The genres of Kyrgyz folk instrumental music have historically developed as specific functional systems, possessing certain properties common with the vocal genre hierarchy. These include belonging to the mass or professional sphere of creativity, to a specific type of artistic activity (public performance, ritual, play, cult act, etc.), and to a particular type of figurative content. At the same time, the genre system of the instrumental tradition has its own specifics.
In general, Kyrgyz folk instrumental music, like vocal music, is divided into two main branches. The first is the so-called folk music, which refers to mass instrumental folklore. The second branch is professional instrumental music of the oral tradition. This division is, of course, conditional, but it has real grounds. For in Kyrgyz instrumental music, alongside mass folk creativity, which essentially embellishes everyday life, there are highly artistic classical examples created by outstanding professional masters as concert (presented) genres.
Küü (kuu) is a generic term in Kyrgyz folk instrumental music, meaning an instrumental piece or performance. The figurative palette of küü encompasses a content of the broadest range: heroism, epic, lyricism, drama, genre-daily, and comedic images. Very often, they find expression in the title of the piece. However, titles can also indicate a certain manner of performance, the method of tuning the instrument, or the genre-intonational source of the piece (song or instrumental). The title may also provide information about the time, place, and reason for the creation of the piece, as well as about its author.
Most Kyrgyz folk instrumental pieces are programmatic, thanks to their vivid reflection of extra-musical content. Researchers have long noted that Kyrgyz küü possesses narrative plotness and psychological definiteness. The images of reality, refracted through the people's worldview, are embodied by musicians individually each time, while relying on creative canons and established means in artistic practice.
The programmability of Kyrgyz instrumental music of the oral tradition manifests itself indirectly or in a clear, open form. The latter is typically characteristic of mass folklore music, which has a specific situational nature. In Kyrgyz küü, two types of programmability are found — plot and generalized. The first type encompasses song and game pieces, the performance of which is often accompanied by verbal comments from the musician regarding the history of their creation and content. The second type of programmability, as well as non-programmatic performances, did not require explanations.
The principles of dramaturgy and form formation in küü have developed over many centuries and are passed down from generation to generation. In the process of improvisation, musicians preserve these basic data, varying the "superstructure".
At the core of the piece lies an initial brief theme, which has great potential for development through variation. This "core," which typically possesses a vivid characteristic, suggests further intonational, rhythmic, harmonic, textural, and structural changes. It should be noted that types of thematics can vary — melodic (monodic) and textural-harmonic, rhythmic.
The ensemble of komuz players of the Kyrgyz State Philharmonic named after T. Satylganov
Depending on the plot and program, the dramaturgy of küü has two main types: monotheme and polytheme. In küü of the first type, there are gradual transformations of the initial image and contrasts of the derivative type. In küü of the second type, there are bright contrasts-comparisons, inter-thematic development, the birth of a new image within the main one, the absorption of the previous image in the continuous dynamics of renewal, and the combination of discreteness and unity.
The modal-harmonic system of Kyrgyz küü is usually determined by the construction of the instrument for which the piece is intended, the method of its tuning, individual and typical playing techniques, as well as the type of the initial thematic "core." For example, a brief three-note theme forms a narrowly scoped mode of performance, while a more developed one forms a five- or seven-degree mode.
The texture and vertical harmonies in küü are perhaps most dependent on the design of the instrument. It should be noted the unique capabilities of some wind and self-sounding instruments in forming two- or three-voiced textures (with the help of drones and middle overtones), as well as string instruments that have two or three playing strings.
Metrorhythm is an extremely vivid aspect of folk instrumental music, one of the leading means of expressiveness. Accents, marked "pronunciation" of musical thought — in general, are a much more noticeable stylistic feature of Kyrgyz küü than the cantabile intonation, fluidity, and veiled rhythm. However, such an effective means of rhythm as regularity is understood by folk performers in their own way — as a phenomenon of a higher order compared to the irregularity of the syntax of ordinary constructions. A noticeable feature of the syntax of küü is the divisibility of the whole, expressed through clear caesura.
The tempo amplitude can change in any direction throughout the piece. At the same time, slow küü in the traditional heritage are much fewer than lively and fast ones. Moderate tempos are also quite widespread. Virtuoso instrumentalists equally master both expressive prolonged sound and fragmented sound "tongue twisters," comparable to a swift horseback gallop.
The scales of küü are quite diverse — from a brief thesis, which does not achieve noticeable development, but nevertheless forms a complete, finished artistic form, to an expanded musical canvas of truly "symphonic" character.
