TENGIR TOO : Music of the Kirghiz Mountains
Music and Songs from Kirghizistan
Artistic Director: Nurlanbek Nyshanov

jighach komuz,temir komuz, sybyzgy, chopochor, qyl qayak
Gulbara Baygashkaeva – komuz, temir komuz
Zayniddin Imanaliev – vocals, komuz
Rysbek Jumabaev – epic bard, manaschi
Kenjegul Kubatova – vocals, komuz
Asylbek Nasirdinov – komuz
Azamat Otunchiev - komuz
With the support of Aga Khan Trust for Culture
AND
The Aga Khan Music Initiative in Central Asia (Akmica)

TENGIR TOO

Kirghizistan is a country of high plains and plateaux within the borders of China , Kazakhstan and Tadjikistan and whose capital is Bichkek. The Tengir Too Ensemble takes its name from the mountain range which stands sentinel along the borders of Kirghizistan and China . These mountains are probably better known by their Chinese name, the Tien Shan Mountains , or the Celestial Mountains .

Founded and directed by the composer, arranger and multi-instrumentalist Nurlanbek Nyshanov from the town of Naryn , the Tengir Too Ensemble presents the various aspects of Kirghiz music. This music has its roots in the heritage of nomadic peoples who for centuries wandered this vast landscape of mountains, lakes and pastures.

Regrettably, Kirghiz music was largely lost during the Soviet period or was rearranged along European and western lines. Nurlanbek Nyshanov has been striving to restore its integrity and authenticity, not necessarily to reproduce it strictly as it was, but by being innovative and creative. With his talents as a composer, Nyshanov has fashioned exquisite arrangements for small groups where formerly a work would have been performed only by soloists.

He has recently been working with Rysbek Jumabaev, well-known storyteller and narrator of the Kirghiz epic Manas, and with artists involved in the Silk Road Project, founded and directed by cellist Yo-Yo Ma, to create a modern version of this legendary story. This production of Manas was performed at British Library and at Carnegie Hall, with the support of the Aga Khan Music Initiative in Central Asia (AKMICA) and the Silk Road Project.

The Tengir Too Ensemble includes Kenjegul Kubatova, whose sweet alto voice is the perfect medium for Kirghiz songs; the luthist Gulbara Baigashkaeva, master of the komic, a three-stringed lute which is "the national instrument" of the Kirghiz; and Asylbek Nasirdinov, who plays the qyl-qiyak, an upright bowed fiddle with two horsehair strings, which has ties with ancient shamanic rites.

By special invitation, Zainidin Imanaliev follows an old tradition: as virtuoso soloist, he is not only an instrumentalist and singer but also the storyteller whose job it is to delight the public.

With the support of Aga Khan Trust for Culture
AND
The Aga Khan Music Initiative in Central Asia (Akmica)