Muzooke Jamankaraev (1802—1878) — one of the prominent representatives of Kyrgyz professional folk music in the 19th century. He was born in the village of Kurtka, now in the Ak-Tala district of the Naryn region. Muzooke was a great komuz player — both an author and performer. He was known not only in Ak-Tala and Naryn but also in the Chui Valley.
It is known, for example, that the Chui region's leader, Boshkoy, once heard Muzooke and highly appreciated his talent, inviting him to perform for a month for a noble family. When the time was up, the leader generously rewarded the musician with a herd of horses.
Jamankaraev's musical repertoire is diverse. He created lyrical pieces such as "Habit of the Eyes" ("Kez bayyr"), "Loving Cuckoos" ("Kukuk-Zeynap"), and komuz pieces dedicated to the land of mountains and steppes — Kyrgyzstan — such as "Stretched Mountains" ("Kerme too") and "Yellow Valley" ("Sary ozon"). His most famous work is "Sad Kyu" ("Munduu kuu").
It originated under the following circumstances. Muzooke was returning home from the Chui Valley with a herd of horses he received as a reward for his performances. News of this reached the people of Ak-Tala. Some rejoiced at their fellow countryman's success, while others envied him. Among the envious was a wealthy man named Ystan. He ordered his horsemen to seize the herd from the defenseless musician. This incident is reflected in "Sad Kyu."
The piece is a typical example of an instrumental miniature of song genesis. There are two performance versions of this work. The first, performed by Muratala Kurunkee, was recorded by A. Zataevich in 1928. The second, performed by the komuz player Shekerbek Sherkulov, has not yet been notated and exists in the form of a gramophone recording.
In the first version, judging by Zataevich's recording, the komuz is tuned in a quintal-quartal structure (bosh chyn tolgoo). This piece consists of two contrasting sections. The first is fast, in an accordal texture, performed using a strumming technique. The second section, monophonic, is performed using pizzicato technique. Accordingly, the clear, percussive rhythm in the first section is replaced by a calmer, sparser rhythm in the second.
