Habil Aliyev

Habil Aliyev (born in 1927) is one of those legendary musicians who personify the best traditions of a nation's culture in the consciousness of its people. Poems have been written, paintings created and a monument established in honor of a living national artist of the Azerbaijan Republic – Habil Aliyev, the unique master of the kamancha, an Azerbaijani folk instrument. The most notable thing about Habil Aliyev is that he is the invariable recipient of respect and love. The magnificent artistry of this master kamancha player has been warmly received in many countries, including Egypt, Bulgaria, France, Turkey, Italy, Sweden, England, Switzerland, Pakistan and Germany. Reviews of his concerts have called him the Paqanini of the East, the Orfey of Azerbaijan and the master of magical sounds.
And in Habil Aliyev's hands, a small four-stringed kamancha does indeed become a powerful instrument, bringing poetic images, a poetic spirit and a thousandfold delicate shades of human feeling and emotion to the whole world. The timbre and scale of Habil Aliyev's kamancha is almost limitless; it reflects the delicate plea of the warm, middle register as well as the swift pizzicato's thread of pearls and the quick declamation of the soft deep sounds. His instrumental skills, his highly-developed technique and his unique qualities as a performer combine with the melodiousness and sensitivity of the delicate music of the best eastern artists.
A worthy follower of the ancient traditions of Azeri mugham, a student and disciple of those illustrious masters of the art of mugham, Jabbar Qaryadli, Seyid and Khan Shushinski and Zulfu Adigozelov, Habil Aliyev is a brilliant improviser, embodying the characteristics of enthusiastic author and wise playwright, of both a composer and a performer of mugham compositions.
His unforgettable performance of Segah, Shur, Dugah, Mahur, Chahargah, Rast, and Zeminkhane have won Habil's name its place on the list of the most outstanding masters of the modern art of mugham. He transports the deep philosophical outlook, delicate lyrics and magnificent dances of the Azeri people across the span of centuries from the remote past to the present day. Habil Aliyev is famed not only as a unique solo performer who holds the audience in thrall with the magic of his art, but also as a sensitive ensemble player, playing with trios of eastern musicians which also include a singer and a tar player. His performances with Seyid and Khan Shushinski, Zulfu Adigozelov, Islam Rzayev and Ahmed Bakikhanov remain in the audiences' memory as an exquisite peak of mugham performance and passionate proficiency. Habil Aliyev's repertoire is limitless indeed; in a flow of brilliant improvisations, it gives a new life to a favorite melody, dance or rhythm, whether ancient or modern, in an unending fantasy of vivid coloring and tender embroideries, of a whimsical interplay of light and shade and half-tones. But, however much he may lose himself in his playing and however fleeting the moment, Habil Aliyev's art is characterized by a delicate taste, by a sense of measure and by technical perfection.
The universality of Habil Aliyev's musical talent allows him to breathe new life into the tradition of centuries and revitalize forgotten mughams and airs, party dances and rhythms. In gratitude, the people of his country have accorded Habil Aliyev the great honor of calling him by the name of the instrument which has his soul; Habil Kaman. It is a well-known fact that certain of Habil's mugham improvisations have already been acknowledged in law and named Habil Segahi and Habil Dugahi.
Today, Habil Kaman still arouses the admiration of the people with the brilliant pearls of his art. With his power and talent, he continues to create, winning the hearts of experts and ordinary music lovers alike. Undoubtedly, the priceless creative potential of his art has become an integral part of the history of Azerbaijani culture.