TURAN

The Turan Ensemble come to us from Kasakhistan, the largest landlocked country in the world, Kazakhstan in Central Asia is a fork in the Northern Route of the Silk Road towards Samarqand and the Steppe Route direct to the Caspian Sea and Europe. Kazakh is an ethnic group formed by ancient Turkic and Mongolian tribes. In the 13th century, it was the location of Kipchak Khanate (or Golden Horne Khanate to Europeans), one of the four khanates of the Mongol Empire. Turan is a new-generation performing group combining traditional and innovative music. Turan is the Persian name for Central Asia, literally meaning ‘the land of the Tur’. Based on traditional music, the ensemble combines throat singing, 20 types of traditional and improved musical instruments of Kazakh and Central Asian nomadic tribes, shaman ceremonies, and modern theatrical elements in its innovative performances to revitalize ancient folk tunes.