THE SECRET OF ONE VOICE

In the last few years of his life he could most often be encountered in the Theatre of Mugham, of which he one of the founders. It was precisely there that I managed to talk to him for the last time. He was a distinguished, bright person, an interesting person to talk to. He never tired of talking about his experiences in life, what he had seen and lived through. For this was a big name khanende. Islam Rzayev was a celebrated master, who had travelled round more than 70 countries in the world, rubbing shoulders with the world's famous people.

Islam Rzayev was born in the village of Sardarli in Fizuli District on 11 November 1934. Like all the inhabitants of Nagornyy Karabakh, he loved music right from being a small child. The mughams [folk musical composition] and folk music captivated him. He would sing at the top of his voice all the way to school and back. To be more exact, his schoolmates would sing, and he would listen in silence. When they said, "You sing too, he would shake his head and say "I can't sing". But, once he was on his own, he would begin to sing in a quiet voice.

They were already in the seventh class, when oneday his schoolmates began to sing, joining in with him, singing the song that he always sang to himself. He knew one couplet from the song "Tel nazik". He had heard the folk singer Abulfat Aliyev singing it. This is precisely what he used to sing. His schoolmates started to reproach Islam, saying "You've got such a good voice, why don't you sing?"

He could not even imagine that that day would open a new page in his life. Many people soon learned of his talent and masterful performance.

Taking his time before on with the conversation, Islam Rzayev recalled: "In Nagornyy Karabakh, you don't call you father's sister "Bibi", but "Mama". I also called my father's sisters that. He had five sisters, the eldest of whom was called Nisa Mama. She was a noble and generous woman. On public holidays horse racing and equestrian competitions used to take place in a hamlet called Kondelen on the bank of the river of the same name in Fizuli. Nisa Mama used to ride in them too, dressed in the traditional clothing and used to win. For all of us she was the head of the family; we used to run to her with our problems. My schoolfriends also told her that I could sing, which made her very happy."

The well-known khanende Seyid Susinskiwas a native of the village of Horadiz in Fizuli District. Every year he came to Fizuli from Baku to spend his summer holidays there. At the same time as he was on holiday, he went around scouting for young talent. If he found a young talented person, he would make every effort to train them as a khanende and gain recognition for them. Aware of this, without saying a word to anyone, Nisa xanim ["xanim" is a term of respect when addressing women in Azerbaijan] waited for the celebrated khanende to arrive. As soon as she learned that Seyid Susinski had come to Fizuli again, she went to see him, taking her nephew with her.

Islam Rzayev trembled as he recalled that day in his life: "When I went into the courtyard, saw a man was sitting there. He had a glass of aromatic tea in front of him and was leisurely smoking a hookah. When we approached him, he stood up.I did not know who he was. It was not until later that I found out that he was the great khanende Seyid Susinski. Aga (that's what people used to call Seyid Susinski) greeted my aunt very respectfully: "Welcome, Nisaxanim. What lies ahead?" They greeted each other in a kindly fashion. We sat down, and we were served tea. Nisa Mama began to talk to Aga. They talked for quite a long time about how she used to take part in the horse races on an equal footing with men, even overtaking them. During the conversation Aga turned to me: "Drink your tea up, Sonny". My aunt told him that I was her nephew, the only son in the family. "They say that he has a good voice. Could you please check for us so that we know what to do about it?"

…When Seyid Susinski said: "Sing", I recalled the song 'Tel nazik' again. I began to sing, but he took exception to it, telling me "to sing at a higher pitch". Then I myself went for a higher pitch a couple of times. Islam Rzayev proudly recalls: "I managed to reach the pitch he wanted and started singing a couplet from "Tel nazik" starting from that pitch." He interrupted me: "That's enough. If he can already reach that high pitch, that's enough." Then he turned to my aunt: "Nisaxanim, this boy has a good voice. Bring him to Baku on 25-26 July. I shall take him into my class."

His aunt took him to Baku on set day. They spent the night at Seyid Susinski's home. In the morning they set out for the Asaf Zeynally music school. Islam Rzayev handed in his documents. They told him the examination would be in six days' time.

