Farah Aliyeva: "Interest in mugham is due to its depth and philosophical orientation"

The second International Mugam Music Festival has finished in Baku. Mugam is believed to be an ancient eastern tradition, which requires a performer of exceptional musical memory and hearing, with the ability to improvise and compositional talent. Doctor of Arts and deputy head of the Arts Department at the Azerbaijani Ministry of Culture and Tourism, Habil Aliyev Farah, talks to VK` about the peculiarities of the musical arts festival in Baku.

- Can we say that mugham is now having its second birth?

- Mugam is a cornerstone, one of the basic genres of professional Azerbaijani music and oral tradition. Mugam has been forming over centuries and, although it is considered to be a carrier of ancient traditions and principles of musical thought, it has become an integral part of the contemporary musical culture of Azerbaijan. Mugam and related genres are widespread in oriental culture. Many countries have similar traditions. Uzbek Shashmaqom and maqam, the Turkish taksim, the Algerian nuba, Indian raga and Uighur torments have much in common with the Azerbaijani mugham. The basis of these genres is improvisation, which is coupled with clear canonical principles of composition. The genre exists through strong tradition, opportunities to improvise and to create something new.

The golden era of the national mugham was the nineteenth century. The schools of mugham were founded in one of the oldest centers of Azerbaijani culture - in Karabakh, with its center in Shusha, as well as in Tabriz and Baku. Shusha, which was considered the conservatory of the Caucasus, was home to the khanendes , famous throughout the East, which have left a deep imprint on the history of Azerbaijani music. At the beginning of the twentieth century the voices of the Azerbaijani khanende were heard in concert salons throughout Europe. Famous gramophone studios in Moscow and Warsaw recorded our mugham performers and distributed the recordings in large editions throughout Europe. Perfomances of mugham at “oriental concerts" opened up great possibilities for this genre.

How did the idea of an international festival of mugham appear?

- The idea of holding an international festival belongs to the president of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation, Mehriban Aliyeva. After the restoration of the independence of Azerbaijan, the art of mugham is experiencing a renaissance. It is included on the list of intangible world heritage by UNESCO. A lot is being done to preserve the traditions of mugham in Azerbaijan, including publication of books and albums, as well as holding of presentations. The Heydar Aliyev Foundation supports young mugham performers and, a television competition of mugham performers, which is broadcast worldwide and has a large global audience, is already several years old. There is production of CDs of old masters of mugham, especially I would like to acknowledge the CD series "Karabakh khanende" - a painstaking scientific work, because it is not easy to collect all the mugham performers who were born in Karabakh. The Karabakh School is the leading school of Azerbaijani mugahm.

The first international festival of mugham called “The Space of Mugham” in Baku was the result of all this work. That was in 2009, when Azerbaijan was proclaimed the capital of Islamic culture. This festival was the only one entirely dedicated to one of the genres of professional art - the traditions of the East. A unique feature was the combination of the three major international events - a series of mugham concerts, a scientific symposium and a competition for young artists of mugham.

This year the festival was held in Baku for the second time. Famous musicians gave concerts there. For example, Hussein Al Adhami from Iraq - a famous artist and scientist who deals with Iraqi vocals; Aicha Redouane from Egypt - a singer with a unique voice and style of performance.

- What was new at the symposium and concerts?

- The symposium was held to address the research commission of "Magham" at the International Council for Traditional Music of the East (ICTM) of UNESCO, which had decided to hold its seventh meeting in Baku. Together with Azerbaijani mugham research scientists from the US, Canada, France, Finland, Germany, Russia, Turkey, Iran, Tunisia, Uzbekistan and China (the Uygur Autonomous Region) took part in the symposium. The papers were united by the topic of "Azerbaijani mugham and musical traditions of the Middle East." At the end of the symposium the participants adopted a communiqué in which they noted in particular the Azerbaijani mugham and other related phenomena in the context of the musical cultures of the East, as well as outlining areas for further research.

