February 15, 2024 Mongolian Morin Khuur Ensemble has expanded into the Morin Khuur Orchestra. On February 01, President of Mongolia Ukhnaa Khurelsukh issued a Decree on Treasuring and Promoting Morin Khuur, the traditional Mongolian musical instrument-Horse-Head Fiddle. Also, the President encouraged every Mongolian family to contribute to preserving our traditional art and heritage by learning and playing the Morin Khuur at home and passing it down to future generations.
The horse head fiddle is the supreme symbol of music for Mongolians. Mongolians believe that the place where Morin khuur is played is blessed with the same virtue as a thousand gods, so they cherish the instrument, just like where they worship gods. The Mongolian Morin Khuur Orchestra was established in 1992 and has brought Mongolian folk art to the world level, making the instrument- national pride, a world-renowned music, and has been showcasing, distributing, and promoting its unique melodies to people worldwide. Over the past thirty years, in addition to traditional music works, the ensemble has performed more than 5,000 full-length performances domestically and more than 600 on stages in 30 countries around the world, as well as collaborating with dozens of renowned artists. It can be said that Mongolia is complete only when the Morin Khuur is played at major state ceremonies. The fact that the Morin Khuur orchestra is highly valued for state visits and major concerts abroad shows that it is undoubtedly the main thing that distinguishes us as Mongolians. The Morin Khuur Orchestra, which has been introducing Mongolian national art and heritage to humanity, has performed the Morin Khuur in world-famous theaters such as Carnegie Hall in New York City, the United Nations Hall, the UNESCO Hall in France, the Vienna Philharmonic in Austria, the Bolshoi Theater in Russia, the National Grand Theater or Pearl Theater in the southern neighbor, the Mariinsky Theater, the NHK Hall in Tokyo, Japan, and the Sydney Opera House in Australia.
In honor of the Mongolian people’s important cultural heritage, the morin khuur, a state khan khuur was built and installed in the State Palace by the decree of the President of Mongolia, which specified the exact dimensions and placed it in the Ceremonial Hall of the State Palace. The state khan khuur player is selected based on specific criteria and is the only player who can play the state khan khuur and play traditional national melodies. There are various legends about the origin of the horsehead fiddle instrument. The main idea of them is connected with the relationship between humans and horses, and the Mongolian people’s love for their horses. Thus, the Morin khuur was created as a musical instrument for their beloved horses. It is no exaggeration to say that the entire history of the Mongolians from ancient times to the present has been connected with horses.
In the 13th century, when the Mongol Empire was great, the main strength of the army was the power of the Mongolian horse. The Mongols considered horses not only for riding and transportation, but also as loyal companions and intelligent animals. Therefore, they carved a horse’s head on the top of their most precious musical instrument and respectfully named it the horsehead fiddle.
Before the horse-headed khuur, swan, lion, crocodile, and dragon heads were carved on the top of the khuur. After going through many stages of development, the horse-headed khuur became dominant in the mid-20th century. Since ancient times, Mongolians have made khuurs from a horse skull and played them with a horse’s tail. The horse-headed khuur, which is believed to have originated during the Hunnic dynasty and perhaps even earlier, has been a major musical instrument in Mongolian song and dance festivals and has been passed down to us today. Now it is encouraged by the State that every family should have Morin Khuur in rear part of their home.
The melody of the morin khuur is beautiful and unique among stringed instruments. It sounds not too loud, but it is unique and resonates until it reaches the heart. This music itself seems to be deeply connected to the core of the Mongolian psyche. The melody of the Morin khuur harmonizes with the long and short Mongolian folk songs and Mongolian national dances perfectly.
In the past, the morin khuur’s body was made of animal skin, which had a low sound quality and was only suitable for the unique Mongolian climate. Therefore, it was necessary to innovate in order to bring the sound of the khuur to the world, so they began to look for ways to modernize the morin khuur. Thus, in the 1960s, with the help of Russian experts, they created a wooden body for their traditional musical instrument.
By upgrading the morin khuur and making it a wooden instrument, its sound improved and it became more weather-resistant. In this way, the masters of the musical instrument made minor changes to the traditional morin khuur, preserving its melodious and beautiful sound while increasing the range of sounds, making it more vivid for playing on stage and in the countryside. The morin khuur musical tone is also being developed so that it can be played not only in Mongolian songs but also in foreign songs.
In 2003, UNESCO declared the morin khuur as an “Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.”
Mongolians living in many countries around the world continue to teach and promote their wonderful music, which has become a source of national pride. The morin khuur is a versatile instrument that can be played with any piece of music, and is very popular in Japan, and has become very popular in the United States in recent years. The horse khuur is traditionally played not only in festivals, but also in many rituals related to animal husbandry in Mongolia such as camel coaxing.
The sound of Morin khuur has the power to charm even animals. Mongolian herders still widely practice the ritual of creating a mother-son bond by listening to the fiddle’s melody in order to bring an orphaned calf to its new mother.
There are many different musical instruments in this world, but the horse fiddle, created by our ancestors, stands out from other stringed instruments with its unique shape, historical background, and unique sound.
It is not true that only Mongolians feel moved by listening to this music they have created. The music has a great magic that can touch the delicate strings deep within the soul of anyone who hears the melody of the khuur. Just two strings of this music can make it vibrate.