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Heritage
Safiaddin Urmavi and Uzeyir Hajibayov
Author:
City
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Baku
Country :
Azerbaijan
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The last XVth Chapter of the treatise "Kitab al-Advar" was dedicated to a very important theme. Urmavi simply named it "About the beginning of music". Safiaddin started the chapter with a simple consulting sentence applying to the students. Then in order to explain the ways of playing the author presented four consequent melodies simple for playing.
It is known that in the XIII century when Urmavi lived there was not five line note system of recording music and we do not have any papers with the music of that period written down in them. But how did Urmavi record the melodies? Urmavis note recording system was based on corresponding the letters of abjad alphabet to ciphers.
Urmavi explained basing on which mugham and metre he had composed the introduced melody. We should note it is not easy to transfer Urmavis tabulatura - tables into contemporary note system authentically because in practice we have met various transfers. Some scientists both in the East and in the West examined the records of Urmavis melodies. We can name the English scholar H. Farmer, the French scholar B. R. DErlange, the Arabic scholars Adil al Bakri and Hashim ar Rajab, among the Azerbaijan ones - Afrasiyab Badalbayli, the Uzbek scholar N. R. Rajabov. The author of these lines did her best to transfer the scholars melodies into the contemporary note record and presented the scholars first melody to the readers of her book. ")10
U. Hajibayov also dedicated the second part of his book to "Principles of Composing Music in Azerbaijan Modes in Folk Style". He demonstrated the rules of composing music by means of the modes "Rast", "Shur", "Segah" built of the succession of perfect quarts; "Shushtar", "Chargah" built of perfect quints, "Bayati -Shiraz" built of minor sixths and "Humayun" built of major sixth and introduced their note examples. Besides, Hajibayov showed the ways of composing music in the auxiliary modes which scales were built by means of the combination of unequal tetrachords differed by their structure. At the end of the book the composer presented supplementary "Examples of folk music" and analysed them in details.
Hajibayov wrote in his book: "For me, as a composer, my work on the main principles of Azerbaijan music was of great practical importance which enabled me to compose my opera "Koroghlu". Strict laws and rules that form the basis of Azerbaijan musical art (which I followed while composing my opera) did not suppress the gust of my creative intentions, but on the country, as a strong foundation, they encourage me greatly and lightened the vast endless space of my free, creative imagination".")11
As a result of the comparative analysis of the fundamental scientific work "Kitab al-Advar" by Urmavi and "Principles of Azerbaijan folk music" we can say that our revision was very interesting and significant. It is natural that there are a great number of communities and at the same time, some differences. The main result is that, of course, the great composer Uzeyir Hajibayov who lived in Azerbaijan in the XX century was the successor of the world - wide known musicologist scholar Safiaddin Urmavi who lived and composed in the XIII century. Using "Kitab al-Advar" by Urmavi as a source he created a new treatise "Principles of Azerbaijan folk music" meeting modern requirements. 710 years have passed since Urmavis death. By the way it is this year when 120 years have passed since U. Hajibayovs birth.
Nowadays, like other splendid greationsof medival art, and m miniatures or acrhitectural monuments, his treatises are sirprising and challening. And it is not important where Urmavi was born and in which language he wrote. Today he belongs to the whole East, the mankind. So we should be united in the desire to immortalize memory of him. His works must be published in a considerable amount as well as the great scholars ones dedicated to Urmavis treatises. That is very important. I have been to the town of Urmiya twice and every time I raised this issve. It would be so great to name one of the streets or a music school in Urmiya after this great person. Nowadays in Azerbaijan "Ancient folk musical instruments" company is named after Safiaddin Urmavi. I wish such actions took place oftener both in Iran and in Azerbaijan.
10 Zemfira Safarova. "Safiaddin Urmavi", Baku, “Ergun”, 1995.
"Azerbaijan music scholarship (XIII-XX centuries)", Baku, "Elm", 1998.
11 "Principles of Azerbaijan folk music", p.12
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