The opera "Layla and Majnun" and "Shah Ismail", symphony concerts and a series of jazz concerts were part of the festival program; the opera "Asli and Kerem" by Uzeyir Hajibeyli was restaged after a long break. There were two interesting masterclasses held by a percussion performer, Yammeni Habib, and by a mugham musician, Alim Kasimov.

- Who from the international musical scene was at the festival?

- The concert was attended by musicians from India, Egypt, Jordan, Turkey, Iraq and Iran. This year we had Yuldyz Turdyeva from Uzbekistan as a guest at our festival. At the last festival, when she participated in the contest she won the first prize, and came back with a solo concert.

- And the jury?

- The jury consisted of famous researches and artists of mugham. Siyavush Karimi, professor, Rector of the National Conservatory was co-chair with Professor Jean Duhring from France as the head of the jury. The jury members were a famous khanende, a professor of the National Conservatory, professor, scholar and theorist from Peru, who has written fundamental works on the theory of mugham and the secretary of the Composers' Union Ramiz Zohrab. Representatives of Turkey, United States and Iran - Ozan Yoke, William Summits, and Ehsan Hezrlo were also included in the jury.

- Who won the prize?

- The first prize was awarded to the representative of Azerbaijan Ehtiram Huseynov - a young, promising and already well-known performer of mugham. The second prize was awarded to the representative of Iran. Musicians from Turkey, Jordan and China were among the leading performers.

- How does the International Centre of Mugham founded in 2009 work?

- This is a unique complex, one of a kind. In form it resembles the national musical instrument, the tar. The design is very modern - a combination of traditional forms with contemporary style design meets the aesthetics of mugham. Mugham as an ancient genre and mugham as a modern genre. This center has become a home for mugham. It hosts mugham concerts, anniversaries of mugham performers and mugham festivals.

- What are the musical instruments used in the performance of the Azerbaijani mugham music?

- There is a traditional way of performing the Azerbaijani Mugam - khanende that can be accompanied by an instument, the gavale, as well as tar and kamancha – it forms a mugham trio. The ancient Azerbaijani balaban, as well as a soot are also used. By the way, festivals and concerts have shown the traditional form of instrumental accompaniment – the tar and the camanche, as well as more complicated ones with canon, ghosh and nagar.

- Along with the traditional mugham there are new genres of Azerbaijani music such as mugham opera, jazz mugham and rock mugham. Thanks to them the West started to listen to mugham. How did these tendencies form?

- The first opera in Azerbaijan and throughout the East was "Layla and Majnun" by Uzeyir Hajibeyli written last century, in 1908. The genius of Hajibeyli was that he has found a unique way of synthesizing European and Asian national traditions. "Layla and Majnun" is one of the most beloved operas of the Azerbaijani people. Even now it adorns the schedule of the opera house, and every time draws huge halls.

The outstanding Azerbaijani composer Fikret Amirov, who wrote "Shur", "Kurd Ovshary" and "Gulustan Bayati-Shiraz", is considered to be the founder of the symphonic mugham. His works have received international recognition. Such great conductors as Charles Myunsh and Leopold Stokowski performed the symphonic mugham pieces by Fikret Amirov. The foundation of the new genre of jazz mugham 'is associated with the name and work of the legendary pianist and composer Vagif Mustafa.

This once again proves that the art of mugham does not only preserve the tradition, but gives a great impetus to the emergence of new genres. It is a life-giving art.

- How does the European audience receive mugham?

- In a very interesting way. Isfar Sarabsky won first place in the jazz piano competition in the Swiss town of Montreux. His composition and manner were charming, because in fact it was

not a universal, standard jazz. It was jazz, which embedded mugham intonations, and performing peculiarities that come from mugham. Alim Kasimov has a huge audience, and France is particularly fond of him. This khanende presents a very interesting interpretation of the Azerbaijani mugham. Generally, recently our artists have started to get a lot of invitations to various festivals. The interest in mugham is due to its depth and philosophical direction.

Interview by Ramin Naziyev, Baku. Exclusively for VK.