“Nowruz is the New Year traditionally celebrated by Iranians and other Central Asians on March 21st , or at the time of the vernal equinox. This day also corresponds to the first day of Farvardin, the first month of the Persian solar calendar. At least 300 million people around the world are estimated to celebrate it, mainly in Iran, Turkey, Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, India, China, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Pakistan, Tajikistan and in Turkmenistan. Naturally, it is also celebrated by the diasporas from these countries, present all over the world.
Source: www.culture.gouv.fr
The deep strings of the Aghan Homayoun Sakhi celebrate the plural heritage of Afghan musical art
“Afghan folk song and mystical poetry draw from a rich musical palette, a harmony of sound colors where the Pashtun, Tajik, Baloch and Hazara traditions intersect. The incisive, metallic and Mercurian sounds of the rubab lute has three melodic strings and twenty sympathetic strings, evoking a country where the mountain universe of these peoples has mystical inspiration, warrior pride, blends with the first refinements of the courts of India.The robab is indeed the origin of the sarod lute that This instrument is closely linked today to the personality of Homayoun Sakhi who, throughout the world, gives real notoriety to the Afghan lute. , singer, composer a prodigy symbol of the revival of classical and traditional Afghan music.His music has already conquered the public of the Théâtre de la Ville during his first concert in Europe, he has been pr ogram in 2001. Now living in the United States, he has developed his own musical style, singularly reinterpreting the classical repertoire to breathe new life into it. Always in search of the right note in the depths of improvisational music, he regularly defies the limits of his musical repertoire and confronts musicians from all walks of life.”
Source: City Theater
The Kazakh Epic Song
“At the heart of a region dominated by the steppe, Kazakhstan extends from the shores of the Caspian Sea to the borders of Uzbekistan and China. The Kazakh musical tradition is the sublime representation of its history, the way of life nomad and its infinite spaces, lands of rides and fantastic conquests. It is embodied in the dombra, a long-necked two-stringed lute, which adorns every Kazakh house. A proverb says thus: “A real Kazakh, does not is not a Kazakh; the real Kazakh is the dombra”. In this musical universe, a particular figure emerges from times past: the zhyrau, epic singer. Formerly an adviser to the khans, he predicted war and embodied the moral and spiritual code of the The epic song is a very old tradition which combines epic stories, philosophical reflections and moral tales.The particularity of this song, accompanied by the dombra, is its guttural tone which creates the link between the zhyrau and the ancestors (aruakh). Distant reminiscent of overtone singing, this voice is rooted in shamanism. If previously long dastan (epics) were sung in yurt camps, the repertoire has adapted to changes in society and includes shorter pieces, called term or zhyr – excerpts from dastan, Kazakh translations of Arabic classical texts and Persian or original compositions imbued with spirituality and ethics. Ulzhan Baïbusynova, originally from the Kzyl-Orda region in southern Kazakhstan, is one of the greatest current zhyrau invited to perform both in Kazakhstan and around the world. Bathed in music from birth, she began to sing and play the dombra on her own at the age of 8. Her obvious talent quickly made her notice and she first received the teaching of Chamchat Tulepova (1930-2002), one of the first women to practice this art reserved for men. In the absence of brothers, Chamchat took up the tradition of her father and then passed it on to her students, thus paving the way for a new school of women’s singing. Ulzhan continued his apprenticeship with the famous zhyrau, Almas Almatov (1956), who updated this art marginalized in the Soviet era. Having become a zhyrau master herself, she sings the classical terms and also her own compositions. After leading the National Museum of Musical Instruments in Almaty, Ulzhan returned to her native lands in order to transmit her art to the new generation.”
Source: City Theater
AFGHANISTAN
HOMAYOUN SAKHI – RUBAB
SIAR HASHIMI – TABLA
KAZAKHSTAN
ULZHAN BAÏBUSYNOVA – VOCAL, DOMBRA
KYRGYZSTAN
ELEMAN KANYBEKOV – KAMUZ
AIBEK KANYBEKOV – KAMUZ
KAZAKHSTAN (UYGHUR)
SANIYAM ISMAIL – VOCAL, DUTAR
NORUZOV MAPAT – TANBUR, DAAIRA
MUKADDAS MIJIT – DANCE
Musical programming of the show:
Vahdat Masha: Musician, Voice
Marjan Vahdat: Musician, Voice, Daf (drum)
Hanjani Pasha: Musician, Nay (flute)
Ulzhan Baibusynova – (vocals, dombra)
– Mangpama (author: Tasdepgen)
– Osiet (author: Tupmagamdet)
Eleman and Aibek Kanybekov – (Kamuz)
– Sarozok (author: Nurak Abdrahmanov)
– Ak Tamak Kok Tamak (author: A.Ogombaev)
– Kertolgoo (author: Niazaaly)
– Jash Kerbez (author: Karamoldo)
Saniyam Ismail – vocals, dutar
– Nawa Mukam (Traditional Uyghur)
Saniyam Ismail – vocals, dutar
Siar Hashimi – tabla
– Kashgap (Traditional Uyghur)
Homayoun Sakhi – rubab
Siar Hashimi – tabla
– Char tok (Raag Kamaj) (Afghan Traditional)
Masha and Marian Vahdat
– Elegy for garden
– Vahdat Masha: Composer Ebtehaj Hooshang: Poet