Today the Mukams Palace of the State Cultural Center hosts the opening of the International Festival and Conference “National Song and Music Art in the Heritage of the Peoples of the World”.
To participate in the event, organized by the initiative of President Serdar Berdimuhamedov by the Ministry of Culture of Turkmenistan, heads and representatives of international organizations, relevant ministries, singers and musicians – performers on national musical instruments, scientists and specialists, including musicologists, art historians and culture experts, university professors, cultural figures from Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Tatarstan (Russian Federation), Turkey and Uzbekistan arrived in Ashgabat.
Members of the country’s Government, heads of culture, public organizations, creative intelligentsia, mass media, faculty and students of specialized universities gathered in the hall of the Mukams Palace.
The significance of the large-scale event was emphasized by the Address of the President of Turkmenistan Serdar Berdimuhamedov to the participants of the International Festival and Conference “National Song and Music Art in the Heritage of the Peoples of the World”, read out at the beginning of the ceremony.
A kind of prologue of the celebration was the literary and musical composition “TÜRKMENIŇ KALBY”, which emphasized the inextricable link between the past and the present, the great deeds of the glorious ancestors of the Turkmen and the modern achievements of the new epoch of the Turkmen state.
Then a concert took place on the stage of the Mukams Palace, the program of which reflected the richest variety of musical genres, included unique samples of native folk singing traditions of different peoples.
The composition “ALKYŞ AÝDÝAS ARKADAGLY SERDARA”, dedicated to the President of Turkmenistan – the initiator of the spiritual improvement of society on the basis of the priceless national heritage, was performed by the ensemble of bakhshi-musicians of the Turkmen National Conservatory named after Maya Kuliyeva.
The audience warmly greeted song and music groups from Azerbaijan and the Islamic Republic of Iran, folk musicians from the Kyzylorda Regional Philharmonic (Kazakhstan), the State Philharmonic of Tajikistan named after A.Juraev, the Khorezm Musical Drama Theater (Uzbekistan), makom performers from Uzbek Bukhara.
The original national tunes were performed by the Ethno-Osh folklore and ethnographic group from the Kyrgyz Republic. The participants of the Alpar ethno-group from Kazan demonstrated their skills in playing traditional Tatar music on national instruments. Turkish folk melodies and dances were presented to the audience by the artists of the Türk dünýäsi musical and choreographic collective, which has repeatedly participated in international cultural events held in our country.
Turkmen art was represented by famous dance, folklore and musical groups of our country, popular performers of folk songs.
The finishing stroke of the concert was the song “ÝAŞA SEN FESTIWAL, DOSTLUK BAÝRAMY", dedicated to the holiday of friendship, which united representatives of fraternal peoples in Turkmenistan.
To its tune, all the participants of the concert took the stage, demonstrating a bright, rich and diverse palette of the art of their peoples.
An exhibition launched in the lobby of the Mukams Palace was a kind of addition to the celebration on the occasion of the opening of the International forum. In its exposition dedicated to the development of the multifaceted world of musical art of our country, museum values, thematic works of fine and decorative arts, ancient musical instruments, video recordings of works performed by bakhshi-musicians, as well as rare samples of sound reproducing equipment were presented.
In the afternoon, a scientific conference was held at the Arçabil Hotel, which was attended by members of the Government of Turkmenistan, heads and representatives of the TURKSOY international organization, relevant ministries and departments, universities and cultural centers, scientists and specialists from the countries participating in the Ashgabat forum.
Secretary General of the International Organization of Turkic Culture (TURKSOY) Sultan Raev stressed the importance of the current international forum in studying the roots of the spiritual heritage of mankind and spoke about the work carried out by TURKSOY to popularize the cultural heritage of the Turkic peoples, including preparations for the 300th anniversary of the great Turkmen poet-thinker Makhtumkuli Fragi, whose year TURKSOY declared 2024, as well as organizing events in connection with the declaration of the ancient Turkmen city of Anau as the Cultural Capital of the Turkic World – 2024.
The Minister of Culture of the Republic of Tajikistan Zulfiya Davlatzoda familiarized the audience with the work on the preservation of the musical heritage carried out in Tajikistan.
Olga Lyubimova, Minister of Culture of the Russian Federation, welcomed the conference participants via video link. As the head of the cultural sphere of the friendly country noted, “the language of music carries a huge emotional charge, expresses the richness and uniqueness of the national cultural heritage and unites the peoples of the world in creative communication”. Stressing the importance of the current international forum in preserving spiritual heritage, enriching knowledge, as well as in developing professional contacts and exchanging experience, she wished everyone successful events, bright performances and joy from meetings with art.
The issues of the study of musical folklore as the oldest layer of Iranian culture became the main topic of the report of the teacher of the Namek music school from the Islamic Republic of Iran Firozekh Modirkhorasani.
Professor, Doctor of Art History Saide Elemanova highlighted in her speech the current state of traditional song and vocal-instrumental culture in Kazakhstan and the preservation of intangible cultural heritage.
Professor of the National University of Arts of Kazakhstan, Candidate of Art History, storyteller, Honored Worker of the Republic of Kazakhstan Elmira Zhanabergen, Doctor of Art History, Professor of the State Conservatory of Uzbekistan Rustanbek Abdullaev, member of the Union of Composers of Uzbekistan, Head of the Department of Scientific- pedagogical training of personnel Bakhtiyor Ashurov, Doctor of Philosophy in art history, head of the Department of Urgench State University Batyr Rakhimov, director of the Ethno-Osh folklore and ethnographic group Topchubai Dosbaev and head of the Alpar ethno-group of the Republic of Tatarstan (RF) Almaz Askhadulin, and Iranian musician Meysam Ghomorlo Yusafali dedicated their reports to the originality and richness of the musical and poetic traditions of the ethnic groups of their peoples, the study of original performing traditions and bringing them to the next generations. Many performances were accompanied by video materials, demonstrations of various folk musical instruments and their capabilities.
The speakers stated that in the current epoch, large-scale work is being pursued on detailed study, wide popularization and preservation for future generations of the musical art of the Turkmen people, its ancestral cultural heritage, which occupies a special place in the treasury of world civilization. The primary sources of this art are a unique component of folk art, and classical literature of the Turkmen.
The books of Arkadag Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov “Turkmen Culture”, “Bakhshies – Harbingers of National Happiness”, “Music of Peace, Music of Friendship and Brotherhood” became important sources of information about folk musical culture.
In the evening, foreign guests were invited to the Main Academic Drama Theater of Turkmenistan named after the Great Saparmurat Turkmenbashi for the performance “Dutaryň owazy”, created based on the book of the Hero-Arkadag Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov “Music of Peace, Music of Friendship and Brotherhood”.
Creative meetings will be held tomorrow within the framework of the International Festival and Conference “National Song and Music Art in the Heritage of the Peoples of the World”. The musicians will give master classes on playing traditional national instruments of their peoples for students of the Special Music Boarding School at the Turkmen National Conservatory named after Maya Kuliyeva.
The participants of the festival will perform at “Watan” and “Türkmenistan” Cinema and Concert Centers, as well as on the stage of the National Musical and Drama Theater named after Makhtumkuli.
A cultural program has been organized for the guests, which will give them the opportunity to get acquainted with the museum values and sights of the Turkmen capital.
The closing ceremony of the International Festival and Conference “National Song and Music Art in the Heritage of the Peoples of the World”, the presentation of diplomas and the final concert of the masters of arts of Turkmenistan will be held on November 30 at the Mukams Palace of the State Cultural Center.
