The Main Akin of Kazakhstan – Abay

Abstract

Abay entered the history of Kazakh music culture as a music reformer. With his work, he expanded the boundaries of Kazakh folk song, brought it a new content, a new form, expanded the genre system. He added new melodyintonation, meter-rhythm, form and other features: wide melodies typical of the romance genre, fluent readings, new intonations, rhythmic formulas, etc to the songs he wrote. At the same time, Abay brought innovations to the figurative-content structure of songs, deepened their lyrical-psychological mood, added serious-dramatic elements to the melodies he wrote, enriched the lyrics of nature and love with philosophical, humanistic, enlightening ideas, expanded the intonation dictionary of Kazakh song, added features to the Kazakh national melody. Abay had neither musical education, nor knowledge of notes, and did not record the music he added to his words. Today, more than 60 songs of Abay have been collected and recorded by folklorists. He was able to sing and play the dombra. They say that he did not have a strong voice or a wide range of voices. However, the sincerity and depth of his performance, the timbre of his voice, the poetic beauty of the poem, the wisdom of the words inspired and excited many hearts.
Abay’s musical language was born from folk melodies and is very close to Kazakh folk music. His songs refer to the artistic experience of the akins’ traditions, the narrative features inherent in the songwriting of the Kazakh people.