Mongolian Overtones

flapjax at midnite — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 07:26:41 -0800

In Mongolia, overtone singing (or hoomei, as it's known locally) is mainly a guy thing, but there are exceptions to the rule, for example, the Hoomei Women's Group. More commonly though, women who want to sing do so in an exquisite, soaring style like this and this. Sometimes the men do the hoomei thing while the women do that soaring thing. Then there are those lovely choral arrangements. And then there are those rare moments when the YouTube poster's description of a clip just hits the nail square on the head, as with this one: amazing. These guys are getting throaty just outside the Centre Pompidou in Paris. This fellow's really working those upper partials, presented in a clip that also features some glimpses of Mongolian life. Lots of horses. N. Sengedorj of Mongolia demonstrates khöömei throat-singing. Here's a cool little combo, with some hoomei going on.

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Mongolian Overtones