Azerbaijani national musical instruments have been presented as a gift to the “Royal Museum of Art and History” in Brussels

Under the organization of the Embassy of Azerbaijan in Belgium and Luxembourg, the National Commission for UNESCO presented our ancient musical instruments as a gift to the Royal Museum of Art and History in Brussels.

AZERTAC reports that the ceremony opening this presentation was introduced by Luc Ponce, Artistic Director of the “Baroque and More” music organization in Belgium, who explained the event and its purpose. Seymur Fataliyev, Secretary-General of the Azerbaijan National Commission for UNESCO, then thanked the museum’s leadership for their interest in Azerbaijani music and its instruments—the tar, kamancha, and qaval. He noted that these three instruments are fundamental elements of the Mugham musical genre, which UNESCO has recognized as a Masterpiece of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. To date, twenty-four elements from Azerbaijan have been inscribed on UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage.

In the rich and vibrant tapestry of Azerbaijani culture, the art of Mugham holds a special place. The Mugham trio of tar, kamancha, and qaval is a unique embodiment of Azerbaijan’s deep-rooted musical traditions, and these instruments not only exemplify our musical heritage but also reflect its vast richness, which encompasses nearly ninety traditional instruments. Belgian music experts shared their impressions of Mugham and its instruments, describing Mugham as a boundless ocean.

Gery Dumoulin, musicologist and curator of the Western wind and percussion collection at the Musical Instruments Museum, spoke of his enchantment with the tar and kamancha. Sahib Pashazade—director of the International Mugham Center, Honored Artist of Azerbaijan, and recipient of the “Progress” medal—delivered an in-depth overview of Mugham music, the tar, kamancha, and qaval, and the many styles of Mugham performance.

The program then featured live performances: accompanied by Sahib Pashazade on tar, People’s Artist of Azerbaijan and renowned pianist-composer Yegana Akhundova, and kamancha virtuoso Khayyam Mammadov, Khānanda and Honored Artist Ilkin Ahmadov rendered folk songs such as “I’ve Watered the Streets,” “The Mountains of Shusha Are Enshrouded in Mist,” and “Sari Gelin,” as well as works by Uzeyir Hajibeyli, Fikret Amirov, Vagif Mustafazade, Rauf Hajiyev, Bahram Nasibov, Vasif Adigozalov, Hasan Rzayev, and Farhad Badalbeyli. Azerbaijani music was met with enthusiastic applause from the Belgian audience.

Shahla Aghalarova
Special correspondent of AZERTAC
Paris