Kalmykian Archaic and Soviet Folk

Description

In early November 2014, we went to Kalmykia. Our goal was the local epic of “Dzhangar.” The epic genre, as one of the most archaic, can be considered a foundation of Kalmyk musical culture. Not so long ago, the Kalmyks had their own professional epic storytellers — Dzhangarchi — who, as a socio-artistic institution today, are practically absent: the repertoire of modern folk singers consists mainly of folk art from the Soviet era. But as usual in our research, we did not ignore these newer forms of traditional music, which allowed us to find material of great value. A week spent in Kalmykia was filled with meetings and recording sessions. And, in our opinion, the most interesting and richest day was the one spent in the village of Bulgun (officially known as Troitskoe). We met Maria Beltsikova and Tatiana Dordzhieva in this village. The energetic and charismatic grandmothers are laureates of various music competitions. They have recently been frequent guests at national celebrations and official events. Moreover, both are self-taught and grew up in conditions of respect for traditions. On the day we met, we were able to record more than twenty songs. In Maria and Tatiana’s repertoire were Buddhist religious chants, bravery laments, ceremonial wedding songs, heroic ballads about the Kalmyks during the Patriotic War of 1812 and, of course, Soviet folklore. Songs from the “red” period were represented by a variety of songs: praising the Communist Party and collective farm workers, and songs about the deportation of the Kalmyks in 1943–1944. Tatiana and Maria know this period well — through their own bitter experience: with their parents and neighbors, they were deported to Siberia. This album also contains several songs composed by Tatiana Dordzhieva. In addition to the a cappella performance, in some songs you can hear Maria Belsykova playing the traditional Kalmyk instrument, the dombra.