Tuvan throat singing group Chirgilchin will perform in Pittsburgh on May 1.
The word Chirgilchin has two translations: "dance of the air in the heat of the day" and "miracle". Established in 1996, Chirgilchin is a group of throat singers from Tuva, a small Russian province north of Western Mongolia. Chirgilchin's music tells stories of their homeland, its horses and its people. Tuvan songs are sung in minor pentatonic scale, similar to American blues. The monotone sustained notes that branch out into overtones with slight shifts in pitch give Tuvan throat singing its characteristic buoyant yet meditative drone quality. Throat singing is an extraordinary vocal form in which one singer produces two or more voices simultaneously, the low sounds in the throat harmonizing with middle and high flute-like overtones, to create richly layered melodies that evoke images of Tuvan steppes and nomadic life. Atmospheric and mesmeric, throat singing is almost too difficult to describe in words and must be heard to be believed. The most advanced forms of throat singing come from Tuva, and the members of Chirgilchin are among the best and most accomplished throat singers in all of Tuva.The performance starts at 7:30 pm at the First Unitarian Church in Shadyside (map). Tickets are available online.