Where Rivers and Mountains Sing: Sound, Music, and Nomadism in Tuva and Beyond

"Ted Levin gives us a vivid picture of music in inner Asia today -- both the ancient traditions and the way they're rubbing up against the modern world.... After reading this immensely readable and thought-provoking book, you'll never listen to throat singing in the same way again." -- Simon Broughton, editor, Songlines and Rough Guide to World Music

"No other writer could extract such a delicate mélange of philosophy, acoustics, and aesthetics from one man's vocalization over a running stream -- or report with such canny insight on how that individual must negotiate his life as a 'star' in the West." -- Michael Church, BBC World Service

"Entertaining, fascinating, and well written, it depicts important issues in the globalization of indigenous music." -- Marjorie Mandelstam Balzer, author of The Tenacity of Ethnicity

Where Rivers and Mountains Sing takes readers on a journey through the rich sonic world of inner Asia, where the elemental energies of wind, water, and echo, the ubiquitous presence of birds and animals, and the legendary feats of heroes have inspired a remarkable art and technology of sound-making among nomadic pastoralists. For inner Asian pastoralists, sound and music form part of a spiritual relationship with the natural environment that has endured in the face of formidable social and political challenges. As performers from Tuva and other parts of inner Asia have responded to the growing worldwide popularity of their music, Levin follows them to the West, describing theirsoul-searching efforts to nourish global connections while preserving the power and poignancy of their music tradition. Includes a combination video DVD and music CD to acquaint readers with the musicians and their music.