CEREN TÜRKMENOĞLU
Violinist | Composer | Multi-instrumentalist

Igil: Sound, Nature, and Tradition in Tuvan Music

​

My journey from violin to rebab led me to Tuva, an autonomous Turkic republic in Siberia, where I spent August 2018 immersed in their distinctive musical tradition. My research paper explores Tuvan music—a practice rooted in throat singing, animistic spirituality, and deep listening to the natural world—with particular focus on the igil, a two-stringed horsehair fiddle.

 

Through music sessions and conversations with musicians, musicologists, instrument makers, and shamans, I encountered a different world of sound: one where relational tuning supersedes absolute pitch, timbral exploration takes precedence over melody, and knowledge lives in embodied practice rather than notation.

 

This research continues to shape my work as a performer-composer exploring intercultural methodologies in contemporary music.

​

Click on the PDF image to access my paper.