Over the past years, the Azerbaijan Union of Ashiqs has produced a number of successful publications on ashiq art and literature. This time, the associations decided to turn to epics, Azernews reports.

Secretary of the Azerbaijan Union of Ashiqs, Honoured Culture Worker Musa Nabioghlu, said that the anthology, which is planned to be published in two volumes, will include the epics that currently occupy an important place in the ashiq repertoire.

He underlined that the epics "Abbas and Gulgaz", "Qurbani", "Tahir and Zohra", "Leyli and Majnun", "Ashiq Garib", "Valeh and Zarnigar", "Alikhan and Pari" from the repetoire of prominent ashiqs like Aladdin Goycheli, Fatulla Goycheli, Aghamurad Shirvanli, Arif Askerov, Altay Mammadli, Qalandar Zeynalov, Nazim Guliyev, Nabi Nasgiyev, Elman Talistanli, Mammad Bozalganli, Nizami Shirinov, as well as Ikhtiyar Gojayev, Elmaddin Mammadli, Shahriyar Garakhanli, Shohrat Karimov, Elbrus Huseynov, Anar Karimov, and Anar Gurbanov are designated for a wide reading audience.

The first volume of the collection will be presented to the public in the first half of this year.

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.

The history of Garabagh music is closely connected with the art of ashiqs, which brilliantly unites poetry, storytelling, dance, and vocal and instrumental music into traditional performance art.

Ashiq Valeh was one of the greatest representatives of ashiq art in Garabagh. Valeh was the stage name of the ashiq. His real name was Sefi. At a young age, Sefi became a student of ashiq Samed, who taught him the art of playing saz and poetry.

Over his life, ashiq Valeh delighted listeners with beautiful music pieces such as "Garabagh shikastasi", "Kasma shikasta", "Bash Saritel" and "Orta Saritel".

In general, Ashig Huseyn (1800-1880), Ashig Ali (1807-1917), Ashig Alasgar (1821-1926), Ashig Aziz (1825-1918), Ashig Mahammad (1834-1914), Molla Juma (1855-1919) as well as Ashig Pari, known as the first female representative of this art and many others left an incredible mark on Garabagh ashig art.