This collection of two dozen brief vocal and instrumental works offers a wide-ranging overview of various Mongolian song forms. Traditional genres represented on this disc include love songs, epics recounting legends and historical events, and songs of praise for Mongolia"s beloved horses and landscape. The music reflects the traditional nomadic lifestyle of the Mongolian people, and is strongly evocative of the country"s windswept steppes and the broad expanses of the Gobi. Indeed, the rhythms of many of these songs bear a striking resemblance to galloping hooves on the grasslands. As in neighboring Tuva, several pieces are performed in the khoomei style of overtone singing, where vocal manipulation enables a singer to produce two tones simultaneously--a deep drone ornamented by a movable series of overtones. The CD booklet provides lyric translations and informative liner notes discussing Mongolia"s music, land, culture, and history. --Dennis Rea