Alim Gasimov to perform in London

/By Azernews/

By Amina Nazarli

People's artist of Azerbaijan Alim Gasimov, who introduced the national mugam art worldwide, will soon perform in London.

The concert scheduled for July 14, will feature the renowned mugham singer and his daughter, gifted musician Fargana Gasimova.

The exciting and diverse programme includes Azerbaijani mugham, tesnifs and folk songs.

The concert will also feature performance of Rafael Asgarov, Rauf Islamov, Zeki Veliyev and Javidan Nabiyev, who will play Azerbaijani national musical instruments – balaban, kamancha, tar and nagara. Tajik musician Sirodzhaddin Zhuraev will perform with the ensemble, Azertac reports.

Mugham features poems - mostly love songs - set to improvised music. The lyrics are written down, but not the music. Varieties of compositions are performed by a group of musicians, consisting of a singer, or “khanende,” a gaval (percussion instrument) player, and a musician on either the stringed musical instruments “tar” or “kemancha.”

Depending on the specific mode of mugham being played, the improvisation traverses a designated number of tetrachord sequences, for example, three tetrachords consisting of 2 half-steps and one full-step, or vice versa. The improvisation for one mugham may continue for 30 minutes to a few hours.

In 2003, UNESCO recognized the Azerbaijani Mugham as a masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity.

Alim discovered the world of mugham as a child, when he began singing for his own enjoyment. He grew up in the town of Shamakhi, 100 km northwest of Baku. "I had no idea that I would become a singer," he remembers.

Alim studied at Baku's Asaf Zeynalli Music College from 1978 to 1982. His teachers included Seyid and Khan Shushinski, Zulfu Adigozalov, Hajibaba Huseynov and Agha Khan Abdullayev. In 1999, Alim won the prestigious UNESCO Music Prize, one of the highest international accolades that a musician can hope for.