Press conference about the presentation by others rights to samples of the Azerbaijani folk music relating to the beginning of XX century and stored in Russia

Assembly hall
Opening time: 12:00
Organizer: Department of cinematography of the Ministry of culture and tourism

On the 6th of May at the Assembly hall of Museum Center took place Press conference about the presentation by others rights to samples of the Azerbaijani folk music.Recently, a number of recordings and documents about Azerbaijani folk music were discovered in the “Pushkinsky Dom”, the Institute of Russian Literature in St. Petersburg. A number of samples of mugham and ashiq music and other Azerbaijani folk music were collected during expeditions conducted in the 1920s and 30s and had been labelled as Armenian national music. As a result of negotiations held by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism with the Russian authorities, these materials were copied digitally and returned to their homeland. Samples of folk music recorded on expeditions conducted during the Russian Empire and later in various regions of the Soviet Union, beginning from the end of the 19th century were collected and stored in the “Pushkinsky Dom”. It was ascertained that many sound recordings of Azerbaijani folk music are held in the phonogram archive. In order to collect information about these recordings, to obtain them in the future and establish the legal position, a number of business trips were made to Saint Petersburg by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism. Sound recordings made by Kh. Kushnaryov, Y. Gippius and Z. Evald in each and every village in the Caucasus between 1927 and1929 are of special interest. These samples were recorded in villages now in Armenian territory: Zulaghaj, Gozeldere, Ashaghi Arjaman, Gorush, Qarakilse, Bazarchay, Qushbelek, Gerger, Malishki, Keshishkend, Molla Goyche, Shulaveren, Arkhveli, Qirkhdeyirman, Karvansara, as well as in the cities of Tbilisi and Irevan and other settlements by mechanical sound recording. Even though we do not come across the words “Azerbaijan” or “the music of Azerbaijan” in the registration documents, Azerbaijani music: mughams, recordings of song and dance make up a large part of the collection. Their names are proof: Rast, Chahargah, Hijaz, Mahur, Shur, Bayati Shiraz, Mirze Huseyn Segah, Sari Gelin, Koroghlu, Khalabaji, Otuz bir, Choban Bayati and others. Both Azerbaijanis and non-Azerbaijanis perform these songs. (The names of the performers are mentioned in Kushnaryov’s notes). We should specifically note that the performances of all the khanendes are in the Azerbaijani language. This proves once more that these belong to the folklore of the people of Azerbaijan. The digital copies of these sound recordings are ready and, considering their importance for museum, it is intended to keep them in the Azerbaijan State Museum of Music Culture. These records will be used for research purposes.