2009 is the 'Year of the Igil'  as declared by the Tuva government and we are pleased to announce the release of a new CD by Tyva Kyzy - Igil unu - Iyem unu which features 11 vocal and instrumental songs performed exclusively with the Tuvan igil and khomus. To celebrate the groups 10 year anniversary this album features the singing of some of the members mothers! This CD includes a 10 page fold out book with beautiful photo’s, background information and song translations!

The title of Tyva Kyzy’s new album ‘Igil unu – Iyem unu’ (the Igil’s voice my mother’s voice ) declares the spirit of the album: these songs feature mothers and the igil, that two-stringed grandmother of Tuvan musical instruments. Beyond this dual dedication, however, this album demonstrates Tyva Kyzy's unique ability to mine the depths of Tuvan musical tradition and give new voice to familiar songs. The meeting of old and new begins with the album's first track, an old song with modern lyrics, sung by Nadezhda Kuular. Kuular's youth, steeped in the songs of Tuvan nomadic life, combines with her later operatic training in a voice that defies clear categorization. Kuular's own mother, Opal Shuluu, joins her daughter on the second track, in which the igil and the khomus, the two most fundamental of Tuvan instruments, lead us back to the roots of Tuvan sound culture, even as daughter and mother sing about their ancestral homeland. By the opening of track three, we seem to have arrived in the hoary past, resonant with birdsong and the primal sounds of wind. Surprisingly, this is the album's newest song, in which the transcendent voice of young Aylanmaa Damyrang disappears into the sounds of the igil as she remembers a mother last seen long ago. Such blurring of the boundaries between generations and between the female voice and instrumental sound lead us into the heart of the album as the group's youngest singer, Sholbana Belek-ool (herself a new mother) sings the song of an orphan child in a voice dripping with age. Then, suddenly, the album picks up a family of themes more familiar from Tuvan music: love, the land, and the simple act of singing. In this, Tyva Kyzy demonstrates the true depth of their art: they invite us back onto the familiar territory of Tuvan music, this time through the perspective of motherhood and the rich simplicity of the igil.'

Text adapted from CD liner notes - Stefan Kamola

Tyva Kyzy "setkilemden sergek yr-dyr" (a cheerful song from my soul)

This wonderful album is the first ever available collection of this amazing all-women throat-singing group. For years people have asked "Do women throat-sing?" now you can finally hear this beautiful music! The CD comes with a 20 page full color book and 6 panel fold out; an elegant package with minimal plastic. It contains beautiful images and text; a wealth of information about Tuva, Tyva Kyzy and the songs and instruments they play.

In 1998 some of the most gifted women musicians of Tuva joined under the direction of Choduraa Tumat to form Tyva Kyzy, the Daughter of Tuva - the first all-female folk ensemble performing Tuvan throat-singing. For the first time we hear an amazing blend and transition between familiar sounds of female vocals with the surprising overtones of throat-singing. This collection of rare and vividly textured songs and instrumentation reverberates with energy and emotion, gracefully opening the richness of the Tuvan land and culture; traditions and sonic landscapes come alive with humorous joy, nurturing sweetness and thundering power from the unique perspective of Tuvan women.

Tyva Kyzy 2005 US Tour Commemorative Poster

Tyva Kyzy 2005 West Coast US Tour Poster!

Catska and Cory Ench (www.enchgallery.com)

Posters are shipped rolled in a tube. Please consider insurance as poster tubes are more prone to damage by the postal carriers. We are unable to replace posters damaged in transit unless they are insured.

2005 Tour Poster! Beautiful!