Uzlau: the Phenomenon of Musical Performance of the Bashkirs

Main Article Content

Nelly V. Akhmetzhanova
Galiya R. Bayazitova

Abstract

The article is devoted to the investigation of the specific
feature of musical art of the Bashkir people, so-called uzlau.
The Uzlau is a method of bi-vocal singing performed by
a singer or an instrumentalist — the kurai player. Kurai is
the traditional wind instrument of the Bashkir people. The phenomenon
of uzlau is the product of combination of two
sounds: the lower one that sounds in the bass in a form of
continuous or interrupted bourdon, and the higher one that
leads the melodic line. Similar ways of sound making are
known to exist in Mongol, Yakut and Tuva traditions. Born
in the ancient times, the art of uzlau has survived as a live
performing style in Bashkiria until nowadays. The article analyzes
a number of different local traditions of uzlau in the
context of Bashkirian folk music.

Keywords: ethnomusicology, traditional performance, Bashkir folklore, uzlau

Article Details

How to Cite
Akhmetzhanova, N. V., & Bayazitova, G. R. (2008). Uzlau: the Phenomenon of Musical Performance of the Bashkirs. Music Scholarship / Problemy Muzykal’noj Nauki, 3(2), 52–56. Retrieved from https://musicscholar.ru/index.php/PMN/article/view/720
Section
Musical Cultures of Russia
Author Biographies

Nelly V. Akhmetzhanova, Ufa State Academy of Arts named after Zagir Ismagilov

Professor of Ethnomusicology

Galiya R. Bayazitova, Ufa State Academy of Arts named after Zagir Ismagilov

Galiya Bayazitova is a musicologist and TV journalist. Ms.
Bayazitova is a Director of Sound Production at All Ufa TV
channel

References

1. Aksenov N.A. Tuvinskaya narodnaya muzyka / pod red. i s pred. E.V. Gippiusa. — M.: Muzyka, 1964.
2. Dal' V.I. Bashkirskaya rusalka // Bashkiriya v russkoy literature. T.1 / sost., predisl., biogr. sprav., komment. i bibliogr. M.G. Rakhimkulova. — Ufa: Bashknigoizdat, 1961.
3. Zefirov V. Rasskazy bashkirtsa Dzhantyuri // Bashkiriya v russkoy literature. T.1 / sost., predisl., biogr. sprav., komment. i bibliogr. M.G. Rakhimkulova. — Ufa: Bashknigoizdat, 1961.
4. Ikhtisamov Kh.S. Zametki o dvukhgolosnom gortannom penii tyurkskikh i mongol'skikh narodov // Muzyka narodov Azii i Afriki. — M., 1984.
5. Ikhtisamov Kh.S. K probleme sravnitel'nogo izucheniya dvukhgolosnogo peniya i instrumental'naya muzyki u tyurkskikh i mongol'skikh narodov // Narodnye muzykal'nye instrumenty i instrumental'naya muzyka. T. 2. — M., 1988.
6. Kyrgys Z.K. Tuvinskoe gorlovoe penie: etnomuzykovedcheskoe issledovanie. — Novosibirsk: Nauka, 2002.
7. Lebedinskiy L.N. Bashkirskie narodnye pesni i naigryshi. — M.: Muzyka, 1962.
8. Lebedinskiy L.N. Iskusstvo uzlyau u bashkir // Sovetskaya muzyka. — 1948. — № 4.
9. Rakhimov R.G. Bashkirskaya narodnaya instrumental'naya kul'tura: etnoorganologicheskoe issledovanie. — Ufa: Izd-vo BGPU, 2006.
10. Rybakov S.G. Muzyka i pesni Ural'skikh musul'man s ocherkom ikh byta. — SPb., 1897.
11. Chernov B. P., Maslov V. T. Fenomen tuvinskogo dvukhgolos'ya // Priroda. — 1978. — № 6. — S. 48–49.