Sunday, October 08, 2006

Public Lesson

Source: Delhi Newsline - Sunday, March 5, 2006
by Sumati Mehrishi Sharma

New Delhi, March 4: Uzbek singer Yulchieva Munojatkhon is more than a background buzz. She is one of Uzbekistan’s most popular singers, yet she rarely gives solo performances. That’s because, unlike musicians from elsewhere in the world, Uzbek artistes prefer to perform with their teachers — as accompanists — even when they can command an audience on their own merit.
Like Yulchieva Munojatkhon. She is famous. She has an evergreen voice melodious enough to cut a meteoric career in the commercial music firmament. But for several years, she has been turning down offers from the Uzbek film industry. That’s because her Tashkent-based teacher, Shavqat Mirza, does not approve of film songs.
He believes that a true classical musician must never succumb to commercial pressure. According to him, I am at the peak of my singing career and that I must not waste my talent by singing film songs.”

But Delhi’ites can take heart. The 46-year-old Munojatkhon will perform today, at Jahan-e-Khusrau, the sixth International Sufi Music Festival, where she will dazzle the crowd with Persian Sufi songs. And this time, her teacher will take the seat to play the kamancha, a Persian stringed instrument.
Uzbek music, as she points out, is close to Kashmiri sufi music, even though it shares more similarities with melodies from Kazakhistan. Her songs are overtly spiritual, drawing inspiration from Sufi philosophy. And she has dedicated several of her compositions to the 15th century Uzbek writer, Ali Sher Nawoi. “He is to Uzbekistan what the Sufi and Bhakti saints are to India,” she explains. Given the revered guru-shishya relationship Uzbek musicians share, it isn’t surprising that filmmaker Muzaffar Ali, who organises the festival in the capital every year, took two years to convince her to come to India.

The artiste attended Shavqat’s conservatory after completing school in the Uzbek capital. “I was not born in a family of musicians,” says the artiste. So she worked hard to master her lessons and was soon making her own compositions. “Theory is important, but my teacher is particular about pronunciation and a knowledge of the Urdu language helps.”
Uzbekistan follows two paths of Sufism — the Yehsavi and the Nakshbandi. “The Yehsavi philosophy believes that God created us and we should all return to him as soon as possible. The Nakshbandi, on the other hand relates more to this world. It says that though we belong to God, we should be committed to our work. Nakshbands offer their heart and soul to God.”

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Sunday, October 08, 2006

Public Lesson
Source: Delhi Newsline - Sunday, March 5, 2006
by Sumati Mehrishi Sharma

New Delhi, March 4: Uzbek singer Yulchieva Munojatkhon is more than a background buzz. She is one of Uzbekistan’s most popular singers, yet she rarely gives solo performances. That’s because, unlike musicians from elsewhere in the world, Uzbek artistes prefer to perform with their teachers — as accompanists — even when they can command an audience on their own merit.
Like Yulchieva Munojatkhon. She is famous. She has an evergreen voice melodious enough to cut a meteoric career in the commercial music firmament. But for several years, she has been turning down offers from the Uzbek film industry. That’s because her Tashkent-based teacher, Shavqat Mirza, does not approve of film songs.
He believes that a true classical musician must never succumb to commercial pressure. According to him, I am at the peak of my singing career and that I must not waste my talent by singing film songs.”

But Delhi’ites can take heart. The 46-year-old Munojatkhon will perform today, at Jahan-e-Khusrau, the sixth International Sufi Music Festival, where she will dazzle the crowd with Persian Sufi songs. And this time, her teacher will take the seat to play the kamancha, a Persian stringed instrument.
Uzbek music, as she points out, is close to Kashmiri sufi music, even though it shares more similarities with melodies from Kazakhistan. Her songs are overtly spiritual, drawing inspiration from Sufi philosophy. And she has dedicated several of her compositions to the 15th century Uzbek writer, Ali Sher Nawoi. “He is to Uzbekistan what the Sufi and Bhakti saints are to India,” she explains. Given the revered guru-shishya relationship Uzbek musicians share, it isn’t surprising that filmmaker Muzaffar Ali, who organises the festival in the capital every year, took two years to convince her to come to India.

The artiste attended Shavqat’s conservatory after completing school in the Uzbek capital. “I was not born in a family of musicians,” says the artiste. So she worked hard to master her lessons and was soon making her own compositions. “Theory is important, but my teacher is particular about pronunciation and a knowledge of the Urdu language helps.”
Uzbekistan follows two paths of Sufism — the Yehsavi and the Nakshbandi. “The Yehsavi philosophy believes that God created us and we should all return to him as soon as possible. The Nakshbandi, on the other hand relates more to this world. It says that though we belong to God, we should be committed to our work. Nakshbands offer their heart and soul to God.”

No comments: