| |
Music & song from
the mountains of Central Asia
The Academy of Shash
Maqam
Abduvali
Abdurashidov: Artistic Director, sato
Azada Ashurova: vocals, doira
Jamshed
Ergashev: vocals
Murod Jumayev: vocals,
doira
Sirajiddin Jurayev:
dutar
Kamoliddin Hamdamov:
vocals, tanbur
Nasiba Omonboyeva:
vocals
Khurshed Ibrohimov:
vocals, tanbur
Zumrad Samijonova: vocals
Shash
Maqam – literally, six
modes - is the best known style of
music among a wide repertoire of instrumental
music to flourish in the great cities
of Central Asia over the centuries,
cities such as Samarkand, Bukhara,
Tashkent, Khiva and Qoqand. Shash Maqam
is sophisticated, refined and somewhat
classical music which has its roots
in Samarkand and Bukhara, multicultural
cities where the musicians and indeed
the public comprised Tajiks, Uzbeks
and the Jews of Central Asia, the latter
particularly in Bukhara.
With its texts
inspired by Sufism, its lyrical melodies
and its intense instrumental accompaniment,
Shash Maqam is a greatly refined form
of music of profound beauty which is
to be found across all areas of traditional
society, from the sacred world of prayer
to the more extrovert world of dance.
During
the Soviet period, Shash Maqam was
transformed into a sort of cantata
performed by a choir and small orchestra
with local instruments. It has since
undergone a period of revival and its
vitality has encouraged the rediscovery
and updating of ancient and authentic
styles.
In Tajikistan, the leader of
this movement is Abduvali Abdurashidov,
who, with the support of the Aga Khan
Music Initiative in Central Asia (AKMICA),
started the Academy of Shash Maqam.
Here young musicians are offered a
rigorous and comprehensive education
to a high standard.
By confining his
ensemble to the bare essentials - some
voices, frame drums, two or three traditional
long-necked lutes, the very rarely
played Sato,
which is a slightly curved tanbur - Abduvali
Abdurashidov has clarified the range
of the instruments remarkably well and
softened the musical form. His work has
breathed new life into one of the great
musical traditions of the Muslim world
and endorses the important place that
Shash Maqam enjoys on the musical map
of Eurasia.
With
the support of The Aga
Khan Trust for Culture
and
the Aga Khan Music Initiativei in
Central Asia (Akmica)
The Aga Khan Music Initiative
in Central Asia (AKMICA) works to
protect and to promote the musical
traditions of Central Asia and the
Silk Route, in Kazakhstan, Kirghizistan,
Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
The
Aga Khan Trust for culture (AKTC)is
the cultural agency of the Aga Khan Development
Network, which promotes and realises
projects the objective of which is to
revitalise the heritage of the communities
of the Muslim world and to contribute
to their social and economic development
|
