AAVV
Azerbaijani Love Songs (Traditional music of Azerbaijan)

Fy 8203

885016820329
Felmay Records
Azerbaijan

 

The CD offers the possibility to discover another side of the Azerbaijani musical tradition. Classical singers, but not only, enter in touch with their listeners thanks to the large and popular (pop) songs repertoire originated in the folksong tradition.


Of many Azerbaijani song genres, lyrical songs are particularly numerous and diverse in themes. Such universal human feelings as passion, fondness, pain of loss or separation, longing for love, admiration for feminine beauty, expectation of love, loneliness of heart, joy of mutual love are reflected in Azerbaijani love songs in an infinite number of emotional nuances.
Old-time folk songs based on the poetic forms of folk quatrains constitute a significant part of the national love songs repertoire. Most of these songs were very popular all across the Caucasus Region; they were sung everywhere mainly in Azerbaijan language, and gradually became common cultural heritage of the Caucasian peoples. One can name the songs Sari gelin (Blonde lady), Gubanin ag almasi (White apples of Guba), Uja dag bashinda (On the high mountains), Ay beri bakh (Look back), and dozens of others as examples of such common heritage. Russian composers of the XIX century – such as Glinka, Rimsky-Korsakov, often used melodies of Azerbaijani folk songs in their compositions on oriental themes when they wanted to create some generalized image of the Orient.
Usually the term folk is applied to the songs by unknown authors. However, many Azerbaijani melodies are regarded as folk songs even when both the performers and the audience remember the names of their authors. In most cases the authors of these melodies were and are khanende (mugham singers), ashiqs (bearers of national bardic tradition) and sazende (musicians-instrumentalists). The musical language and style of these songs is very close to the folk melodies, even though they were created as written tradition, and music sheets of some songs were even published in the 1940-70s.
Azerbaijani singers often complement love songs with fragments from mughams, e.g. they begin the song with mugham in the same mode, or insert mugham between the couplets. Traditionally (at public concerts) love songs are performed to the accompaniment of national musical instruments (tar, kamancha, gaval, naghara, balaban, ud, etc). But at modern urban weddings the music bands that accompany the singer usually consist of keyboard, electrical guitar, clarinet, and drums. In addition, the singing of popular and folk songs to the accompaniment of the European chamber or symphonic orchestras is becoming a part of concert practice, nowadays. Many of Azerbaijani male singers perform the songs in high tessitura to please the national tastes. Azerbaijani audiences find high-pitched male voices attractive, while in case of female singers they prefer middle-pitched voices of warm timbre.
The program of the CD includes various important Azerbaijani singers presenting some of the most popular and passionate Love Songs of the country repertoire. The CD offers the possibility to discover another side of the Azerbaijani musical tradition. Classical singers, but not only, enter in touch with their listeners thanks to the large and popular (pop) songs repertoire originated in the folksong tradition.

 

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