Track 9 Track 9 Sayrang Bulbulum, Sayrang! (Sing, My Nightingale, Sing!)
Traditional, performed by the London Uyghur Ensemble
Vocals: Rahimä Mahmut
Tämbur: Nizamidin Sametov
Ghijak: Stephen Jones
Dutar: Rachel Harris
The Uyghur dutar is a long-necked two-stringed lute, here played by Rachel Harris, Lecturer in Music at SOAS, and the ghijak a two-stringed spike fiddle, here played by Stephen Jones, Research Fellow at SOAS. These two musicians are joined by Rahimä Mahmut from the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of China and Nizamidin Sametov from Kyrgyzstan. Some of this new ensemble’s members came to the United Kingdom as refugees, and the ensemble’s activities reflect this background; they made their debut at the London South Bank’s Sanctuary festival for refugee music in 2005. The song recorded here uses a characteristic aqsaq (limping) rhythm, and its theme is one common in Uyghur songs: the suffering of separation from the beloved.
