Chintamani: Precious Jewel

As implied by its title, a hybrid mysticism underpins the music of this CD. Chintamani is a Buddhist-Hindu mystical jewel that entered New Age lore via the Russian mystic and artist Nicholas Roerich. Ormiston and Valentino’s commitment to Mongolian sounds pops up throughout – even the Khazak qobuz is played to sound like a morin huur (horse-head fiddle). Both have been taught by the master Mongolian throat-singer Tserendavaa and when they draw on Mongolian traditions, as they do on ‘Four Year Old Chestnut Horse’ and ‘Khotgoid Unaga’, their musical strengths are evident. Ormiston’s morin huur playing and overtone singing sound authentic and Valentino’s vocal quality conjures up the fine Mongolian long-song singer Chimetseye. Valentino also has a formidable deep bass kargyraa throat-singing style. But meandering mantras about saving souls (‘Soul to Save’) and cosmic vibrations and love (‘Foundation of Creation’) sit uneasily with such Mongolian meatiness.

The number of instruments played is impressive, including Mongolian yatag (zither) and Jew’s harps, Tibetan singing-bowls, Central Asian, Native American, and Turkish lutes and flutes, Bengali and Norwegian fiddles, 12-string electric guitar, electric bass and a range of percussion. Some, however, are played better than others and interesting textures can descend into musical caricature, as on ‘Tarim Basin Blues’. In contrast to Mongolian music and spiritual beliefs that strongly connect individuals to nature and place, this pair of musicians tend to float off into the ether, untethered by their own roots and traditions.