A CAPTIVATING TUNE

"How he sings!" exclaimed eastern music fans, captivated by Azerbai-jani mugam when Alim Qasimov first represented Azerbaijan at the festival "Between the Caucasus and the Hebrew Mountains" in 2000. It seemed at the time to be an unrepeatable event. But, nine years later, Azerbaijan was again a talking point at this traditional Israeli festival.

The young Azerbaijani xananda (mugam performer) Bayimxanim Mirzayeva displayed once again the richness of Azerbaijan's ancient cultural heritage. Participants from 42 countries and guests of the festival could not hide the fact that they were simply captivated by the sound of the mugams performed by Bayimxanim to the accompaniment of Israeli musicians. "As you know, People's Artist Alim Qasimov represented Azerbaijan at this festival in 2000. This time I was selected, which made me very happy and, at the same time, placed a huge responsibility onto my shoulders. I felt the power of Azerbaijani mugam," Bayimxanim told R+.

She regards her participation in this festival as a real examination, though this was not the first time she had represented Azerbaijan at an international event. "I have represented Azerbaijani mugams outside the country before. But this time I felt I carried a special responsibility. I was trusted to represent the country at a festival for the second time, following Alim Qasimov. I had to live up to this trust. What is more, I had to perform not with an Azerbaijani trio, but with Israeli musicians," said the young singer.

Bayimxanim says that she was flattered by the applause of the Israeli audience, which continued unabated throughout the concert: "For the first time at this festival, I gave a concert lasting an hour and 45 minutes. To be honest, the interest in our mugams from foreigners, especially Israelis, surpassed my expectations. Their applause and warm wishes filled my heart with pride for my country and culture. Of course, this was not just an assessment of my performance, but also recognition of the greatness of Azerbaijan and its culture."

The singer was even more amazed by the reaction of Iranians who admitted that Azerbaijani mugam is even more beautiful than their own, Iranian, mugam.

The singer said that she was very proud to learn that the foreign audience is well-acquainted with Azerbaijani culture. "I enjoyed singing Cahangir Cahangirov's 'Ay Qiz' at the audience's request, although I had not prepared this song for the festival. I was very flattered to learn that Azerbaijani music is so well known and loved," Bayimxanim said in her interview with us.

Out of modesty, the young xananda had difficulty in answering whether she had managed to live up to expectations. Instead, our first participant in the "Between the Caucasus and the Hebrew Mountains" international festival, People's Artist Alim Qasimov, answered the question. "I like Bayimxanim's singing. I did not hear her performance at the Israeli festival, but I can say with confidence that she was chosen because her talent is different from that of her peers. Her very participation in the festival is a great achievement. There are many gifted youngsters in Azerbaijan and, in recent years, the number of young and talented mugam singers has been growing. I advise them to continue working on themselves in order to conquer even greater heights."

In this context, it would be appropriate to stress the special attitude towards mugam in Azerbaijan. This genre of oriental music comes from ancient Indian, Arab and Turkic-Shaman music cultures. But today mugam has reached far beyond the borders of the East and has become the property of the world. It is being researched in different countries, while people of different nationalities and faiths enjoy listening to it. However, there is no country giving so much attention as Azerbaijan to the development and promotion of mugam. Suffice to remember the mugam competitions and the first international mugam festival organized by the Heydar Aliyev Foundation. The music community remains impressed by that event.

All this goes to show the strategic role that Azerbaijan has allocated to culture, making its weighty contribution to the development of dialogue between civilizations. In this endeavour, mugam serves as a key, tuning mankind into harmony and peaceful co-existence.