When the examination day came round, approximately 20 young people were anxiously waiting for the exam to start. The jury consisted of the celebrated masters of the art such as Seyid Susinski, Ahmad Bakixanov, Fikret Amirov, and Mirza Mansur. When his turn came, Ahmad Bakixanov said: "Sonny, sing us a mugham." Not knowing what to do, Islam replied, "I don't know any." "Why did you come here then?" A.Bakykhanov asked. "To learn," the talented little boy made the members of the commission laugh.

Seeing that they liked his answer, he quickly continued: "I know 'Tel nazik'." They asked him to sing it. Seyid Susinski whispered to his tar player Kamil Ahmad what note he should start on. That time he indicated a high note. Islam Rzayev only managed to sing one couplet from the song before they told him to leave the room. The exam had ended and the results were announced. Islam Rzayev got "five" [top mark - tr.]

It was 1951, and Islam Rzayev was already a student at the Asaf Zeynalli School of Music. He was studying in the class of the eminent khanende Seyid Susinski. He was one of the best students. He gladly learned the secrets of the art of mugham from the celebrated khanendes. He graduated in 1956. He was young and talented so new horizons opened up before him. But at that time he turned down an offer to work as a soloist at the Theatre of Opera and Ballet. Many years later he put this down to the fact that opera was not popular at the time. He said, "I didn't want to become an opera singer, because they were not well rewarded. Those who sang in the opera ceased to be popular after a year or two. I was offered the part of Majnun in the opera opposite Zeynab Xanlarova, who sang the part of Layla. But I turned it down."

In art Islam Rzayev followed in the footsteps of his teacher. Mugham meant more to him than anything else. When he graduated from the Asaf Zeynalli School of Music, he spent long years working as a soloist in the Azerbaijan State Philharmonic. Later on, he worked at the Theatre of Mugham, remaining the artistic director of this theatre for almost 20 years. 

He began to be recognised and loved right from his very first steps in the art. He won the hearts of many fans with his superb voice and professional manner of performance. His career was wide ranging and varied. Islam Rzayev was not only known in his motherland. He represented Azerbaijan in different parts of the world. He promoted the culture, music, the unique Azerbaijani mughams in Colombia, Peru, Cuba, Japan, India and Nepal…

The art of performance of People's Artiste Islam Rzayev was matchless. He performed "Cahargah", "Bayati-Kurd", "Mahur-Hindi", "Rast" and other mughams, tasnifs, folk and personal songs in his own special way. He had an extremely broad and varied repertoire. Many works by Said Rustamov, Cahangir Cahangirov, Bahram Nasibov and other prominent composers were first played by Islam Rzayev whose performance of them made them popular.

Islam Rzayev was not only famous as a khanende, but also as pedagogue, following in the footsteps of his mentor, Seyid Susinski. He drafted a programme for the University of Culture and Art. "The programme included 17 mughams. The deceased Seyid had known them really well, and I studied under him. There were no mughams like this in Azerbaijan. We restored them," I. Rzayev himself said. Thus, the secrets of Azerbaijani mughams were learned from him. He recalled his mentor over and over again. "On the instructions of Uzeyir bay [Hacibayov] and with his help, Seyid was the first person in Azerbaijan to train khanendes. One day Uzeyir bay addressed him: "Seyid, I need your help. I have opened a conservatoire, but no-one is allowing their child to study here. This stems from prejudices." Uzeyir bek assumed that, if the students were to receive big grants, the number of those wishing to study at the conservatoire would increase. Respecting Uzeyir bay highly, Seyid Susinski began to render financial assistance to the conservatoire. This went on for the whole of two years.

His turn came. Islam Rzayev loved the art of mugham just as much as the great Seyid Susinski and other celebrated masters did. He cared for it with the same ardour as they did. Professor of the Azerbaijan State Conservatoire (now the Azerbaijan National Conservatoire - Z. F.) Islam Rzayev eagerly taught the young students the secrets of the art of mugham and trained splendid musicians for Azerbaijan. Today most of his pupils are worthy followers of the school of khanendes.

The last years of his life were beset with serious trials and tribulations. Although the years of his life had left him with recollections that he talked about proudly, they had taken a toll on his health. Now he was "knocking at the hospital door" increasingly often. His fans often received saddening news about his state of health.

Islam Rzayev passed away on the 26 January 2008 at the age of 74 years. But his splendid voice, his incomparable performance has been preserved for ever, not only on magnetic tapes, but also in the memory of the admirers of his talent.