Mugam Sayagi: Music of Franghiz Ali-Zadeh

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
Franghiz Ali-Zadeh is equally at home in the world of Western moderns and the culture of her homeland, Azerbaijan. The disc's title means "in the style of mugam," a sophisticated, emotional form of traditional music and poetry. The first piece, Oasis, begins in mystery, with the sound of dripping water, and builds to a dreamland of turbulent, slashing strings and shimmering chords: a mirage universe in its concentrated 13-minute span. The composer is at the piano for her Apsheron Quintet, whose 2nd movement is a gorgeous otherworldly evocation. Music for Piano is a solo exploration notable for turning the middle register of the instrument into a stand-in for the "tar," a brilliant-sounding lute-like instrument. Finally, Mugam Sayagi is a string quartet that discreetly incorporates a drone, synthesizer, and local instruments. It features a mournfully moving opening section and odd juxtapositions such as innocent folk dances instantly turning into aggressive battle music. Ali-Zadeh is a composer with much to say who says it well, aptly partnered by the committed playing of the Kronos Quartet, which gives us another of its many stimulating discs. --Dan Davis

Tracks:

Oasis
I. Tactile Time
II. Reverse Time
Music For Piano - Franghiz Ali-Zadeh
Mugam Sayagi

Amazon.com

Franghiz Ali-Zadeh is equally at home in the world of Western moderns and the culture of her homeland, Azerbaijan. The disc's title means "in the style of mugam," a sophisticated, emotional form of traditional music and poetry. The first piece, Oasis, begins in mystery, with the sound of dripping water, and builds to a dreamland of turbulent, slashing strings and shimmering chords: a mirage universe in its concentrated 13-minute span. The composer is at the piano for her Apsheron Quintet, whose 2nd movement is a gorgeous otherworldly evocation. Music for Piano is a solo exploration notable for turning the middle register of the instrument into a stand-in for the "tar," a brilliant-sounding lute-like instrument. Finally, Mugam Sayagi is a string quartet that discreetly incorporates a drone, synthesizer, and local instruments. It features a mournfully moving opening section and odd juxtapositions such as innocent folk dances instantly turning into aggressive battle music. Ali-Zadeh is a composer with much to say who says it well, aptly partnered by the committed playing of the Kronos Quartet, which gives us another of its many stimulating discs. --Dan Davis

Customer Reviews:

Very interesting music.......2005-12-07

Wow! A Kronos CD with over 60 minutes of music and good liner notes. They actually discuss the composer and the music. Maybe Kronos reads Amazon reviews afterall.

But it's still a bit overpriced so wait until the price drops a few dollars and Marketplace sellers start offering this for $8.50. With shipping the total cost will be about $11 and it will be worth buying.

Mugam Sayagi.......2005-01-30

Everything about this presentation of Franghiz Ali-Zadeh's music is beautiful, right down to the cover art of the CD (Black Bird by Ali Dadgar). You can tell right from the start that what this CD has is some beautiful music from a rich land.

Though the liner notes say that Franghiz tries to avoid the exotic, her music whispers, sometimes moans, of longing and thirst for beauty in a parched land. She avoids the sultry and the barbaric presentations of her music from past composers, and in turn creates something even more exotic and austere.

The first piece, Oasis opens up with the sound of dripping water, followed by a slow whispering entrance of the quartet itself. The instruments become more focused and present, using the modes of the Azeri mugam, and build towards a startling climax that ushers in a chorus of whispers. It is at turns beautiful and quietly desperate, but in the end becomes what it was - an oasis, a mirage, an open sounding, hollow fifth, and then nothing.

The rest of the album follows suit with Franghiz herself on the piano. Changes in mood are very sporadic in this music because that is the way the Mugam are handled in Azeri hands, giving the impression of many scenes or shifting adventures in search of some thing that is lost.

Although I have no other recordings to base this off, the performance sounds excellent. The piano is performed by the composer herself, so one can assume this is the definitive edition of these works.

Another excellent recording from the Kronos Quartet, this time with true gems of pieces.

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