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September 27, 2007 – February 10, 2008 In conjunction with the Silk Road Ensemble’s residency at Harvard, the Sackler Museum presents an exhibition of images of Layla and Majnun. “Layla and Majnun” “Layla and Majnun” is a classic Arabic love story, known and beloved throughout Central Asia. The original story dates back to the 7th century. In the 12th century, Nezami, the preeminent poet in Persian literature, crafted the tale into the tragic love story that is often compared to Romeo and Juliet. In Azerbaijan, the story was adapted by composer Uzeyir Hajibeyov as an opera and first staged in 1908. It has been performed and recorded to enthusiastic audiences ever since, and the idea of how ill-fated love turned the protagonist into Majnun – literally, ‘madman’ – has seeped into Central Asian music and literature just as deeply and permanently as the tragic fate of Romeo and Juliet has permeated western literature. The leading performer of “Layla and Majnun” in Azerbaijan over the past two decades has been Alim Qasimov, Azerbaijani’s foremost bearer of mugham, a complex form of modal music in which stories and emotions are interpreted through song with accompaniment by traditional instruments such as kamancheh, tar and daf. Because of his preservation of the art of mugham, the country of Azerbaijan named Qasimov one of its Living National Treasures. In 1999 Qasimov’s acclaim spread worldwide when he was awarded the prestigious the International IMC-UNESCO Music Prize. Qasimov continues to uphold the mugham traditionthrough recording, teaching and performing, including regular travel on concert tours with the Silk Road Ensemble throughout the world. His daughter and student, Fargana Qasimova, is now an accomplished mugham vocalist, who often performs with Qasimov. Qasimov and the Silk Road Ensemble, under the artistic direction of Yo-Yo Ma, are interested in bringing the timeless story of “Layla and Majnun” to wider audiences, including those in Europe and North America. This extension of an existing artistic and cultural legend is a project that the Silk Road Ensemble is undertaking in collaboration with Qasimov, who will sing the part of Majnun, and Qasimova, who will sing the part of Leyla. To this end, and in the spirit of the Silk Road Project’s mission of celebrating local cultures and global traditions, the Ensemble is developing an arrangement for Azeri vocals and traditional instruments in combination with western and Asian strings, percussion and wind instruments. The goal of the “Layla and Majnun”project is to develop a 45-minute concert piece that can be performed as part of the Silk Road Project’s repertoire. As artists in residence at Harvard, the Silk Road Ensemble plans to devote much of its 2007 residency, which will take place November 26-30, to research about and development of the piece, working with faculty and students in a workshop atmosphere to share multidisciplinary perspectives on the topic. During the residency, the Ensemble will also present the piece publicly for the first time, while continuing to explore multidisciplinary ways to convey the story to western audiences. The fact that 2008 is the 100th anniversary of the first performance of the Azeri opera version of “Layla and Majnun” makes this project particularly timely. |