The book reviews the traditional musical culture of Kazakhs which comprehended in the historical-genetic and complex ethno-musicological approach. Firstly, the origins of the Kazakh traditional musical culture date back to the Turkic period of the history. Secondly, it originates from the ritual as general cultural typological base. The book consists of six chapters. The first one is dedicated to excursion into the history of the national music. The periodization of the history of Kazakh music is proposed in the book. It reports in details the poem "The grace-filled knowledge" of Yusuf Balasagun. The second chapter is devoted to the study of sacred music and ancient foundation of the musical culture of the ritual. The theme of the third chapter is the mythology of the Kazakh culture which related to Korkut who is the first musician, the founder of the kobyz and the patron of the Kazakh shamans. The fourth chapter is devoted to the music as a language of culture; it considers the theoretical issues of the musical language. The fifth chapter is about the Kazakh oral professional classical music (Kazakh kui and traditional song). The sixth chapter summarizes the practical and research experience of the author in the study of the Kazakh traditional musical art. It highlights the problems of preservation, study and promotion of the Kazakh traditional art as a phenomenon of the intangible cultural heritage of humanity.
