[In 2001-2002 Jack Chance set out for a year of recording music, traveling from North Africa to the Himalayas by bus, boat, train, horse, camel, bicycle, and two sore feet.]
1) Mongolian folk song. Performed by Tumen Enkh music ensemble. Instruments: Khoomi, or polyphonic throat singing, and Morin Khoor, or horse fiddle. Recorded October 2001 Ulaan Baatar, Mongolia.
2) "Khoomi Holboo Ayalguu" or "Linked Melodies" Performed by Nergui Ashiid. Recorded December 2001, Ulaan Baatar, Mongolia.
3) "Jonon Khariin Yardal" or "Step of the black horse" Performed by Nergui Ashiid.
4) "Sankhu Golom" Performed by Narangerel Buyanjargal. Instrument: Yattag. Recorded 10/01, Ulaan Baatar, Mongolia.
5) "Blue Silk Gel" Performed by Narangerel Buyanjargal. Instrument: Yattag. Recorded October 2001, Ulaan Baatar, Mongolia.
6) Mongolian folk song. Performed by Tumen Enkh music ensemble.
7) "Eight Trigrams" In Lijiang, Yunnan province, on the eastern edge of the Himalayas, musicologist Xuan Ke conducts this Naxi(pronounced Na-hee) orchestra, which plays ancient music of the Dongjing style. This piece was traditionally used in Taoist temples for spiritual excercises. This music was brought to Lijiang during the Ming Dynasty and miraculously survives due to the remoteness of the region and Xuan Ke's ability to hid the instruments(buried underground sometimes) and written musicÊduring the Cultural Revolution. Some of the instruments are hundreds of years old. Recorded February 2002, Lijiang, Yunnan, People's Republic of Chna (PRC).
8) "Freedom to Choose a Lover" Dong minority folk song. Title refers to a change in laws in the early 20th century which ended fixed marriages. Recorded January 2002, Zengchong, Guizhou, PRC.
9) "Silkworn River Expresses Love" Dong folk song. Performed January 2002 by the owmen and girls of Kojiang, Guizhou, PRC.
10) "Spring is Coming to the Mountains" Instrument: Guzhou, or zither. Performed Decmber 2001, Beijing, PRC.
11) Tibetan nuns at prayer. Recorded February 2002, Ani Sangkhung Nunnery, Lhasa, Tibet, PRC.
12) Tibetan Folk Song. Instrument: Danyen, or banjo/lute. Recorded February 2002, Gyantse, Tibet, PRC.
13) Tibetan Folk Song. Recorded February 2002, Gyantse, Tibet, PRC.
14) Tibetan Folk Song. Recorded February 2002, Lhasa, Tibet, PRC.
15) Gandharba melody. Instrument: Flute, Sarangi (upright fiddle), Madal (two-headed drum). Gandharbas are aÊHindu caste of musicians. They were once the wandering minstrels/postal service/news couriers of Nepal. Today their artÊis no longer in fashion, but they continue their musical traditions. This tune was loosely described to me as a love song from the west of the country. Performed April 2002 by Gandharbas of Kathmandu, Nepal.
16) "Onti Tolako" (Golden Ring). Performed by Raj Kumar Gandharba and Ek Gandharba. The song is about a ring for a girl. Recorded April 2002, Pokhara, Nepal.
17) "Singha Darbar Jalaymah" or "who is fighting in the king's palace?" Performed by Akal Bahadur Gandharba. Recorded April 2002, Gorkha, Nepal.
audio/text/photos © 2001 Jack Chance