Urna (singer)

Urna Chahar Tugchi, known as Urna, (born 1969)[1] is an Inner Mongolian singer[2] and player of the yangqin.

Urna Chahar Tugchi
Урна Цахар Тугч
Born1969
Ordos, Inner Mongolia
NationalityChinese
OccupationSinger and musician

Biography

Urna was born into a family of herders in the grasslands of the Ordos Plateau in Inner Mongolia,[3] a society where song was a ubiquitous part of everyday life.[4] Her first musical training was learning to play the yangqin—Chinese dulcimer—from a Shanghai Conservatory of Music professor who was visiting Hohhot, the capital of Inner Mongolia.[3] Then, at the age of 18, she moved to study at the Shanghai Conservatory, a challenging step since she had no knowledge of the Chinese language.[3]

She now performs around the world, and is based in Bavaria, Germany and in Cairo, Egypt. In 2003, she was awarded the RUTH prize in Germany for Best International Artist.[3]

Discography and filmography

Urna has produced seven[5] albums of music on CD:[6]

  • 1995 – Tal Nutag (13 tracks) – with Robert Zollitsch (zither) and Oliver Kälberer (guitar, mandolin) – recorded in a Bavarian church, Mongolian songs and improvisations
  • 1997 – Crossing
  • 1999 – Hödööd (11 tracks) – with Robert Zollitsch (zither, vocal, percussion), Wu Wei playing the Sheng and Sebastian Hilken playing the cello and the frame drum – Mongolian songs and original compositions
  • 2001 – Jamar (10 tracks) – with Robert Zollitsch playing the zither and throat-singing, Morin khuur-virtuoso Burintegus and Ramesh Shotham (Indian percussion) – lyrics in Chinese and Mongolian
  • 2002 – Hodood
  • 2004 – Amilal (13 tracks) – with Djamchid and Keyvan Chemirani, Zarb percussionists from Iran and Zoltan Lantos (Violin) – a personal record of her travels and her world view[3]
  • 2012 – Portrait d'URNA: Tenggeriin Shivuu
  • 2018 – Ser (12 tracks) – with Kroke[7]

She is also featured in the film Two Horses of Genghis Khan.[8]

Reception

Andrea Murray's description in The Herald-Times of one of her performances gives an intriguing insight into the extraordinary characteristics of her singing:[9]

She sang like a child, like a banshee, like a warrior, like a lost lamb, like a horse trader.... when the last note was gone, the silent audience stood up and cheered.

References
  1. "Mongolia's Urna to bring 'Life' to Taiwan". The China Post. 29 May 2006. Retrieved 30 April 2010.
  2. "Mongolian Singer Urna". China Radio International. 15 January 2007. Retrieved 30 April 2010.
  3. E.Bayannasan (2010-12-03). "Singer Urnaa to Perform in Cosmopolitan Opening Party". The UB Post – Mongolia's Independent English Newspaper. Retrieved 10 December 2010.
  4. Mongolia Society (1 January 1995). Mongolia survey: a publication of the Mongolia Society. The Society. Retrieved 10 December 2010.
  5. "Įstabaus balso mongolė Urna Chahar-Tugchi viešės Lietuvoje". Bernardinai.lt. Retrieved 2019-09-19.
  6. "Records". Urna Chahar Tugchi: The voice of Mongolian grasslands. Retrieved 10 December 2010.
  7. "Urna and Kroke, a Well-Designed Collaboration, by TJ Nelson, January 18, 2019". worldmusiccentral.org. Retrieved 2020-08-27.
  8. "D.C. Environmental Film Festival". The Washington Post. 18 March 2010. Retrieved 30 April 2010.
  9. LuAnne Holladay (September 2005). Bringing the world to our neighborhood: the Lotus World Music and Arts Festival. Indiana University Press. p. 97. ISBN 978-0-253-34633-9. Retrieved 10 December 2010.
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