuit people). The lyrics (sung in Inuktitut) roughly translate as follows:

     Little poor puppy... Little poor puppy
     Neglected... Neglected
     How sad!... How sad!
     Give it milk... Give it milk

Here are two versions of "The Mosquito," as performed by different leaders (M.J. and L.G.M.):

3.) "The Mosquito" variation 1 (female duet) - O.I. and M.J.

4.) "The Mosquito" variation 2 (female duet) - O.I. and L.G.M.

I made these recordings in Nunavik (March 2006). For more about Inuit throat-singing and my travels in Nunavik, click here.


Canti di Passione: Sardinian vocal polyphony audio samples:

Listen for the high falsetto voice (none of the men is actually singing that high!) -- that's the quintina, the virtual voice created by harmonics (which, if you listen carefully, is actually a little out of tune during some parts of this recording):
1.) Giovedi Santo – Miserere (excerpt no.1) - recorded indoors in the Cattedrale

Listen for the shaker sound at the end of the following excerpt, signaling the crowd to continue on with the procession:
2.) Giovedi Santo – Miserere (excerpt no. 2) - recorded outdoors in the Citta Storico

3.) Giovedi Santo – Stabba - recorded indoors in the Cattedrale

For a better demonstration of the quintina and where it actually appears in the music, click here to follow along with a score excerpt from Bernard Lortat-Jacob's book Canti di Passione while listening to the folowing track.
4.) Miserere Dietro l’Altare (female duet) - recorded indoors in the Cattedrale

I made recording nos. 1-3 in Castelsardo, Sardinia (13 April 2006).
Recording no. 4 was made by G. Brozzu, 1985 (audio and score from Lortat-Jacob, 1996 - thank you!)

Bulgarian Polyphony: Drone Singing from the Pirin Mountains

1.) Kade si trugnalo Kita? - "Where are you going, Kita?" - duet, Pirinka & Zdravka Hristova

     Where are you going, Kité,
     So early in the morning?
     Kitéee, where? Kitéee, so early!
     . . . I am dying for you.

2.) Bebe si Liulee - "Rocking the Baby" - duet, Pirinka & Zdravka Hristova

     Two women are talking. One says to the other:
     "I am going somewhere to rock my baby!"

3.) Mome Elenko - duet, Pirinka & Zdravka Hristova

Note: Listen for the bell-like beating effect between the two voices at times of dissonance.

     "Hey girl, Elenko!"

Mome is an archaic term used to call to a young girl.
Elenko is a nickname for a girl named Elena.


4.) Pole Shiroko - "Wide Field" - duet, Pirinka & Zdravka Hristova

     Oh, wide field, who will take care of you?
     Who will till your soil
     now that Daniu Voivoda has gone missing?

Notes:
-Daniu is a man's name
-Voivoda is a the leader of the Haiduti, the name for the bands of Bulgarian countrymen who fought against the Turkish invasions and became national heroes.
-"missing" is understood to be death by martyrdom in this case


5.) Kukuvitsa - "The Cuckoo Bird" - duet, Pirinka & Zdravka Hristova

Note: Listen for the bright and slightly sharp major thirds, characteristic of this type of atsane singing.

     Mori kukuvitsa, lele kukuvitsa, mali lele kukuvitsa!
     Cuckoo sounding from the garden --
     Yet, alas, it is not a Cuckoo bird,
     but a young girl!
     She is crying in the garden.

Bulgarian Cuckoo Legends:
- When you hear a cuckoo bird, count the cuckoos and it will tell you the number of years left in your life.
- When spring comes and you hear the first cuckoo bird sing, you will have good fortune for the next year only if you have money in your pockets! If you have nothing in your pockets, it will be a difficult year financially for you and your family.


6.) Na Pirina bial sniag ima - "On the Pirin Mountains There is White Snow" - trio, Stamenova, Stamenova, Karamfilova

     There's white snow on the Pirin Mountains,
     their summits grow older and whiter.
     And in the Snow there stands a lone tree,
     Lying under it a wounded iunak man!

Note: iunak is a term for a brave Haiduti man, a Bulgarian national hero.


7.) Razvi se gira zelena - The Woods Started Blooming Green" - trio, Stamenova, Stamenova, Karamfilova

     The woods started blooming green,
     A cuckoo started cuckooing,
     A nightingale began singing
     And there started to gather the Haiduti!
     They were talking about Stoyan:
     "Why is Stoyan not coming,
     so that we could elect him to be our leader?"

I made these recordings in the Pirin Mountains of Bulgaria: Blagoevgrad (nos. 1-5) and Delchevo (nos. 6-7) in June, 2006.

To read more about drone singing and my travels in Bulgaria, click here.