CD Review: Urna's 'Portrait: The Magical Voice From Mongolia'

Urna
Portrait: The Magical Voice of Mongolia
Network

Urna is an Inner Asian songstress from the great, vast expanse of Mongolia. With ties to China and Western Europe, Urna employs a range of instrumentation that represents Inner Asian genres. The violin, zither, sheng, cello, zarb, udo, viola, accordion, morin huur, sax, guitar, and assorted percussion make up the instrumental repertoire on many of the songs. The spacious acoustics and free-flowing vocals are not particularly throat-singing examples. This is classic, Mongolian vocal and instrumental music that is calm, reserved, and contemplative. It is not rigid, boring, or plain. The music is similar in tone to contemporary examples coming out of Nepal and Tibet. Yungchen Lhamo is a similar comparison. At any rate, the thirteen tracks and one hour of music are a joy for fans of Inner Asian folk music. Liner notes are in German, English, and French. ~ Matthew Forss

CD Review: Urna's 2001 "Jamar"

Urna

Jamar

Trees Music & Art

Mongolia's Urna performs her signature vocals on Jamar. In this case, Mongolia's national instrument, the morin huur (horsehead fiddle), makes an appearance, unlike on her other recordings. In addition, a zither, percussion, and throat-singing is included, too. Jamar is closely aligned with elements of Chinese folk music, which results from Urna's global wanderings over the years. It is an engaging journey, a movie soundtrack, a day on the steppes, and a peaceful river of harmony, style, and rhythm. A particularly interesting track is "Grandmother and I". It features a spritely rhythm, good tempo, folk-roots elements, lively vocals, and catchy sounds. The zither sounds similar in tone to a cross between a piano and acoustic guitar. Jamar is a trans-global recording primarily inspired by the historical roots of Mongolian and Chinese music creations. Urna is easily one of the best recording artists to emerge out of Mongolia. ~ Matthew Forss