Legendary musicians
Tuesday, 2007 May 8th, 7 PM
Great Guild Hall
THE VOICE OF ASIA
ALIM QASIMOV (mugham singer, Azerbaijan),
Ferghana Qasimova (mugham singer) and instrumental ensemble
Alim Qasimov, born in 1957, is the foremost Mugham singer in Azerbaijan. Alim has recorded nine albums and lately has been featured quite frequently in Azerbaijani newspapers and TV programs. Alim and his 21 year old daughter Fergana Qasimov have recorded three albums of Mugham music together. He has performed in France, the United Kingdom, Germany, Belgium, Spain, Brazil, Iran and the United States.
Alim is known for his work in traditional Azerbaijani music. He is widely appreciated and popular for his renderings of Mugham, which is the most complex musical style in Azerbaijan. It’s the classical music of the Caucasus and of the Turkish-speaking peoples in Central Asia.
The notion of Mugham also applies to the performers: the singer, and the ensemble. Within the latter you’ll always find three instruments; tar (lute), the standing kamanche (violin) and the daf (percussion).
French paper "Le Monde" described Alim Qasimov as a blessed man with a "Magic Voice", and if one would take time and listen to his music and sounds, one can only agree. "Folk Roots Magazine" called Alim Qasimov "one of the 20th century's greatest singers".
Alim is attracting many new fans to Mugham. Russian-educated Azerbaijanis and young people in general don't usually care much for the Mugham genre. Many prefer listening to Western pop music. But surprisingly, they have been going to Alim's concerts and buying his CD's.
In 1999, Alim Qasimov won the prestigious UNESCO Music Prize, one of the highest international accolades that a musician can hope for. Previous laureates have included Dmitri Shostakovich, Leonard Bernstein, Ravi Shankar and Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan.
Few singers possess a voice of such far famed magic. The sounds that emanates from Alim Qasimov’s throat are nothing short of astonishing. His is a powerful voice, charged with tension and laden with emotion, capable of incorporating both masculine and feminine aspects.
Jean Trouillet
