Nizami and music

Abstract

A prominent poet of XII century, Nizami Ganjavi (1141–1209) was a thinker who mastered all scientific disciplines of his time and through poetic language of his works delivered accurate and complete information on natural sciences, mathematics, geometry, philosophy, and other sciences. The works of Nizami, his perpetual “Khamsa” are a valuable source of information on culture, music, musical instruments, genres of music, performers, traditions and science of his time. The poet’s reflections on music are presented in detail in his poem “Khosrov and Shirin”. Nizami’s work remained a focus of attention for Azerbaijani composers for many years. His themes and images, his poetry and philosophical thought gave impetus to creation of a number of Azerbaijani operas and ballets, symphonic and chamber works, and became a source of inspiration for Azerbaijani composers. Operas “Nizami” (1947) by A.Badalbeyli and “Khosrov and Shirin” (1942) by Niyazi, ballets “Seven Beauties” (1949–1952) by G.Garayev, “Nizami” (1984) by F.Amirov, “Good and Evil” (1990) by T.Bakikhanov are the musical embodiment of this rich literary heritage.
Genius composer U.Hajibeyli, who clearly and vividly demonstrated the unity of music and poetry throughout his work, laid foundations of a new genre in Azerbaijani music, the “ghazal-romance”, “musical ghazal” with his works composed to texts by Nizami. Nizami Ganjavi’s works have been a point of reference for numerous academic studies. Music pieces reflecting Nizami’s humanistic ideas and aesthetic views, the romantic undertones of his characters have always been an appealing object of research for Azerbaijani musicologists.