2024-08-15 12:11:57
Davul, dumbyak, shakhrud, Karabakh kamancha, percussion instrument ay-ulduz, gopuz and other ancient musical instruments…
As reported by Day.Az with reference to AZERTAC, the research laboratory “Improvement and Restoration of National Musical Instruments”, headed by Mammadali Mammadov, is engaged in the restoration and preservation of these musical instruments for future generations. The laboratory operates under the Azerbaijan National Conservatory. Mammadali Mammadov has been in charge of the laboratory for 14 years.
A graduate of the Azerbaijan Institute of Oil and Chemistry, he worked in his field for a long time, but devoted his entire life to the reconstruction, restoration of folk instruments and the creation of national instruments of a new range. M. Mamedov’s collection includes 64 different musical instruments (improved, restored and new) with the relevant documentation confirming the copyright. Each of the musical instruments is registered with the Intellectual Property Agency.
An AZERTAC correspondent visited the laboratory and got acquainted with the work being carried out there. In the laboratory, located on the ground floor of the main building of the Azerbaijan National Conservatory, along with the musical instruments we were already familiar with, there were many unfamiliar ones. Each of the instruments had its own unique sound and appearance…
Mammadali muallim warmly remembers his unforgettable teacher, academician Azad Mirzajanzade, and his interesting, non-standard approaches.
According to our interlocutor, research work in the laboratory is carried out using precise scientific calculations. The work of Mammadali muallim and the laboratory staff is already bearing fruit. The instrumental families of tar, kemancha, saz and balaban have found wide application, for the first time a family of musical instruments consisting of kemancha and tar has been created. In 2004, the musical instrument “Byam-kemancha” (kemancha in bass timbre) and balaban in bass, tenor and piccolo timbres were developed. A presentation of these instruments was held at the Union of Composers of Azerbaijan, the author of the idea of the project is People’s Artist Siyavush Kerimi.
The presentation described the wide scope of the music laboratory’s activities. M. Mamedov developed more advanced forms of chang, kemancha, tar, santur, balaban. M. Mamedov’s cherished dream was to create an ensemble of Azerbaijani folk instruments with a sound range of 7 octaves. The dream is close to being realized…
“The ensemble we created has no analogues in the history of Azerbaijani music. We brought the ensemble’s sound range to seven octaves. Composers from all over the world write works for this range. To create this ensemble, the Heydar Aliyev Foundation provided us with four composers who created a musical piece for the ensemble “Echoes of the Ages”. Its first performance took place at the Heydar Aliyev Center at the opening and closing ceremonies of a grand event dedicated to the 650th anniversary of Nasimi. This was a great innovation in the history of Azerbaijani national musical instruments. All the instruments played by the ensemble’s soloists are national,” says Mammadali Mammadov.
Our interlocutor dreams that the ensemble “Echoes of the Ages” will acquire the status of a state one. According to Mamedali muallim, all wood materials used in the manufacture of musical instruments are local raw materials: “But we also use very beautiful mahogany wood imported from Africa.”
Mamedali muallim says that orders for the production of national musical instruments are already coming in from abroad: “We received an order from Israel to make a kemancha, a wonderful musical instrument was ordered for the Greek ambassador, a tar was ordered from America. We also had an order from France.”
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