Kazakh music culture

A distinguishing trait of Kazakh culture is a highly developed instrumental music tradition. Pure instrumental folk music genres are most often found among peoples who have led a nomadic livestock-breeding life style over much of their history, as have the Kazakhs, Kirghiz, Turkmen, Karakalpak and other nationalities. United by the same Turkish language group, these cultures had much in common. They shared similar religious ideas and coinciding folk customs, wedding festivals and funeral ceremonies; and their instrumental music became a single musical culture. The Kazakh kui is a programmatic piece, distinguished by its shirt length of only two to three minutes and containing specific structural patterns. Each small-form kui exposes only one musical pattern and presents only one mood. It does not include contrast. Content varies. Some pass the kuishi's philosophical thinking about the meaning of life. Dauletkerei's “Zhiger” (Energy), Kazangap's “Kokil” (Melody of My Soul) and Usen-Tore's “Otting Dunie Ketting Dunie” (My time Has Passed) etc. Others present subtle psychological portraits of individuals, such as Kurmangazi's “Turemurat” (Murat from the clan of Tore), Mamen's “Aksholpan” and Dina's “Asem Konir”. A tried type of kui sings the beauty of the wide steppes and the motherland as in Kurmangazi's “Sari-Arka”, Tattimbet's “Sarzhailau”. Many kuis relate important events in the life of folk musicians as Kurmangazi's “Aman bol sheshem, aman bol’ (Goodby Mama, Goodby), Tattimbet's “Kokei Kesti” (The Secret). A separate group includes kuis dedicated to animals and birds as “Boz Ingen” (The Camel), “Telkonir” (a horse's name), “Konir Kaz” (Gray Goose) and “Akku” (The Swan). Kuis represent a complex and multifaceted picture of the nomad world.

Kazakh music instruments. During the nineteenth and into the early twentieth centry, the Kazakh music culture included three instrumental traditions, that of sybyzgy, the kobyz and the dombra. All these instruments were popular among people, they used to play them in far away pastures, at large clan celebrations and even in the yurts of Kazakh sultans. Only Kobyz belonged to selected people. It was considered a sacred instrument. The Dombra was the favourite instrument of the Kazakhs. Dombra kuis passed from generation to generation, relating the life experience of the nation and passing on its knowledge about nature and humankind. Kuis reflected many historical events, thus playing a dicisive role in Kazakh life. The art of playing the dombra included two styles as tokpe (Western Kazakhstan) and shertpe (Eastern, Central and South Kazakhstan) kuis. Western tokpe kuis reflect sharp dramatic events, characterized by rough, strong patterns. The Eastern Kazakhstan shertpe kui tradition is characterized by song compositions and percussive fingering. Shertpe kuis contain psychological portrayals, expressions of deep human experience and elegant, graceful, feminine patterns.

Kazakh traditional instrumental music is programmatic in character. In earlier times, before playing a kui, the musician related the story in oral story-telling tradition. The story and the music were artistically equal. Listeners evaluated skill of the musician for playing quality, improvisational talent and ability with words.

The traditional instrumental music culture continues to develop today. Its development is undergoing great changes, due to changing conditions in life style and performance.

Tasks on the theme:

1. Define the term “kui”.

2. Tell us about the main types of kuis and their contents.

3. Discuss the leading instrumental traditions.

4. Tell how story and music correlated with each other in different kuis.

PART XII: SPORTS AND GAMES