NATIONAL BRAND

What do we know about the song Cucalarim? Simply to mention it takes us back to our childhood, even those who are not the same age, but much younger. Cucalarim were small girl-chicks dressed in yellow fluffy dresses, dancing on the stage, with Suqra Bagirzada singing the solo part, as was the case in the 6th episode of the Nu Pogodi cartoon, in which the wolf, chasing the rabbit, finds himself in a hen house and fighting with a cock. This funny scene unfolds with the Azerbaijani song playing in the background. These are wonderful and warm recollections of the favourite song, not least because it accompanied almost every event in our childhood. What do we know about this well-loved song? Not very much. But we ought to, because Cucalarim turned 60 quite recently while, in 2005, together with several other Azerbaijani songs, it was included in the American project "Voices of the World", a multimedia project authored by Professors Mary Goetze and Jay Fern (Indiana University, USA) and released by Mj & Associates in conjunction with /McGraw Hill. The project aimed to introduce the music of other nations to American children. Along with music from Brazil, Ghana, the Netherlands, Zimbabwe, India, Ireland, Cyprus, Korea, Mexico, New Zealand, Norway, Philippines, South Africa and Japan; the six DVDs included Azerbaijani music.

This song is sung with pleasure even today, while it first became the hit of the 20th century, speaking a modern language. It was sung by choirs in kindergartens and schools, pioneer camps and in the streets of Baku. This children's song about chickens was composed by the well-known Azerbaijani composer Qambar Huseynli, with lyrics by Tofiq Mutalibov, in 1949. It was first sung by Arif Qaziyev (now director of the Mugham theatre, a celebrated figure of art and stage manager) within the Baku House of Pioneers group subsequently named Cucalarim. The song became popular outside Azerbaijan after 1959, when 12-year-old Suqra Bagirzada, now a celebrated actress and florist, performed it at an Azerbaijani art campaign in Moscow. Accompanied by the Azerbaijani State Symphony Orchestra, the song made it onto the "Best Children's Voices of the World" album released by the USSR record company Melodiya. It was subsequently sung in Russian (My chickens) and a dozen other languages. Together with the Arsin Mal Alan operetta by the great composer Uzeyir Hacibayov, Cucalarim became a flagship for Azerbaijani music all over the world. Very few know that Suqra was chosen to perform the song from 150 children. The song made such a great impression in Moscow that the children gave four encore renditions. The performance was quite demanding and the children rehearsed it for 10 days, from morning to evening.

Mascot song 

Suqra Bagirzada became the Cucalarim soloist by chance. In those days she was a member of one of the numerous centres of the Baku House of Pioneers. When Cucalarim were preparing for the campaign in Moscow, the current soloist had already grown up and wasn't suitable for the role. Suqra was noticed by the ensemble's art director, Avsar Cavansirov, and she soon became the new solo singer in the group. Today Suqra Bagirzada says one of the most colourful moments of her life was the furore produced by Cucalarim on the stage of the USSR Bolshoi Theatre. Suqra remembers that the album of the "World's Best Voices" also contained a song by the legendary Robertino Loretti. For her it was a miracle that the Cucalarim song she sang was on the same album. Moreover, she sang the song to the accompaniment of the Azerbaijani State Symphony Orchestra conducted by Maestro Niyazi. Following this outstanding success she received a free ticket to the Artek pioneers' camp, while Rasid Behbudov was tasked with giving singing lessons to the young soloist. Subsequently, Cucalarim became the talisman of Suqra's whole life. At 14, she was in Zeynab Kazimova's short film "Along the Streets and Roads" for which she was recommended by the cameraman who filmed Cucalarim at the Bolshoi theatre. The debut was a success and Suqra was soon invited by film director Agarza Quliyev to play the part of Etar in the film Ulduz. After that she never parted from cinematography. 

The song became a kind of beacon for its first singer Arif Qaziyev, who dedicated himself to cinematography. After graduating from the M. A. Aliyev Azerbaijan State Institute of Arts and the Leningrad State Institute of Theatre, Music and Cinematography, Qaziyev became a stage manager and dedicated himself to the masterpieces of our musical art. He was spotted by the song's composer Qambar Huseynli, who was in charge of a children's centre at the Ganca House of Pioneers. The city was called Kirovabad in those days. Arif Qaziyev was a member of the centre and was quite a mischievous boy. While playing some power chords on the piano, the composer asked the boy to sing a short verse from his new song. Qaziyev sang but felt embarrassed. He said he didn't like the lyrics and that if he sang it, all the kids would laugh at him and start calling him a chicken. That is exactly what happened. Some time later, Arif sang Cucalarim in Baku, on the stage of the Muslum Maqumayev Azerbaijan State Philharmonic Society. The first secretary of the Central Committee of the Azerbaijan Communist Party, Mircafar Bagirov, who was at the concert, called Cucalarim the "chickens from Kirovabad". He praised the performance highly and the name "chickens from Kirovabad" caught on for quite a long time. 

Arif Qaziyev believes that Cucalarim was his ticket to maturity, while millions of other kids simply grew up to its pleasant melody. It needed no promotion; it was on everyone's lips even though it was quite plain and simple.     

Song and author 

Cucalarim opened a window of opportunity to three generations of Azerbaijani singers. Elderly musicians recall that Qambar Huseynli was a true national composer who, together with Uzeyir Hacibayov, was very well-versed in the art of Ashug. He had in-depth knowledge and his opinion was always appreciated. Even the most outstanding Ashug performers stood in reverent awe of his professional assessment. It was impossible to deceive him. It was also extremely difficult and an honour to earn his praise. It was thanks to Qambar Huseynli's competence that Ashug music prospered in the 1960s-70s and all records was made under his direct control. Ad-libbing and showiness were not tolerated.

Huseynli established a women's Ashug ensemble on Azerbaijani radio and composed songs for it himself. Programmes featuring the group were very popular and received a lot of feedback. Those who knew Qambar Huseynli miss his expert assessment and profound knowledge. There was nothing specifically compositional about his work, it was amazingly natural, plain and harmonious. Professionals say that Cucalarim is a graphic example of simplicity resulting from broad generalizations. The genre of children's music is deeply perceived and experienced. "The simplicity of Cucalarim's melody is somehow enticing: this is how a child prattles on and on about the same thing. There is a tenderness of gesture, slightly awkward and touching, which expresses the children's desire to take care of those even more helpless than themselves. And the whole scene is built upon new images springing up in a child's imagination. What children of this great country did not sing "Chuck-chuck, my chickens!" said Azerbaijani composer Aydin Azimov, at a ceremony dedicated to Cucalarim.   

Cucalarim is the complex within the simple. The song's harmony expresses the development of Azerbaijani folk song. The repeated refrain consisting of just three sounds is based on the Ashug melody "Saritel", while different intonations are based only on national expression. Music experts believe that, in this way, Cucalarim has become an emblem of Azerbaijan, a brand of national music similar to Russia's "Vo pole bereza stoyala" and Georgia's "Suliko".