ABOUT THE TURKISTAN COLLECTION OF MUSICAL RECORDS OF R. KARUTZ
The Turkestan Collection of Songs and Instrumental Pieces, compiled by Richard Karutz (1905), saw the light in September of 2018 (AsylKitap publishing house).It includes the songs and instrumental pieces of Kazakhs, Tatars and Uzbeks, recorded by a famous German scholar at the beginning of the last century in the cities of Kazalinsk and Tashkent.
The records themselves and the fact of their finding are the special interest.It was believed that the first recordings of Turkic peoples’music, including Kazakhs, belong to the twenties years of the last century. It is known that in 1925, Kazakh songs performed by A. Kashaubaev sounded at the World Exhibition of Decorative Arts in Paris (EXPO). Records of R.Karutz were made earlier and refer to the beginning of the twentieth century.
In addition, some of the samples were notated and published in the Appendix to the German edition of R. Karutz’s book “Among the Kirghiz and Turkmen in Mangyshlak” (1910).Unfortunately, in the Russian translation of this book it was missing. A. Samarkin, Ass. Professor, PhD (in Art history), former vice-rector for scientific work of Kurmangazy Kazakh National conservatory found thisAppendix and first translated it into Russian. He published the Appendix as a separate brochure (2004), including “Notes on Kyrgyz [Kazakh] Musical Instruments” by E.Hornbostel, some fragments of songs and instrumental pieces recorded by R. Karutz, photos of a number of instruments, as well as comments.
Copies of the R.Karutz audio recordings were found by the employees of the Kazakhstani branch of the Interstate TV and Radio Company “MIR” (director A.Alimzhanov) in Pushkin House (St. Petersburg). But the originals were kept in the Berlin phonogram archive on wax cylinders.As a result of a lengthy correspondence with the leadership of the Berlin Phonogram Archive (now the Berlin Ethnological Museum), the copies of the audio recordings were brought to Kazakhstan.Serious and painstaking work on the future collection related to the search, restoration of poetic texts, the notation of songs and instrumental pieces began in September 2017. It was headed bySauleUtegaliyeva, a Professor of the Musicology and Composition Department of the KurmangazyKazakh National conservatory, Doctor of Arts. For cooperation, she attracted graduates of our conservatory. There are transcribers: T.Tokzhanov, an Ass. Prof. of the Dombra Department , A. Shnarov, a Dombra player from the Folk Ethnographic orchestra "OtrarSazy", a master student, as well as M. Medeubek, kobyz player,senior teacher of ZhurgenovKazakh National Academy of Arts, a doctoral student of KurmangazyKazakh National conservatory. All of the above musicians are laureates of national and international competitions.
S. Kireeva as an expert on the Tatar language took part in the restoration of poetic texts, especially Tatar.
Researchers from Kazakhstan (A. Berdibay, A. Sabyrova, Ph.D., Ass. Professors of Musicology and CompositionDepartment; doctoral student B. Babizhan), as well as neighboring countries(L.Sarvarova, G.Makarov, PhD., Ass. Professors of the Kazan ZhiganovState Conservatory, as well as E.Kayumova, Ph.D., Leading Officer of the Republican Centre for the Development of Traditional Culture, Tatarstan, Russia; Prof.. Dr. R. Abdullaev, K. Kurbanov, PhDetc., Uzbekistan) have provided invaluable assistance in the search for the nationality of the samples and their analysis.
As a result, the collection turned out to be extremely interesting. It is published in three languages (Kazakh, Russian and English) and consists of two parts. The first of them included the articles by RicardaKopal (representative of the Berlin phonogram archive), AskarAlimzhanov (project manager, director of the Kazakhstani branch of the Interstate TV and Radio Company “MIR”), as well as SauleUtegalieva (Chief editor, Professor, Doctor of Arts).The basis of the second part was actually notated songs and instrumental pieces.A total of 13 entries were recorded, including 6 Kazakh songs and kyuis, 5 Tatar songs and 2 Uzbek instrumental pieces.There are lyric, religious, erotic songs, wonderful Tatar takmaks, as well as dance pieces for Uzbek gidjak. Currently, most of them are not performed.
The content of the texts translated into Russian. We used so-called analytical notation in the recordings of Tatar songs. There is a conventional system of symbols.
It is very symbolic that the Turkestan collection of R. Karutz was first published in Kazakhstan. In our opinion, its appearance is an important event in the cultural and scientific life of the whole Central Asian region. Of course, not all samples recorded by R. Karutz reflect the specificity ofTurkestan region music. In addition, the technical equipment (wax cylinders), new to the beginning of the twentieth century, the age of records, did not always allow them to be made more qualitative. Nevertheless, the Turkestan collection of songs and instrumental pieces, compiled by R. Karutz, has historical significance. It is not only about the first recordings of music of Central Asian Turkic peoples. The scientist recorded those samples that were popular in this region in the early twentieth century.
The historical significance of the collection is seen in the fact that the materials collected here can be used in musical practice. They will contribute to the expansion of the repertoire of modern musicians.
I would like to congratulate the staff ofMusicology and Composition Department, first of all, Professor S. Utegalieva, as well as Domba players, who participated in the work on musical transcription, with such an important publication and wish them new creative successes. It is necessary to express special appreciation and gratitude to the leadership of the TV and Radio complex "MIR" (Kazakhstan branch) for the initiative and unchanged (including material) supportfor this project. We hope that this music collection will serve as a starting point for searching and publishing other rare records.
Professor of Musicology and
Composition Department, PhD G.Musagulova