Far from their home in the former Soviet Autohomous Republic of Tuva, the Tuvan Throat Singers will perform their extraordinary indigenous music at Chandler Music Hall in Randolph Wednesday, Feb. 9 at 9:30 a.m.

Huun-Huur Tu will present the exotic and evocative beauty of Tuvan throat singing Wednesday, Feb. 9 at 9:30 a.m. at Chandler Music Hall in Randolph.

Huun-Huur-Tu comes from the former Soviet Autonomous Re–public of Tuva, a sparsely settled region of grasslands, boreal forests, and mountain ridges that lies in central Asia. This indig–enous music highlights rare instruments and preserves some of the world’s oldest form of music making. The best-known genre of Tuvan music, xöömei (throat-singing), comprises what might be called a lexicon of musical onomatopoeia in which natural sounds are transformed into musical representations.

When the sky is brilliantly clear and the sun sits briefly on the horizon like a coin on the edge of a cup, the rays of the sun sometimes appear to divide. They slant toward the earth at near yet distinct angles. In the Republic of Tuva, the people have a name for this phenom–enon: “huun-huur tu,” or “sun propeller.”

In the early 1990s, the music of Tuva caught the ears of world music listeners. Tuvan music had more than its share of exoticism for Westerners. Traces of Silk Road footpaths wind through the music, as Tuva itself is situated 2500 miles east of Moscow, nestled near southern Siberia, and north of the border of Mongolia. Huun Huur Tu was among the most important ensembles to emerge from Tuva, and the group did much to bring the unique sound of overtone singing to the concert stage.

The remarkable practice of overtone singing in Tuva allows one individual to sound as if he were a choir unto himself, accompanied by a drone or even a flute. Combined with horsehair fiddles and large shamanic drums, Tuvan music remarkably transports the listener to the central Asian steppes. Thematically, Tuvan music expresses a very particular sense of place, with traditional songs about rotten logs, rivers, mountains, herds of animals, and life on horseback; it is an explosive, intense evocation of nature and a people's relationship to it.

The members of Huun-Huur Tu have devoted themselves to learning old songs and tunes, but at the same time their performances reflect the values of innovation as much as tradition.

The very notion of an ensemble like Huun-Huur Tu is new to Tuva. Most Tuvan music has traditionally been performed by a solo singer or instrumentalist, and musicians characteristically specialize in a particular genre or musical style, which in turn have deep roots in particular kinds of social occasions. By contrast, Huun-Huur Tu’s eclectic concert presentations of old songs and tunes fall between the cracks of Tuvan musical life.

This one-hour performance is offered as part of Chandler’s Daytime Performance Series and is suitable for older elementary, middle and high school students, as well as adults. Schools, home school families and the general public are invited. Reservations can be made by contacting Betsy Cantlin at 802-431-0204 or at outreach@chandler-arts.org.