VOICE OF THE HEART

Anatollu Qaniyev's inimitable voice is one in a thousand. A profound spirituality and delicate lyricism and expression are inherent in his work. The songs of the soloist of the Azerbaijani State Philharmonic, one of the most loved singers of past years, Anatollu Qaniyev, "Ay qiz", "Qonag gal biza" (from the film "Koroglu"), "Naz-naz", "Pancarama qondu cicak", "Reyhan", "Teymurun mahnisi" (from the film "Yenilmaz batalyon", "Badamli" and many others are still loved and remembered to this day. Anatollu's son, the singer Heydar Anatollu, talks to our correspondent about what kind of father Anatollu was, about his momentous meetings and many other things.

- Your father had an unusual name - Anatollu - for an Azerbaijani. What is behind that?

- My grandfather - my father's father - Mirza-Heydar moved to Azerbaijan with his family from the Turkish province of Anadolu at the end of the 1920s. He was appointed director of a school in Neftcala. My father, who was named Anatollu in memory of the homeland of grand-dad Mirza-Heydar and grandma Tofa, was born on 10 February 1931. My father was not even a year old when he lost his mother. At the age of eight, the year before the start of the Great Patriotic War, my grandfather Mirza Heydar passed away. Before he went into the army, my father's elder brother Sabir brought little Anatollu to Baku to see his relatives who decided to bring up and educate the orphan. My father grew up in the narrow little streets of Cambarakand. He was a lively and mischievous child who loved to play football with the boys in the yard.

- And music didn't enter his head?

- As my father used to say to me, he never dreamed of the theatre. He simply loved to sing. When neighbours gathered in the yard they used to ask father to sing something heart-warming. In 1953, after returning from the army, my father bumped into Mobil Ahmadov, the future actor of the Theatre of Musical Comedy, outside the Baku Musical Conservatoire.  At that time Mobil was a student at the conservatoire and studying in Bul-Bul's class. Father told his new friend that he, too, wanted to sing. Mobil Ahmadov made an agreement with the great teacher about having an audition and took Anatollu to Bul-Bul's class.  The maestro listened attentively as my father sang and gave his verdict. "You are a natural! God gave you that voice but you must learn how to control it," Bul-Bul told my father and sent him to the Asaf Zeynalli School of Music in Baku which, by an irony of fate, was situated in the same building. My father had an audition there and was taken into the class of Firuddin Mehdiyev who was a pupil of Bul-Bul's. At that time the future Azerbaijani people's artistes Zeynab Xanlarova and Islam Rzayev were studying with my father. Another one in the same group was Oqtay Agayev, with whom my father was friends until the end of his life. The Azerbaijani merited artiste and singer Mammad Samadov was also a close friend of my father's. They were inseparable. And all my life I considered grand-dad Mammad to be my natural grandfather. Incidentally, I am still friendly with his sons. My father was also friendly with Muslim Magomayev, who had great respect for my father. I remember, after my father had passed away, following one of Magomayev's concerts in Baku, I happened to be backstage. Muslim Magomedovich was being photographed with fans and signing autographs, and I was too shy to approach him. A friend of ours took me up to him and said: "Muslim, I'd like you to meet the son of Anatollu Qaniyev." Muslim Magomedovich looked at me closely and said: "Your father Anatollu was a real 'star'…" That was how Magomayev referred to the people he most respected…

- What happened to Anatollu Qaniyev when he left the music school?

- When he left the music school my father became a soloist at the choir of the Azerbaijani SSR Television and Radio Committee where he worked right up to the beginning of the 1960s. His colleagues and friends, with whom I, too, had the good fortune of working many years later, said he was taken on as a soloist without any trial period whatsoever. At that time the choir was led by that distinguished composer, conductor and choirmaster Cahangir Cahangirov, who treated all the young musicians and singers like a father. Some time later my father became a soloist with the Azerbaijani State Philharmonic, at the same time appearing with the variety orchestra of the State Television and Radio Company. My father travelled all over Europe and the Soviet Union and appeared in many of the country's theatres. He was a favourite with the public and they would recognize him in the street and ask for his autograph.

- What do you think was the secret of Anatollu Qaniyev's popularity?

- What was his secret? I think it was not just in my father's unique voice, but also in the sincere and heart-warming way he sang. Every time you hear his voice you have a calm and good feeling. It is about 30 years since my father died but his songs are still remembered and loved. What is surprising is that the younger generation, who would have grown up with different music, also listens to him.

- What sort of father was he like off-stage?

- A great joker and humorist. He loved to poke fun at his friends but his jokes were inoffensive and made you feel good. He was a wonderful father! When my younger sister Tofa, who was named after our grandmother, and I were quite small, father always used to spoil us: he would buy cookies and sweets, take us for walks, each time rescuing us from our mother's anger when she used to get mad at our childish mischief. Our parents never beat us and never sent us into a corner as a punishment. When we started growing up, father began to be much stricter towards us, especially me. He believed that a boy should be taught courage, strength of spirit and independence when he started to become a young man. He would give me freedom to do what I wanted, although without my realizing it, he was in control. His greatest demand on me was that I should always be honest about everything and be responsible for what I said and did.

- As far as we are aware, he was the most popular performer of his time who was always being invited to weddings…

- That's right. In those days in Baku and its suburbs it was customary to hold weddings in houses or marquees. Times were different then: there weren't as many restaurants as there are today and no official ceremonial venues at all. Tables were laid in rooms and corridors, the doors and windows were flung open and people strolled, danced and made merry. There was one special thing about such weddings: according to custom, the women and the men were seated in separate rooms.  My father, who was often invited to weddings as the vocalist, didn't like this kind of discrimination and at one such function he suggested to the host that all the guests should be seated together. The host, as a sign of respect for my father, did everything he requested. The wedding went down a storm! The next family celebration at which my father appeared was held in one venue for everyone. That was the subtle way that my father changed the wedding rules in Baku. He was the performer most invited to weddings. Some people even changed the date and time of their celebration so that my father could perform for the guests. Sometimes he took me with him and I could watch him singing from the side. He never cut corners. Wherever he appeared he gave 100 per cent, whether it was an ordinary wedding or a state concert.

- What do you think is the best song sung by Anatollu Qaniyev?

- It's hard to pick out one or two favourite songs. I love all his songs and I wouldn't even dare try to sing them in public. Although, a little while ago my friends asked me to record a few of my father's songs. I did, but I wasn't happy with the result. I'm a long way short of my father's standard… I often listen to father's records. In my library at home I have recordings of Anatollu Qaniyev's songs, the originals of which are kept in the Azerbaijani State Television and Radio Foundation. Each time I find songs among the recordings which I've never heard before. My father had a huge repertoire! He was 54 years of age when he passed away. His heart suddenly stopped beating. He was healthy and cheerful and rarely ill. He was on his way home when he suddenly felt bad, sat down on a seat in front of the house and…When the ambulance came it was too late. In his jacket pocket I found a ferry ticket to what was then Krasnovodsk where a few days later he was due to sing at a wedding of friends. But fate decided otherwise. Fate has its own rules…