Mugham Centre highlights Kalbajar ashiq art

By Azernews

By Laman Ismayilova

The International Mugham Centre is pleased to announce a new project "Pearls of Ashiq Music". The virtual project aims to promote the ashiq art in Azerbaijan. 

Multiple video archives are presented as part of the project. The first part of the project highlighted the history of Kalbajar ashiq art. 

The video provided insight into the life of ashiq Dede Shamshir, known for his unique voice. 

For the first time, musicologist Amina Eldarova recorded 75 music pieces performed by ashiq Dede Shamshir. Some of his recordings are kept in the gold fund of the Azerbaijan State Radio.

The art of Azerbaijani Ashiqs combines poetry, storytelling, dance and vocal and instrumental music into a traditional performance art.

Ashiq is frequently accompanied by traditional stringed musical instruments. The classical repertoire of ashiqs includes 200 songs, 150 literary-musical compositions known as dastans, nearly 2,000 poems in different traditional poetic forms and numerous stories.

Since 2009 the art of Azerbaijani Ashiqs has been inscribed on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

Famous for its spectacular concerts, scientific-theoretical and research projects, the Mugham Centre is now switching to online projects.

The Mugham Centre holds multiple virtual projects such as online conferences and lectures.

The centre has recently presented a new video "Karabakh is Azerbaijan!".

The video which marked Azerbaijan`s victory over the Armenian occupiers, brought together National Artists Ramiz Guliyev, Mokhlat Muslimov, Fikrat Verdiyev, Mansum Ibrahimov, Teyyub Aslanov, Munis Sharifov, Gulyanag Mammadova, Fakhraddin Dadashev, Honored Artists Nuria Huseynova, Elnur Zeynalov, Sabukhi Ibayev soloists of the Mugham Center Rovshan Gurbanov, Konul Khalilzade, Sabina Arabli, Elgiz Aliyev and others.

Over the past years, the Mugham Center has also successfully implemented multiple cultural projects aimed at promoting national music: "Evenings of ashig music", "Treasury of Secrets", "Unforgettable", "Pearls of ethnic music", etc.