Badma Khanda – Mongolian Music from Buryatia (ARC Music, 2008)
The story behind Badma Khanda is fascinating. The group is named after its lead vocalist and comes from Buryatia, a republic in southern Siberia that is part of the Russian Federation. Buryatia borders other Russian federation republics like Tuva, Kita and Irkust and the nation of Mongolia to the south. Buryats are a minority in their own country and repression during the Soviet era led Badma Khanda and many other Buryats to flee to Inner Mongolia (China), where they kept their traditions.
Badma Khanda moved to Buryatia after the collapse of the Soviet Union. She is currently a well known pop artist, but her special love are traditional folk songs using native folk instruments. On the CD Mongolian Music from Buryatia, the Badma Khanda Ensemble includes the second main voice of the band, Battuvshin Baldatseren, a Mongolian multi-instrumentalist and one of the best throat singers in the country. Battuvshin plays the ich khuur and morin khuur (horse head fiddles), khumus (jews harp), and bish khuur (single reed trumpet). The rest of the members of the group are Dmitry Ayurov on morin khuur, Kermen Kalyaeva on yochin (hammered dulcimer), and Valentina Namdykova on yatag (board zither). All the group’s musicians are classically trained musicians who navigate Buryatian folk music effortlessly.
An absorbing discovery.
Buy the CD:
- In North America: Mongolian Music from Buryatia
- In Europe: Mongolian Music from Buryatia
Author: Angel Romero
Angel Romero y Ruiz has dedicated his life to musical exploration. His efforts included the creation of two online portals, worldmusiccentral.org and musicasdelmundo.com. In addition, Angel is the co-founder of the Transglobal World Music Chart, a panel of world music DJs and writers that celebrates global sounds. Furthermore, he delved into the record business, producing world music studio albums and compilations. His works have appeared on Alula Records, Ellipsis Arts, Indígena Records and Music of the World.