Musical and ethnographic ensemble of the Kyrgyz State Philharmonic Kambarakan
The morphology of Kyrgyz instrumental music consists of various species and genre structures, each of which has developed in its own way over centuries of history. The overwhelming majority of küü is intended for solo performance. Ensemble playing on folk instruments, which is intensively developing at the present stage, was practiced rarely in the past. Mono-instrumental ensembles were introduced into practice in the 20th century. Poly-instrumental ensembles accompanied rituals, military life, and court festivities, as evidenced by various episodes of the great epic, for example:
Playing the kerney, making a noise,
Beating the drum, making a noise.
The sound of the surnay ringing,
Clapping the chylmar.
The kerney is buzzing,
They beat the drum,
The surnay is blowing,
They ring on the chylmar.
(Translation by G. Baisabaeva)
Travel notes and diaries of foreign researchers also confirm the existence of instrumental ensembles with unstable compositions in the past. For example, N. Maev, editor of the newspaper "Turkestan Vedomosti," published in Tashkent, wrote about the simultaneous playing of two folk musicians after a trip to Tokmok: "One of the two surnay players produced one unchanging sound, while the other played a melody against the background of the first."
I. Andreev (Alibiy) noted that among the Kyrgyz living in the Talkan volost, an ensemble consisting of kerney, surnay, zheznaya, and doolbasa (dobulbasha) played at celebrations. E. Dmitriev, who attended the famous memorial service for the sarybagysh khan Shabdan Zhantaev (1840—1912), noted a group of folk musicians — kerneychi, surnaychi, doolchu, and sybyzgychi, who played for the guests.
The first folk-professional mono-instrumental ensemble of komuz players in the current century was organized by Murataaly Kurunkeev (1922, Przhevalsk, Issyk-Kul region). Following his example, Atay Ogonbaev created his ensemble (1938, Frunze), which still exists at the Kyrgyz State Philharmonic. There, for several decades, the ensemble of iron komuz players has performed.
Currently, the following poly-instrumental ensembles are known in Kyrgyzstan: "Kambarakan" at the Kyrgyz State Philharmonic (led by E. Jumabaev), which includes not only instrumentalists but also yrchys, akyns, and biichilers (dancers); "Min kyial" (led by Ch. Rayimkulov) at the folk dance ensemble of the Kyrgyz Republic "Ak-Mural"; "Keremet" at the P. Shubin Children's Music School (led by R. Madvarova), which mainly consists of iron komuz players; "Boz salkyn" at the Ak-Suu District House of Culture; "Arashan" at the Alamidin District House of Culture (led by T. Salamatov); an ensemble at the Kyrgyz National Conservatory (led by N. Nyshanov); "Aydyn-kel" in the city of Karakol (led by Asankadyr uulu Sovetjan), and others.
The repertoire of the ensembles includes folk and folk-professional instrumental and vocal music (in arrangement), as well as modern works by composers. In addition to folk instruments, some symphonic instruments are included. Most ensembles rehearse from sheet music and perform with a conductor, which removes them from the definition of "ethnographic." Participants in the ensembles (usually 5—7 or 10—12 people) are students, pupils, professional musicians, and rarely amateur musicians.
Orchestra of Kyrgyz folk instruments named after K. Orozov
The oldest orchestra of Kyrgyz folk instruments in the republic was created in 1936 at the Kyrgyz State Philharmonic named after T. Satylganov, and it is named after the outstanding komuz player Karamoldo Orozov. In addition to it, similar orchestras exist at the Kyrgyz National Conservatory, the Kyrgyz State Institute of Arts named after B. Beishenaliev, the Osh Regional Philharmonic named after R. Abdykadyrov ("Nasiyat"), the Kyrgyz State Music College named after M. Kurunkeev, and the Osh Music College named after Niyazaly. They include not only folk instruments but also symphonic instruments, which allows their composition to be classified as folk-symphonic or Kyrgyz-European. The repertoire of the orchestras is mixed: national and non-national folk and authorial works, original or arranged and processed. The method of performance is notated, and the guidance of a conductor is mandatory. All groups consist of professional musicians.
Returning to the solo form of performance, it should be noted that throughout history it has been and remains typical for folk instrumental creativity. As a result, the character of the musician's performance and the properties of a particular instrument became criteria for the species classification of küü. Hence, all instrumental music of the oral tradition can be divided into the following types: music for komuz, for kyiyak, for temir komuz, etc.
