Anda Union- Arts Midwest World Fest
On March 17th, Lincoln High was lucky enough to be able to host Anda Union, a band from Mongolia, as the last installation of the “Arts Midwest World Fest”. Students in band, orchestra, and choir were able to see a mini concert during class, and anyone else who was interested could see them for a full concert that Saturday. Thief River Falls has gotten to watch and listen to four different bands from around the world, seeing the differences in culture, instruments, and performance in each.
Mongolian string instruments typically have two strings, due to the importance of land and sky in Mongolian culture. Similarly, there are two distinct notes that are focused on in the throat singing that Anda union showcases. Culture and tradition, of course, play heavily into the type of music that they play and the way in which they play them. Below is a description of the instruments that Anda Union use, and in some cases the background of why they use them, or why they are built as they are.
Horse head morin huur
Otherwise known as the horsehead fiddle, it is carved with a horse’s head on the scroll, as it is an incredibly important in Mongolian culture. One of the main origin stories of the horse-head fiddle was that a shepherd was gifted a flying horse, with which he used to meet his beloved until its wings were cut off by a jealous woman. The shepherd then used the body of the horse to create the fiddle, using its bones, hair, and skin
Ikil
The Ikil is also known as a horsehead fiddle, as it’s scroll is carved with a horse’s head, but it is a much thinner instrument that carries a higher pitched tone.
[Image Source: http://mentalfloss.com/article/24407/8-strange-and-different-musical-instruments]
Maodunchaoer
The Maodunchaoer is an ancient flute, the instrument is carved from a single reed.
Tobshur
A tobshur, or topshur, is a lute-like instrument that, like most other string instruments Anda Union plays, has two strings. Tobshurs are all homemade instruments, so they can look a quite a bit different from each other depending on who makes them and the region they are made in. Anda Union uses both the xinjiang tobshur, and the tuvan tobshur.
https://oimon.ru/images/stories/virtuemart/product/topshur.jpg
Sheepskin drum
The Sheepskin drum creates a deep and resonating sound to offset the higher toned strings, and is made out of traditional material.
Throughout the Arts Midwest Fest, Thief River Falls has been able to experience an amazing amount of culture that would be otherwise unavailable. Every place in the world has its own culture and traditions, and sometimes we separate ourselves according to these traditions. The goal of Arts Midwest Fest has been to experience different cultures and break down the barriers we create between different people. This goal has certainly been reached, solidifying the age old saying that “music is the universal language”.