Kyrgyz folk music is a rich area of the national culture of the people, expressing their worldview, everyday life, history, ethical and aesthetic ideals. Its roots go deep into antiquity. The first written records of the musical past of the Kyrgyz are found in several sources. In 630 BC, the Chinese pilgrim Xuanzang, traveling through the territory of modern Kyrgyzstan, noted that a feast held in honor of his arrival began with the sounds of music that enchanted and delighted the ears, captivating the soul and heart of the Chinese traveler.
Kyrgyz folk music is related to the music of many Turkic-speaking peoples. It is most closely related to Kazakh, Khakas, and Turkmen folk music. In the pre-revolutionary period, solo performances were primarily common among the Kyrgyz. Popular were alternating (in the form of competition) performances by singers and musicians. Folklore existed exclusively in oral form; people learned music by ear from one another.
In performing musical pieces, people became not only interpreters but also co-authors or even creators of new versions. This form of transmission and mastery of songs and kuy (instrumental piece) among the people shaped a unique musical mindset and a free manner of musical expression.
"Kuy is the soul of the people, kuy is the wings of man", as expressed in Kyrgyz proverbs about folk instrumental pieces. According to folk tradition, before performing a kuy, an introductory word often precedes it. In this, the performer explains the occasion for which the piece was composed. Some pieces are accompanied by explanatory text throughout their duration. This creates a unique musical-literary composition. This ancient tradition helped attract the listener's attention and further enrich the spiritual world of the individual.
Aitysh is a competition of talented performers and creators of melodies that has long been held in the mountain pastures of Kyrgyzstan. Performers and listeners from the most remote corners would gather for the competitions. Typically, it was after winning these competitions that a komuz player or akyn gained nationwide recognition and became popular.
A special layer of Kyrgyz folk vocal music is the creativity of akyns. Akyn is a folk singer-improviser. A talented akyn-virtuoso stands out with their excellent professional vocal abilities and rich poetic talent. This includes masters of Kyrgyz folk music from oral traditions, outstanding akyns and singers of the 19th and 20th centuries such as T. Satylganov, K. Akiev, O. Bolebalaev, and others.
A vivid example of Kyrgyz folk synthesized creativity is the most popular epic "Manas," which includes melody, word, and means of theatrical art. The storyteller of the epic "Manas"—the manaschi performs without instrumental accompaniment. The melody of "Manas" consists of various recitative intonations. By tradition, its performance lasted several days or weeks. The performance of "Manas" was marked in the community as a major artistic event and took place with a large gathering of people.
The performance of a manaschi can be compared to a one-person theater or singer, for whom a mass audience is a vital environment and source of creative inspiration.
The people highly honor the names of the celebrated manaschi of the past and present—Nooruz, Jaiysan-yrchi, Sagymbay Orozbakov, Togolok Moldo, Sayakbay Karalaev, Moldobasan Musulmankulov, and others.
Toktogul Satylganov (1864—1933) is a famous, beloved akyn of the people, an unmatched expert in oral poetry, composer, and virtuoso musician, one of the founders of Kyrgyz Soviet literature. He created numerous kuy—classical examples of Kyrgyz instrumental music. Toktogul had a tremendous influence on the work of many poets and composers.
Much in the life of our republic and the Kyrgyz people is connected with the name of Kalyk Akiev (1883—1953)—a prominent akyn-improviser, storyteller of the folk epic, and student and follower of T. Satylganov. He is one of those who stood at the cradle of the current national artistic culture of the Kyrgyz people. His creative legacy is so rich that only a portion of it has been developed.
An original composer and outstanding master of playing the komuz, Karamoldo Orozov (1883—1960) had a vast store of knowledge about folk music. He began performing before the public at the age of 15. The Kyrgyz classic-komuz player was always an inexhaustible living source of beautiful melodies, bright, colorful in form and deep in content.
Karamoldo Orozov is the author of such outstanding, widely known works as "Nasiyat," "Syngan Bughu," and others. Many of his creations formed the basis of several symphonic and operatic works. The name of the People's Artist of the Kyrgyz SSR Karamoldo Orozov has been given to the first State Orchestra of Folk Instruments in the history of the Kyrgyz people, in the organization of which Orozov himself actively participated in 1936.
The folk musical instruments of the Kyrgyz are few in number. The most popular among them is the three-stringed plucked komuz. In appearance, timbre qualities, and playing techniques, it is close to the Kazakh dombra. During the Soviet era, four types of modernized komuz (prima, second, alto-komuz, bass-komuz) were created, which firmly entered the composition of the orchestra of folk instruments.
The two-stringed bowed kyl-kyyak has also undergone modernization, with four of its types used in the orchestra of folk instruments as leading instruments.
Woodwind instruments are used in folk musical practice—choor, surnay, kerney, temir ooz komuz, zhyga ooz komuz, clay wind chopo-choor. These instruments have not been reconstructed and exist in their original form.
In 1939, an ensemble of komuz players consisting of 16 people was created at the Kyrgyz State Philharmonic named after T. Satylganov. The organizer and its first artistic director was Atai Ogonbaev. The ensemble toured France, Canada, Japan, Syria, Finland, the USA, Mongolia, Turkey—and was successful everywhere.
The ensemble of komuz players is a laureate of the World Festivals of Youth and Students (1957—Moscow, 1968—Sofia, 1978—Cuba). The performance of the ensemble was awarded a gold medal at the World Exhibition in Brussels in 1958. For its concert activities in 1973—1974, the collective was awarded the Lenin Komsomol Prize of Kyrgyzstan.
People's Artist, composer, remarkable singer-melodist, komuz player Atai Ogonbaev knew dozens of various performing techniques and played with all fingers of his right hand, with one finger, by plucking, snapping at the base, at the neck, with circular rotational movements of the wrist from top to bottom, from bottom to top, etc. He played with the komuz on his shoulder, on his head, tucked behind his back, rotating it around his torso, astonishing listeners with his virtuosic technique.
In terms of performance style and musical style, Atai Ogonbaev is close to Toktogul Satylganov. Many of his songs have become true masterpieces of Kyrgyz folk lyrical music. His dramatic fate and remarkable talent are the subject of the historical-biographical novel by K. Kaimov titled "Atai."
Samara Toktokhunova is a celebrated komuz player, People's Artist, laureate of the Lenin Komsomol Prize of the republic, and laureate of the World Festivals of Youth and Students in Berlin and Havana.
For more than 20 years, the creative destiny of the musician has been closely linked with the orchestra of folk instruments named after K. Orozov. It is within this collective that the performing talent of the komuz player grew and developed. Her repertoire includes works by the classics of folk musical art T. Satylganov, I. Tumanov, K. Orozov, A. Ogonbaev, and kuy by contemporary authors.
S. Toktokhunova has made many discoveries in the field of Kyrgyz folk instrumental art. She was one of the first to perform solo numbers on stage, the first to perform a concert for komuz with a folk orchestra. S. Toktokhunova is the first woman komuz player to be awarded the high title of People's Artist of the Kyrgyz SSR.
The artistry of the musician has been applauded by audiences in concert halls in Paris and Havana; her playing has captivated audiences in Japan and Finland, Vietnam and Canada.