A fantastic musical event!

Yesterday evening, we (John and Cynthia, Ellen and me) drove over to Bennington College to a concert put on by Alash, a group of four Tuvan Throat Singers who live in Siberia and are currently touring the U.S We met Mary Anderson (who lives in Bennington) there at the concert hall. The hall was packed, and no wonder; Alash was fabulous. They were beautiful and astounding at the same time. Throat singing involves making sounds one does not usually hear coming from a human. If you have no idea of what kind of music this is, here is a link to Alash: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sK0npp2NLaY John and Cynthia first met Alash nineteen years ago when they came to Bellows Falls, and they actually hosted them for an overnight in their home. So they feel a personal connection with them. It was a full concert with a lot of variety, and the audience was wildly enthusiastic. The concert was opened by a Bennington College group playing Turkish music - they were good, even though they have only been in existence for a month. I wasn't sure how easy it would be to get in and out of the hall in a wheelchair, but it proved to be okay. I would go again.

Top: Alash; Middle: The Turkish music group and Bottom: Part of the audience.

Alash - photo from their website. ****************** And here is a description of throat singing from the same source: "The Tiny Republic of Tuva is a giant when it comes to mastery of the human voice. Tuvan throat singers can produce two or three, sometimes even four pitches simultaneously. The effect has been compared to that of a bagpipe. The singer starts with a low drone. Then, by subtle manipulations of his vocal tract and keen listening, he breaks up the sound, amplifying one or more overtones enough so that they can be heard as additional pitches while the drone continues at a lower volume. Despite what the term might suggest, throat singing does not strain the singer's throat. The Ancient Tradition of throat singing (xöömei in the Tuvan language) developed among the nomadic herdsmen of Inner Asia, people who lived in yurts, rode horses, raised yaks, sheep and camels, and had a close spiritual relationship with nature. Throat singing traditionally was done outdoors, and only recently was brought into the concert hall. Singers use their voices to mimic and interact with the sounds of the natural world—whistling birds, bubbling streams, blowing wind, or the deep growl of a camel. Throat singing is most commonly done by men. Although custom and superstition have discouraged women from throat singing, recently this taboo is breaking down, and there are now excellent female throat singers too. A Unique Concept of Sound. The Tuvan way of making music is based on appreciation of complex sounds with multiple layers or textures. To the Tuvan ear, a perfectly pure tone is not as interesting as a sound which contains hums, buzzes, or extra pitches that coexist with the main note being sung. Tuvan instruments are designed and played to produce such multi-textured sounds as well." The various sounds a throat singer can produce are all illustrated on the website. Take a look: https://www.alashensemble.com/about_tts.htm