| Dear friends, In the past many of you have helped me to raise money for various charitable Tuvan causes, and now I ask for your help for a great Mongolian throat-singer in need. Some of you will recognize the name Tserendavaa. He is a well-known, major Mongolian throat-singing master from Chandman Sum, and is well-represented on such classic cds as Jargalant Altai. Besides being a singer and one of the leading sources for foreigners for decades regarding Mongolian Xoomii, he is a rarity in that he and his family are still herders. Johnna, Andrew, Jens, Hosoo and I enjoyed a session with him last summer in Chandman, and true to form he was very generous and interesting. He didn't bring it up, but we heard that his family had suffered tremendous animal losses in the terrible Dzud of last winter, and might be forced to stop herding. My friends Michael Ormiston and Candida Valentina, two leading English throat-singers and long-time students of Tserendavaa's have organized a fund-raiser to help him. You can either buy the DVD they are selling for him, or just make a donation via PayPal to ormi_khoomii at yahoo.com Tserendavaa is a major important and influential person for anyone who appreciates throat-singing, Mongolian music, and a delight for all music lovers in general. Please, do what you can to help him, just give 'til it feels good! Here's the scoop from Michael and Candida: Tserendavaa’s “Heaven’s Will” DVD Mongolian Khöömii Maestro Tserendavaa is a living tradition, he was born, lives & breathes the sounds of the legendary and real landscape of Khöömii. He is respected within his community & nationally as a performer & teacher of his 7 techniques of Khöömii and is a key source for Mongolian & European ethnomusicologists and students of Khöömii. During last winter's (2009/10) tragic Dzud, Tserendavaa and his family lost at least 1,000 livestock, leaving him with only 120 animals. This has put Tserendavaa’s existence as a true herdsman in jeopardy. He may have barely enough food to survive the tough Mongolian climate and might need to give up herding and move to live in deprivation in Khovd town or Ulaanbaatar. This unique DVD includes “Mongol Khöömii” a film made by Mongolian musicologist Badraa in the early 1980’s and was first shown on Mongolian TV. It is a real find, “Khoomii gold dust”, “Tserendavaa in concert” a live concert filmed in London 2002 with Candida Valentino and Michael Ormiston. This was an acoustic concert with no microphones and find Tserendavaa in great form. “Message from “Mongolia” is a short documentary with an interview with Tserendavaa and concert footage, plus extra footage of Tserendavaa singing in Chandman Sum, Khovd Aimag, his homeland. All the money collected except production costs will go to help Tserendavaa and his family retain their cultural heritage. To Buy the DVD or make a contribution please visit: http://www.soundtransformations.co.uk/tserendavadvd2010.htm You can send contributions of any size via PayPal to ormi_khoomii at yahoo.com Thank you, Steve |
