Ybrai Tumanov (1885—1967) — an outstanding folk composer and komuz player, created over 30 original compositions.
He was born in the village of Ak-Bulun, now in the Ak-Suu district of the Issyk-Kul region, in a peasant family. In his childhood and youth, he worked for a local bayan player. At the age of seven, influenced by his grandfather Zholbун, who was skilled with the instrument, he began to play the komuz. During the years of collectivization, he worked in the collective farm "Zhyrgalatz," continuing his creative pursuits. His mastery reached a high degree of perfection. From 1934 to 1936, he regularly performed as a musician for the radio station in the city of Karakol.
In 1936, Ybrai participated in the first All-Kyrgyz Olympiad of Folk Art. By the decision of the jury chaired by A. Zataevich, Ybrai Tumanov was accepted into the philharmonic as a soloist of the orchestra of Kyrgyz folk instruments. He participated twice in the decades of Kyrgyz art in Moscow. In 1939, he became a member of the Union of Composers of the USSR. He was named People's Artist of the Republic (1951) and was awarded the Orders of the "Badge of Honor" and the Red Banner of Labor.
Tumanov's performance activity was quite rich. He constantly toured as part of concert brigades of the republican philharmonic. Ybrai's repertoire included both his own compositions and folk pieces, which he performed in individual arrangements. According to data from Prof. B. Feferman, the komuz player's repertoire included 113 kyus.
His own musical creativity is inextricably linked with current themes. According to Tumanov himself, the first kyus, "Overthrown Kambarqan" ("Oogan Kambarqan"), was created by him in 1917 after the Bolsheviks overthrew the tsarist autocracy. Other milestones in the country's history are also reflected in the komuz player's work. The formation of the USSR in 1922 at the first All-Union Congress of Soviets inspired the composer to create the kyus "Soviet" ("Kenes"). The historical moment of transforming the Kyrgyz Autonomous Republic into a union republic became the theme of the kyus "Young Dream" ("Zhas tilek," 1936).
The piece "We Will Wait" ("Kute-buz," 1942) addresses the warriors-jigits. The legendary Stalingrad epic gave rise to the kyus "Attack" ("Chabuul," 1943). The kyus "Victory" ("Zhenish," 1945) is dedicated to the victory of the Soviet people over fascist Germany. The image of laboring Kyrgyzstan is embodied in the kyus "Hero of Labor" ("Emgek batyry," 1948) and "Five-Year Plan" ("Besh zhyl-dyk," 1949). The piece "Brotherhood" ("Dostuk," 1950) was composed in honor of the friendship between the USSR and China. The kyus "Great Holiday" ("Uluu toi," 1951) was created for the 25th anniversary of the formation of the Kyrgyz SSR.
In 1965, Ybrai Tumanov composed a new piece that became his "swan song" — the kyus titled "The Heart is Troubled" ("Zhurek tolkujt") and performed it himself at his anniversary concert dedicated to his eightieth birthday.
A characteristic feature of the komuz player's creativity was the pronounced sound imagery and the relief of embodying the programmatic idea.
He was described by his contemporaries as a musician-jeweler and a master of details.
His subtle ability to express a detailed program in concert kyus manifested, for example, in the very popular piece "Locomotive," which vividly conveys the sound image of a speeding locomotive. Among the many interesting performance techniques used by Ybrai Tumanov was the skillful application of harmonics on the komuz. The single voice of the komuz sounded very effective and colorful.
