Oriented on making people closer

The Balkan Specialized School of Arts organized a festival in honor of the 300th anniversary of Magtymguly called “Fragi, you are the sage of the Universe!” The creative event starts on February 26 and will last the whole week - until March 3.

The poems of the poet and thinker Magtymguly became the voice of the Turkmen soul. The study of his philosophical and creative heritage enriches the spiritual and patriotic education of young people and their worldview. Young teachers of the Balkan Special School of Arts decided to commemorate their festival by performing the work of our compatriot Mamed Huseynov “Monologues of Magtymguly” for soprano, cello and orchestra (arranged for piano), which will be performed on February 29.

The soprano part will be performed by the laureate of the V Moscow International Festival “Sounds of Dutar” named after Nury Halmamedov Gulkhanum Lametova, cello by Arazmyrad Myradov, piano by Guizgeldi Annaberdiev and Tylla Syatieva.

Composer Mamed Huseynov, art director of the Sounds of Dutar festival, chairman of the Turkmen regional branch of the Union of Composers of Eurasia, musical and public figure, laureate of all-Russian and international competitions, takes a huge part in preparing the performance of this composition and considers this premiere “particularly important, since this work sounds in the Motherland, one can say: it was taken from its depths and returned to it.”

“Magtymguly’s Monologues” were written by him between 2007 and 2013, which already indicates the monumentality of the work. In his musical research, the author chooses for immersion Magtymguly’s poems “The Appeal”, “Beginnings”, “Good and Evil” from the book of the Motherland, “Sadness” from the book of Knowledge, “Truth” from the book of Peace translated by Arseny Tarkovsky. The choice of these poems is not accidental; they cover a huge spectrum of the poet’s philosophical views. The image of Magtymguly, searching for the meaning of life and answers to eternal questions, in the mono-opera is revealed through two leading parts - voice and cello, conveying, as it were, a conversation between the poet and himself, which develops into a conversation with Time.

“The Appeal” opens the mono-opera, where Fragi’s monologue sounds against the background of a bubbling rhythmic-motor cello, as a symbol of the poet’s inner experiences. This epigraph scene is full of semantic allegories, emotional fervor and affirms endless faith in the victory of light over darkness.

There is no more balance on earth,
What destinies stare into our faces!
Thought bubbles like boiling water in a cauldron;
Don't touch it, it must spill!
We came into the world from nothing yesterday;
This one is the son of vice, this one is the son of goodness.
Let the wolf game begin
And good rumors will rush from edge to edge!

The next scene is “Beginnings”, in which the poet appears as a seer with deep philosophical reflections. The musical fabric is rich in the juxtaposition of exciting modulations with fading chords in the accompaniment. The vocal and cello parts, continuing the dialogue with each other, are filled with melodic and quarto-fifth turns characteristic of Turkmen folk music.

The poet’s disappointment and melancholy - “My soul has been exhausted by endless deception...” - is revealed in the third scene of the monologues. Feelings of injustice and sadness develop dramatically alternately in both parties. Echoing each other, or continuing the musical thought, the solo parts complete the tragic story with the culminating words “If I sang, the nightingales were silent... But the sadness prevented Fragi from singing the best dastan.”

Tired of sorrow, Fragi turns to nature to gain strength before the final battle. The philosophical and lyrical scene “Truth” is colorful and melodious. In the solo parts, melodic turns predominate, which, with increasing psychologism, prepare the listener for the decisive battle of good and evil.

Against the backdrop of the heavy opening chords, cello exhales sound as the final battle has begun. The voice party is in tension all the time. The melodic turns filled with oriental flavor, sound affirmative. Each phrase has its own culminating conclusion and is perceived as final. The poet does not give answers to the questions posed at the beginning of the mono-opera, but acts as a spiritual mentor and patriot with the statement “My people do not accept evil!”

The solo parts throughout the work are distinguished by the complexity and richness of musical techniques. The Turkmen flavor emphasizes the philosophical, lyrical and patriotic themes. In the huge range of images in the music, landscape sketches of the mountain valley of the Etrek River with its tributaries Sumbar and Chendyr are clearly visible.

Composer Mamed Huseynov in his composition felt and conveyed the image of a great personality - a philosopher, master of the Word and seer of the 18th century. This is why this genre of mono-opera is interesting for performers, covering various aspects of Fragi’s image.

And who will condemn Magtymguly?
For he won't forget,
That he gave his word to the truth...

Olesya Grigorevskaya

Photo: author