The Morin Khuur is the most famous traditional Mongolian instrument. A two stringed violin, with a carved horse shape head - the name literally means horse head fiddle. It is amazing the sounds these guys get from these two strings.
On Friday night I went to a special concert by the National Morin Khuur Ensemble. As we found our seats and turned out eyes to our programmes there was a collective gasp of excitement. Well, more staggered gasps of excitement and sharing with the person sitting next to you the finale: Michael Jackson Medley.
The concert was fantastic, probably aided by the building suspense of what this Michael Jackson medley would be! The program was a tribute to north and south american composers - a typically Mongolian stroke of randomness. Seeing the Mongolian instruments playing these familiar, and some not so familiar, but definitely foreign pieces was amazing.
At one point there was a special performance by a famous 'Pop Diva'. This woman always wears sunglasses and appears at special events...while popular among Mongolians, most foreigners get the feeling they're not quite getting the point of her presence...
And then finally it was time for the anticipated Jackson Medley - it didn't disappoint! The band were amazing, the received a rousing applause and many standing ovations - sparking an encore - in which they played the jackson medley again! This time there was a full standing ovation.
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