How much does a person need for happiness? The answer is one - everything is known in comparison. From the height of our XXI century, we are unlikely to be able to fully understand our grandfathers and great-grandfathers from the distant 40s.

People who have gone through the war think in other categories. As a child, we often had to hear the expression "If only there was no war." And for us it was something like a hackneyed saying. In addition, for people who have gone through the war, these words have a sacred meaning, for them this is the main criterion for a happy life. The celebrations held in honor of May 9 are dedicated to the memory of all the heroes whose efforts once gave birth to this winged expression.

Among the many musical evenings, perhaps the most striking impression was made by the concert "Songs of the War Years", organized by the Department of Chamber Ensemble of the Maya Kuliyeva Turkmen National Conservatory. It was bright not only in its semantic content and content, but also in the mood that prevailed in the hall.

The organizers of the evening tried to fully convey the atmosphere of the forties. Therefore, postcards with warm congratulations were presented to all the concert guests at the entrance, and music of the war years was broadcast from the speakers. People came and brought with them photos of relatives who participated in the war. Gradually, all the chairs were filled. Now, from the auditorium, not only the residents of the twenty-first century looked at the stage, but also the heroes of the "Immortal Regiment" captured in the pictures. Now the hall was so crowded that the organizers had to look for side chairs to seat everyone. Many settled right on the floor, in the aisles between the rows.

However, for some reason the concert didn't start. It was clear that the organizers were waiting for someone. Then the veterans of the Great Patriotic War began to enter the hall, wearing medals and orders. The audience greeted them with applause. Despite their age, they walked with their shoulders proudly squared and smiled. Internationalist soldiers who passed the Afghan war also came to the concert. In their hands they had bouquets for WWII veterans.

The presenter, singer Maya Gullayeva, took the stage. Her unhurried story about the civilians of the early forties of the last century, who raised children, worked in factories and dreamed of a bright future, was suddenly interrupted by the terrible hum of air raid sirens. The voice of the announcer Levitan declared war. The shocked audience sat in complete silence until the pause was interrupted by the quiet melody of the song "Cranes" performed by Amangeldy Amanov to the accompaniment of the diploma winner of international competitions Stella Faramazova.

This song by composer Jan Frenkel, written to the poems of Rasul Gamzatov, has its own sad story. One day, the poet, as part of a delegation, visited one of the villages. There he heard a story about parents who lost all their seven sons in the war. Alas, the parents could not stand the severity of the loss. After some time, in the village where this family lived, a monument was erected depicting a woman and seven birds flying away from her. Gamzatov was shocked by this story and, as if in one breath, created his poems. The piercing words of the song, which became the unofficial anthem of veterans, reminded listeners of the pain of thousands of maternal hearts.

The concert continued with the famous violin solo from the Oscar-winning film "Schindler's List". Composer John Williams called this beautiful melody "A Lullaby for an angel." To the sounds of a singing violin, sad and lonely, like a fluttering candle flame on a window, photos of Turkmen veteran soldiers appeared on the big screen.

Many of the audience could not help but cry. Although this music is without words, but she told so much that there was a lump in her throat. I just wanted to close my eyes and be silent. Scenes from the film itself surfaced in my memory, which tells about the hopeless and bitter fate of the victims of the Holocaust. And shots of a girl in a red coat. Remember her? She appears as a bright spot every time in the most pivotal moments of the film, as if symbolizing hope.

An unforgettable surprise for the concert guests was the ballad "Remembrance of Frontline Love", performed by singer Begench Moshiyev. It is written in the words of the poet Mikhail Ptushenko, our countryman. Leningrad composer Sergei Ekimov, who got his hands on Ptushenko's manuscripts, was fascinated by the poems of the poet-front-line soldier, and composed music for them. In the lines of these verses, there are words about his native Ashgabat, and about Kesha, where the author comes from.

There were numbers in the concert that made the guests smile. For example, the performance of the People's Artist Gulnar Nuriyeva, who sang "Blue Handkerchief" and "In the frontline forest", touched everyone. And the fervent verses of "Katyusha" performed by Maya Gullayeva literally turned the listeners on.

The waltz "Ah, these clouds in Blue" from the movie "The Moscow Saga" interpreted by Leyli Okdirova turned the concert hall into an improvised dance floor. The guests got up from their seats and circled in pairs.

Then Leyli Okdirova and Begench Moshiyev duet sang the song "We echo". This is one of the most beautiful and heartfelt songs from Anna Herman's repertoire - a hit for all time.

The melodies were replaced one after another: Zhenya Kamelkova's song from the opera "The Dawns are Quiet Here", "Song about a distant Homeland", "Prayer", "In the dugout", the Turkmen song "Armanym" and many others, the words of which we remember from childhood. "Playing in the city garden" was diligently brought out in chorus by the guests of the evening, holding hands and swaying in chairs. And the vocalists and musicians, seeing the reaction of the audience, became more and more inspired.

There were also works of world classics in the concert. For example, the People's Artist Orazgul Annamuradova performed Chopin's Nocturne and Waltz. Everyone knows that during the war, the morale of soldiers was supported by field propaganda teams that organized field concerts of classical music. And Chopin's music was especially often heard at these performances. People believed in the life-giving power of art, it saved them and did not let them go crazy from the horrors of war. And if historians and chroniclers of those years meticulously recorded frontline events in documents, then musicians, poets, writers and artists also created their own "chronicle" reflecting the experiences, emotions, aspirations and hopes of people of that era.

After the concert, everyone approached the veterans, congratulated them, hugged them, gave gifts. No one wanted to go home, everyone in the hall was overwhelmed with feelings. The organizers of the concert, Stella Faramazova, Maya Gullayeva, as well as their colleagues and friends who have done a great job in preparing this musical and poetic composition, thanked the guests.

At the end of the article, taking this opportunity, I want to add a few very personal lines. My grandfather, Shir Veli, is also a veteran. He went through the whole war from the beginning to the end, was wounded, shell-shocked, awarded. And upon his return to his native village, his military exploits continued with pedagogical successes. He worked as a simple teacher in a rural school. We cherish the memory of our hero. I know that he would be proud of his grandchildren and great-grandchildren. I want to say to him: "Thank you, Grandfather, for the victory, thank you for peace, thank you for happiness!»

Aina SHIROVA