A night of Turkish folk music in UB
Two bounds of Central Asia came together as traditional Turkish and Mongolian music weaved a wreath of folk songs across time and distance last week at the Ulaanbaatar Theater Ensemble. The crescent moon and vibrant stars reflected the enchanting tunes of the saz, a long-necked lute, and the zurna, a woodwind instrument, against the background of the eternal blue sky.
Four folk music masters – Salih Gundogdu, Eren Can Yildiz, Mucahid Kol, and Bugra Kutbay – from the Turkish capital, Ankara, in collaboration with the Ulaanbaatar Theater, immersed the audience in an enthralling concert. The program consisted of lyrical and rhythmic Turkish traditional melodies played in the first half and lively Mongolian traditional music and dance performed in the second half. The evening ended on a spirited note with an arrangement composed for the Turkish quartet by O.Chinbat using R.Bat-Erdene’s Mongolian contemporary classical piece, “The Gallop of Approaching Steeds”.
Palpable in the music was the nomadic spirit that upholds the adaptability to change and reverence for freedom and nature as the traditional guiding principles for the cultures that emerged from nomadic roots. They are reflected in shared values such as efficacy in action and religious tolerance. Both Turkish and Mongolian folk melodies speak to the essential presence of nature in the impermanence of life.
The Sky Turks inhabited the land of the eternal blue sky between the sixth and eighth centuries AD and had carved the first written use of the name Turk in ancient Turkic runes onto the Tonyukuk stone from the eighth century located in the Tuul river valley. They worshipped Tengri, which symbolized the universe and its laws. This was the same Tenger deified five centuries later by Chinggis Khaan, the founder of the Mongol Empire. As two of the numerous steppe tribes originated in Mongolia, the Turkic and Mongol nomadic empires had a great influence on one another throughout various periods in history.
The Turkish musical scale called Makam Ussak is remarkably unique.
It has more tonal variations in between notes than classical Western and Eastern harmonies. These microtones tend to make Turkish music sound sharper and higher in resonance by comparison to well-known Middle Eastern harmonies. Thus, the versatility of the tonal variations in Turkish traditional music carries a special expression of the richness in natural landscapes and cultural diversity that Turkey is blessed with thanks to its unique geographical location.
It is interesting to note that in the 13th century, the Mongol armies employed the beats of shamanic drums to prepare for battle. War drums were a part of the Mongol military tactic that frightened the enemy from a distance before the start of a conquest. From the 14th century onward, the elite military forces of the Ottoman Empire refined the tactic into an entire art form. The Janissaries and their battle marches became so legendary that in the 18th century, their beats and rhythm inspired Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to write one of the evergreen favorites of classical music, the third movement of Sonata No.11, also known as “The Turkish March.”
As Turkish and Mongolian musicians united in retelling the tales of brotherhood through music that evening as the crescent moon and stars shone brightly in the eternal blue sky. It was as though their songs soothed the souls and uplifted the spirits of listeners and weaved a wreath of marvelous beauty across time and distance over the steppes of our ancestors.