Musical Belongings VIII: Genghis Lab

Genghis Lab Music traditions of multi-ethnic Mongolia of the 13th and 14th centuries meet in the GENGHIS LAB with medieval European music in the transition to the early Renaissance, accompanied by contemporary Mongolian poetry and video art. Are there reconstructable reciprocal cultural transfers from the Silk Road era that continue to have an effect today? How do old nomadic traditions and lifestyles shaped by the steppe relate to the digital nomadism of the present day? What knowledge is stored in instruments such as the Altai Yatga (Mongolian zither), the Limbe (Mongolian flute), the Ever Buree (Mongolian horn) or the Khuur stringed instruments? And how does the Mongolian art of khöömii (overtone singing) correspond with European vocal techniques such as yodelling?

The Berliner Lautten Compagney is developing the project in close collaboration with the Ensemble Tenger Ayalguu, a renowned formation for Mongolian music. It is accompanied by the poets Gun-Aajav Ayurzana and Luvsandori Ulziitugs, who in their literary work combine old traditions with burning ecological issues of the present day: “The national festival passed/the grass had leaked out./ Wind came up and/all hearts ached./The horses, out of themselves/ galloped towards the horizon again/ I peered in the direction/all the blurring horses.” Visual artist and curator Bolormaa Algaa expands the space with contemporary video art. The musical program is created in cooperation with French ethnomusicologist, composer and singer Johanni Curtet, who has been researching Mongolian music history for years. In the accompanying discussion, the musicians take a post-colonial look at the musical practice of European classical music and museum business, shaped by old Mongolian traditions, and compare, negotiate and broaden the horizons of the respective playing and production methods.

There is a musical introduction to all concerts in the Mechanical Arena in the foyer one hour before the start. After the evening concerts, the artists answer questions from concert dramaturge Christian Filips and the audience. This time, the musicians have developed a special concert variant for children aged 6 and over and families — to be heard on Saturday, November 14, at 15:00.

Since 2023, Lautten Compagney, one of the most renowned ensembles for historical performance practice, has been looking at the Humboldt Forum for the possibilities of music beyond the colonial canon. The MUSICAL BELONGINGS series explores the possibility of transcultural practice together with musicians and composers from various cultures. How can new sounds and hybrid forms be found that elude the “world music” label? What similarities are there between international indigenous musical cultures and European early music of the pre-industrial age with its historical performance practice?