Perhaps the Tuvan craze in world music is dying down a bit now, more removed from the flurry stirred up by Genghis Blues. There's still a fair bit out there to be heard nonetheless, with groups beyond the well-known Huun Huur Tu and Kongar-ol Ondar. Case in point is this album from Ay-Kherel, a troupe headed by Vladimir Soyan. The album progresses through the obvious khoomei to instrumental pieces and various folk songs, both in solo and ensemble formats. Much of the music is similar to what would be heard on other Tuvan albums, with some exceptions in execution. No one in this troupe is up to the same standards in throat singing as ol-Ondar, but they aren't bad. They don't have the vocal range of some of the old long-song specialists, but they aren't bad (especially Vladimir's daughter Lilya Soyan). They aren't the most virtuosic on the igil or khomuz, but they aren't bad. They're a perfectly good troupe overall, very good generalists as opposed to virtuosic specialists. As such, it makes for a nice primer to the music of Tuva, and a good lead-in for further exploration in the rich music of the locale. ~ Adam Greenberg, All Music Guide
Traditionally music from Tuva was only a solo effort. The musician's intention was usually to emphasize timbre and harmonics over rhythm. The performances were often in places of natural acoustics such as caves, cliffs, rivers, and so on. The performer would often take long pauses to allow nature its own chance to converse back. The modern music found today is often composed of ensembles of musicians playing multiple instruments and often is much more pulsatile than its traditional uses.
Tuvans' belief in spirits is apparent in their musical practices. Praise songs and chants, called algysh, and the rhythmically-chanted poetic couplets that precede breaths of throat-singing, address cher eezi, or local-spirit masters with words. Throat singing is instead made to imitate sounds produced by the places or beings in which the spirit-masters dwell. Singers establish contact with the spirit-master by reproducing the sounds made and enter into conversation, whose aim is supplication, an expression of gratitude, or an appeal for protection. The same imitative or mimetic interaction with the natural sound world may also be meditated through the use of traditional musical instruments. Calm, mimetic singing in reproduction of the sounds of a certain place is believed to be the best possible offering to spirit-masters.
This region is also famous for its indigenous shaman population. Shamans commonly created music in order to call upon spirits, conjure ancestors, discover birthplaces, connect with natural surroundings, and to attract spirits for hunters. Shamans were not the only people to practice this type of communion between nature and song. Shepherds would also play music to herd animals and imitate galloping horses. Each song had a certain meaning according to where the musician was and whether or not the situation was work or relaxation. Early Tuva created sounds that don't fit in with Western musical theory but instead stand alone, existing for a certain way of being.
