My first Mongolian music CD. It documents a very specific tradition, that of Darkhad people (also known as Darqads and Dalhut) who live in the extreme northern part of Mongolia, near Lake Khövsgöl. The recordings were made in 2001 by Laurent Legrain. Chichgedin oianga is the name of the band who perform all of the songs here: the female singer Donsolmaa Oyünshimeg, the singer and morin huur player Sodnom Baatar (that's a male name), and the accordion player Dorj Tchimbat.
The sound is exceptionally clean and crisp, which put me at odds with the record right away - I guess I expect field recordings to be a little gritty, and not sound like polished studio sessions, as is the case here. I have mixed feelings about the music. Practically all of the tracks are songs for a single voice with fiddle and/or accordion accompaniment. Donsolmaa Oyünshimeg's vocals fascinated me with a blend of intensity and gentleness I can't quite compare with anything else. I don't know if it's a traditional trait of the music or her personal interpretation of a style, but it was really intriguing to listen to. The accompaniment, on the other hand... well, I have to be honest, it reminded me a lot of Finnish accordion polkas and waltzes. So the music sounded to me like an exceptionally strange combination of the familiar and the unexplored.
It took me quite a while but I ended up enjoying the music for what it is; I'm sure I will return one day to listen to one or two of the "short songs" featured here. You can't help feeling grateful to Mr. Legrain, too, since from what I read the area inhabited by the Darkhad is very remote and inaccessible, and their music would likely linger in obscurity if it weren't for his efforts.
I'd be very happy to learn a bit about how the style represented here came to exist. Hopefully my other Mongolian records will have something to say about that.
A side note: the booklet annoyed me by not being clear enough about where the sessions took place. The text claimed Tengis, in the northern part of the village Rinchinlkhümbe. But there's no Tengis on Google Maps, and Renchinlkhümbe (with an E instead of an I) isn't a village at all but a large-ish disctrict with some 3000+ inhabitants. I enjoyed roaming the area around Lake Khövsgöl using Street View, though.
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