Spring in Turkmenistan was marked by new interesting events in the cultural life of the capital. Students and teachers of the Composition and Instrumentation Department of the Maya Kuliyeva Turkmen National Conservatory are actively engaged in the implementation of one of them. A new project dedicated to the approaching 300th anniversary of Magtymguly is being held as part of the annual TURKSOY festival of Turkic culture.

According to the organizers' idea, new vocal works based on the poems of Magtymguly will be made by the efforts of Turkmen composers. Both professionals, melodic composers and amateurs can take part in the creative festival.

In total, five categories are proposed: a vocal work written to the poems of Magtymguly in the Turkmen language; a vocal work written to the poems of the poet in translation into foreign languages; a musical composition in any genre and volume dedicated to Magtymguly; orchestration of a previously written vocal work to the poems of Magtymguly; a vocal work to be performed accompanied by a national instrument or an ensemble of folk tools.

Since clear deadlines have been set, the composers-mentors and their students plunged into the work with their heads. One of the participants of the project is Honored Artist of Turkmenistan, composer Suhan Tuyliyev.

"The life and work of the great poet Magtymguly have repeatedly become sources of inspiration for many composers," says Suhan Tuyliyev. - We can recall the works of brilliant masters - Nury Halmammedov, Veli Muhadov, Chary Nurymov. There is even an opera "Magtymguly" by the composer Julius Meitus.

It should be noted that Suhan Allyevich is also the author of vocal compositions based on the poems of Magtymguly. Hence, last year the three-part vocal cycle "Dunÿe, heÿ!" was performed, consisting of the romances "ili gözlӓr", "Neÿleÿ, indi biçӓreÿem", "Ẏeldim tut". The People’s Artist of Turkmenistan Atageldi Garyagdiyev interpreted this work. S. Tuyliyev also composed an ode to the words of Magtymguly for the reader, soloist, choir, and symphony orchestra "Türkmen binasy". At the initiative of the rector of the Conservatory, this ode has been translated into other Turkic languages and now it has six language variants – Azerbaijani, Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Uzbek, Turkish and Turkmen.

In the near future, it is planned to record these works performed by the orchestra and soloists of Turkmenistan in foreign languages. The studio recording will serve as a kind of model for performers from the countries in whose languages the composition will be performed. It is assumed that all soloists, both Turkmen and foreign, will jointly perform the ode at a concert dedicated to the 30th anniversary of TURKSOY, which will be held in Ashgabat, as well as at celebrations dedicated to the 300th anniversary of Magtymguly. The vocal cycle of the composer S. Tuyliyev will also be performed in Turkish and Azerbaijani. Thus, these joint cultural events will become a symbol of friendship of peoples.

"Such creative projects carry the idea of friendship, unity and interaction between the Turkic peoples," says Suhan Tuyliyev. - I am proud to take part in the anniversary celebrations. Magtymguly’s poems in translation sound as beautiful and melodious as in his native language. Therefore, I get real pleasure from creativity.

In addition to the composers-teachers, students are also involved in the creative project. One of them is a young composer Begmyrat Hudayberdiyev, a student of the People's Artist of Turkmenistan Bayramdurdy Hudaynazarov. Begmyrat is a graduate of the Lebap Music College. Currently, he is a 4th-year student at the Department of Composition and Instrumentation of the Turkmen National Conservatory. Despite his young age, he has repeatedly participated and won in creative competitions.

— I wrote the music to the text of Magtymguly’s poem "Türkmeniń" translated into Korean, - says Begmyrat. The Central Asian Institute of Humanitarian and Social Studies carried out the translation of the poems. In the process of work, it turned out that, first, it is necessary to find someone who speaks Korean perfectly and can read the text with the correct accents. After all, every poetic work has its own specific rhythm, to which the melody must obey. After a long search, we eventually managed to find a good specialist in the Korean language. The Dictaphone recording of the text read aloud by him, like an Olympic flame, was carefully brought and transferred to the composition department. This is my first experience of composing music based on the poems of Magtymguly. It is an honor and responsibility for me!

Recently, a song by a young composer B.Hudayberdiyev, based on the poems of Magtymguly translated into Korean was performed as part of the Days of Culture of Turkmenistan in South Korea.

Work and preparations for the anniversary celebrations are in full swing. In the meantime, the composers, armed with a pencil and music paper, locked themselves in their offices in order to have time to complete the work by the anniversary date.

Ayna SHIROVA