Shuree Enkhbold

Field Research Fellow 

Dr. Jennifer Post

Research Advisor

​“Mongolian Piano Music: Fusion of Classical and Folk styles in the piano works of Sharav”
 ACMS Fieldwork Fellow,
​2019 Hentii and Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia

Abstract ​

Sharav Byambasuren’s “Tumen ekh” piano arrangement directly quoted traditional songs from his homeland and from different ethnic groups to represent the culture of Mongolian Buryat, Zakhchin, Dörvöd, Torghut, and Khalkha residents. During my field study, I investigated the essence of the urtyn duu (long songs), ardyn duu (short songs) and bii bieleygee (biyelgee dance) by interviewing musicians and community members in the countryside and the city. Previous scholars have investigated how music changes as musicians relocate. I was inspired by Dr. Jennifer Post’s research article on Music, Musicians, Climate Change and New Mobilities in Western Mongolia in which she discusses whether nostalgia plays any role in performances in the lives of the newly urban musicians as they reflect on pastoral lives. I employed a participant-observation technique as a performer to immerse myself in some aspects of the songs. I also collected data on Sharav’s compositional style by having discussions with pianists and composers. My interest in this research was to learn about the transmission of folk songs through piano performance and how it is redefining the old process of oral transmission. I focused on the following research questions: How does a musician perform these piano arrangements with the authentic interpretation of the folk songs? Where are the boundaries between traditional and classical instrumentation when transmitting these folk songs? What are the best ways to play and promote these pieces to audiences and performers in Mongolia and English-speaking countries? The research is important for Mongolian piano music studies because it utilizes ethnomusicology methodology to study the interpretation of folk songs and transmitting through piano performances.​