WHILE THERE IS THE MUGAM THERE IS LIFE

Abdullayev Agaxan was born in Baku on 6 January 1950. In 1973 he was invited to the Abilov House of Culture as a teacher of the mugam. From 1977 he worked as a teacher of the mugam at the Asaf Zeynally Music School. He began his concert work in the philharmonic in 1975. He performed concert programmes in Russia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Georgia, USA, Canada, France, Austria, India, Germany and other countries. In 1992 he was awarded the honorary title of "merited artiste", and in 1998 "people's artiste of the Azerbaijani Republic". In 2010 he was awarded the "Sohrat" order by the Azerbaijani president.

We did this interview with the people's artiste the day before his birthday. We were pleased to see him in such fine form. Once again we heartily congratulate the people's favourite and we wish him good health and a long life.

- Agaxan muallim, let's begin by asking how do you feel on your birthday?

- Thanks to God, I feel fine because I am with my family and my favourite people, the whole nation. This is what gives me support.  I have the feeling that I have just come into this world and have been born again. God has not turned his back on me. The state, especially Mehriban xanim Aliyeva has played a big part in my return to life and the arts. May God protect them all. They have been my support at a difficult time. I went to Germany again for the last time for treatment with the support of Mehriban xanim. Thanks to God, I already feel fine. God willing, I am planning to return to the stage in the summer. I have missed it very much, and my people, too. And I know they have missed me. After all, a performer always has a direct interaction with the people. I have not performed for a whole two years. But now I feel fine. What's more, I never had any problems with my voice. There were a few problems with my ears and my nose which prevented me from singing. But they are all over now. The doctors have just asked me to take a little rest. 

- Agaxan muallim, over these last two years you've only heard yourself singing just once, haven't you? What did you feel like listening to it?

- I feel fine now and I can sing a little in a low voice. So I've stopped listening. But during those two years when I couldn't sing I still listened. The thought came to me: "Oh, God, surely I will again be able to sing these mugams with the same inflections? Tears poured down my cheeks. But I hung on and didn't show the alarm that had gripped me. Now I can listen and repeat, and I can see - I am still the same Agaxan and I have enough strength to perform the mugam.

- They say you know who your friends are when you're down. During the time you were cut off from your favourite pastime you probably had plenty of time to take stock. What did you think about?

- Until one encounters difficulties, while one is healthy, there is much one does not see. It may be that one just doesn't pay heed to it. But when you become ill or find yourself in a difficult situation you do a lot of re-thinking. For example, when you see the changing behaviour of those who apparently doted on you, "couldn't imagine life without you", you wonder why such things happen in life. Because I haven't changed. When I was ill, I remained the same as I was before when I was earning a lot of money. I'm still the same Agaxan. I have always been honoured to have the love and respect of the people. I am very sorry when I come across such people. I would like to point out, too, that it was only when I was ill that I realized the whole depth of the people's love for me and the concern the state showed towards me. It was not only my fellow countrymen from all over Azerbaijan who were concerned about my health, but also people from Iran, Turkey and other countries. Many even brought offerings and prayed to God that I would recover. But some of those who I thought were close friends turned out to be not worthy of the name.  I was glad I was able to see their true face.

- What is Agaxan muallim's philosophy of life?

- If God has given you life, you must be of use to someone. Both as a person of the arts and as an ordinary person, too. You must leave a trace in your life so that when you have gone your children will proudly say that they are your sons. As the poem says: "Everyone must need someone; who needs someone who is not needed?" I have served my people and my country with honour, and in return I have sensed their need. What more could anyone want?!

- What is the role of the teacher in shaping a good singer? Would you say Alim Hasimov was a success of yours?

- First of all, of course, a teacher shows his pupil the way, teaches him the secrets of the mugam and all its elements. In my long teaching career I have had hundreds of pupils, but there are only a few I would consider outstanding. But someone like Alim comes long only once. When the work of a teacher has not been wasted, i.e. at least one gifted pupil comes along out of all the rest, that means one's efforts have not been in vain. Alim is an outstanding artiste and, of course, I am proud of him.

- What do you think about the young performers? Are there some talented people among them?

- You know, one performer can't be the same as another, because every artiste has their own method, their own style of playing. For example, Cabar Qaryagdi and Xan Susinski have their own style and their own method. Alim goes his own way. If the youngsters work hard and overcome all their problems then they can become fine performers. But to achieve this, I repeat, you must work tenaciously and always strive to do better, just like Alim, although he is already a world-renowned artiste. You should never be satisfied. As the saying goes, the more a tree produces, the lower its branches. If the young performers can remember all this they will be successful in the future. The mugam itself is an education. After all, the gazals performed by the  xanandas are also an education. By performing the mugam and sensing it, you realize that you have a duty to make known the wisdom contained in it. There is no way a person without feelings can become a performer of the mugam. The mugam is the embodiment of our past, our customs and traditions and our culture. The mugam is the path to self-awareness.

- Which is the mugam that is closest to the heart of Agaxan muallim?

- That is a very difficult question. An artiste who knows the mugam cannot say that the Segah, the Cahargah or the Rast are more pleasing to his soul. In performing each mugam I experience different feelings. They are all close to my heart and soothe it. The mugams are my life.

- As you know, the mugam has spread to many countries. What do you think is the home of the mugam?

- The mugam is well known in all the countries of the East - Iran, Turkey, India, Pakistan and many others. But I would say its home is here in Azerbaijan. That's my feeling. The Azerbaijani people are a great people. Azerbaijanis live in many - I would say all - corners of the world. These people have given mankind Nizami, Fizuli, Xan Susinski and many other geniuses. The fact that international competitions, festivals and symposiums of the mugam have been held over several years in our country proves that Azerbaijan is the home of the mugam. There are not so many performers of the mugam and its dasgahs as there are in Azerbaijan.

- We have never noticed any discontent among the xanandas. Is this not because the performing of the mugam is an extremely serious form of art?

- You know, a true artiste never gets involved in scandal. He doesn't even think about it. There are geniuses and people who know their stuff in every sphere of life. Such people never resort to anything sordid. I have met some geniuses in my life. They have been so ordinary, modest and undemonstrative that we can only take them as an example. And such artistes as Alibaba and Arif muallim are with us today, and we learn respect for one another from them. The late Hacibaba Huseynov once told me a story. There once was a great xananda named Sakili Alaskar. Very few of his recordings have been left. His playing of the rahab was unique. It was so unique that when he died Cabar Qaryagdi said: "It is not Alaskar we are burying today but the rahab." I remember Hacibaba Huseynov saying that he once asked Said Susinski what kind of xananda Sakili Alesker was. Sakili Alesker was such a genius of a xananda that Susinski left such an apparently simple question unanswered, considering it to be an insult to the performer's memory. This recollection is a vivid demonstration of the respect which performers of the mugam feel for one another.