Long-Song

Ganbaararyn Khongorzul
14 x 11 inches, oil on canvas, 2019

The River Herlen featured on a cd tucked into the excellent book Where Rivers and Mountains Sing: Sound, Musica and Nomadism in Tuva and Beyond by Theodore Levin with Valentina Süzükei (Indiana University Press, 2006.) Unlike the other tracks on the cd Xongorzul, the singer of The River Herlen, is not photographed or discussed as an individual but functions as a sound example of the Mongolian 'long-song' tradition. The song is one the beyonds in "Beyond Tuva." The long in long-song clearly doesn't reference duration as the song only lasts a little over two minutes but rather the extended syllables in the text. "A four-minute song may only consist of ten words." [Wikipedia]  The Xongorzul on the disc is likely Ganbaararyn Khongorzul born September 12, 1974 in Mongolia. Ganbaararyn Khongorzul performs with Yo Yo Ma's Silk Road Ensemble and performed at the opening ceremony at the 2002 World Cup.