AnDa Union November 9, 2011

Full details at http://www.ums.org/s_current_season/artist.asp?pageid=665
Formed in 2003, AnDa Union is part of a musical movement that is finding inspiration in old and forgotten folk music from the nomadic herdsman cultures of Inner and Outer Mongolia, drawing on a repertoire of music that all but disappeared during China’s recent tumultuous past. The group’s 14 members all hail from the Xilingol Grassland area of Inner Mongolia, a semi-autonomous region of China. They describe themselves as “music gatherers” who dig deep into Mongol traditions to unearth forgotten music — music as it might have been played late into the evening in the camps of Genghis Khan. Its members are accomplished singers and instrumentalists, performing on the traditional horse-head fiddle (tsuur), a three-holed flute (maodun chaoer) as well as Mongolian versions of the dulcimer, zither, lute, and mouth harp. The main singing style is khoomii, commonly referred to as throat singing, a traditional type of Mongolian overtone singing that replicates the sound of nature. The performance is accompanied by a captivating documentary film that follows the group on a journey through the vibrant capital of Hohhot and the wild and varied landscapes of the Inner Mongolian grasslands and mountains, where they discover the secrets of their haunting and beautiful music. While wholeheartedly embracing modern society in all its facets, the Mongolian people are a culture fighting for survival in an increasingly industrialized world.