Singing Praises for the Human Voice

The voice was humanity’s first musical instrument. Vocalized expression--songs, chants, nature sounds, choral combinations--all existed long before the first imaginative human discovered how to pound a drum or produce sounds from a bow string. And, even today, in many cultures, vocal music continues to be the audible expression of choice.

Two new releases from Ellipsis Arts, “Tibet: The Heart of Dharma” and the whimsically titled “Deep in the Heart of Tuva,” reveal the remarkable vocal sounds produced by two of the world’s most ancient forms of musical expression.

The former, which includes prayer chanting by the monks of the Drepung and the Khampagar monasteries, may initially sound to many like a roomful of men simultaneously experiencing bad stomach cramps. But a bit of patience and open-minded listening will eventually take the listener into the pure, meditative experience that is the essence--and the goal--of Buddhist chanting.

The Tuva recording depicts the hoomei (pronounced “hoo MAY”) throat singing that is the creative heritage of the Tuvan people, who live in a mountainous region of Siberia near Outer Mongolia. The vocalist sings a low, fundamental note, and tightens the throat until natural acoustic overtones are produced.

Accomplished singers such as the Tuvans--who have been singing hoomei for centuries--can exert startling control over the overtones, dipping them in and out of the fundamental note, and moving them across the frequency spectrum. The result is a combination of widely separated notes--a deep, guttural foundation note held beneath high, whistle-like top notes.

In this collection, the singing is done by everyone from well- known male practitioners to the amazing Sainkho Nahchylak, Tuva’s premier chanteuse, and a remarkable 11-year-old. There are incredible blendings of Tuvan throat singers performing Slavic melodies with Russian women and two tracks featuring Paul “Earthquake” Pena, a San Francisco bluesman/throat singer.

In typically thorough fashion, Ellipsis has packaged both albums in small, lavishly illustrated books that offer detailed descriptions of Buddhist chant and Tuvan throat singing.

Another unusual use of the throat-singing style is present in the lovely, quasi-meditative tracks of “Fly, Fly, My Sadness” (Shanachie), which brings together the voices of Angelite, a Bulgarian vocal ensemble, and Huun-Huur-Tu, the most well-known Tuvan singing ensemble.

Marlui Miranda, an authority on Brazilian native music, has gathered chants from many of the indigenous people of the Brazilian Amazon and placed them in a contemporary context on “Ihu: Todos Os Sons” (Blue Jackel). Among the supporting players, performing music that manages to communicate to contemporary audiences without losing the essence of the chants, are Gilberto Gil and the ensemble Uakti.

An entirely different, but no less dramatic and touching use of the voice takes place in “Celtic Spirit” (Narada), a collection of poignant songs that move easily--as does much of Celtic thought--between pagan and Christian spirituality. The performers include Ireland’s Connie Dover, Aoife Ni Fhearraigh, Scotland’s William Jackson and a number of American artists.

Sounds Around Town: Brazilian music and dance, with the passionate singing and dancing of Christiane Callil and the multifeathered costumes and hot samba moves of the Girls From Ipanema, returns to the Century Club tonight and Oct. 18. Information: (310) 553-6000. . . . The inimitable Cape Verdean singer Cesaria Evora brings her wistful mornas to the Veterans Wadsworth Theater next Friday, (310) UCLA-ART, and the John Anson Ford Amphitheatre on Oct. 12, (213) 252-TIXS. . . . Wasis Diop, a Senegalese singer-guitarist who masterfully blends African and pop sounds, plays a one-nighter at LunaPark on Oct. 16, (310) 652-0611. . . . The virtuosic Irish music band Solas makes a rare performance at the Ash Grove on Oct. 17, with lyrical Irish singer Maireid Sullivan opening the show, (310) 656-8500. . . . On Oct. 19, Olodum, a 23-member ensemble of Brazilian musicians, percussionists and singers, appears at the Wadsworth. . . . The Mariachi Los Camperos de Nati Cano perform at the Carpenter Performing Arts Center on Oct. 20, (310) 985-7000. . . . Lokua Kanza, a sweet-voiced Zairian singer, brings his rhythmic songs to LunaPark on Oct. 30.