In 1908, Hajibeyov wrote his first opera,
Leyli and Majnun, based on
the tragic love story by the 15th century poet
Fuzuli. This would be the first of 7
operas and 3
musical comedies that Hajibeyov would compose throughout his life. In
Leyli and Majnun, the uniqueness of the traditional modal music of
mugham was incorporated into a Western genre with the use of instruments indigenous to both traditions. '', written in 1913 Hajibeyov's second opera,
Sheikh Sanan, was written in 1909 in a form that was entirely opposite to the first. This time Hajibeyov employed a purely European style. In contrast to
Sheikh Sanan, Hajibeyov's operas
Rustam and Sohrab (1910),
Asli and Karam (1912),
Shah Abbas and Khurshid Banu (1912), and
Harun and Leyli (1915) were entirely based on Azerbaijani folk music elements, primarily
mugham. was announced to be performed on western stages for the first time. One of Hajibeyov's greatest legacies was bringing forward the idea of establishing a professional music school. Hence, the
Baku Academy of Music (known then as the Azerbaijan State Conservatoire), was founded in 1920 and named after Hajibeyov after his death. The school has trained Azerbaijan's finest composers such as
Gara Garayev,
Fikrat Amirov,
Jovdat Hajiyev,
Soltan Hajibeyov,
Tofig Guliyev, and
Vagif Mustafazade. His statue sits in front of this grand building that is still devoted to the synthesizing Eastern and Western musical traditions. In 1931, Hajibeyov helped in establishing the Azeri Folk Instruments Orchestra affiliated with the Radio Committee. This orchestra performed European classical pieces, such as those by
Mikhail Glinka,
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart,
Franz Schubert,
Georges Bizet and others. Hajibeyov thus was the first musician to adapt the note system to traditional Azerbaijani musical instruments. In 1936, Hajibeyov assisted in the founding of the Azerbaijani State Choir within the
Azerbaijan Philharmonic Society. One of the most serious problems he faced was the mono-voiced repertoire of Azerbaijani folk songs, which allowed harmonization to distort style of the song and, on occasion, even alter the melody line when it changed modes. Hajibeyov resolved this problem by using
contrapuntal polyphony and
unison-doubling rather than four-part singing in the problematic sections. Hajibeyov devoted much energy to the idea of integrating woman's role and status into the male-dominated world. The concept of women's emancipation runs through many of his works, often in the form of comedy or satirization, as in the case when he makes fun of the process of selecting marriage partners, a process hindered by the fact that women were still wearing veils until the 1920s when the Soviet regime prohibited them.
Operas Leyli and Majnun The opera art was established art not only in Azerbaijan, but also in the entire Muslim East by means of Hacibeyov's opera
"Leyli and Majnun" which premiered on 12 January 1908, at the theatre of
Haji Zeynalabdin Taghiyev. Hajibeyov wrote with his brother
Jeyhun Hajibeyli this libretto of the opera based on a poem of the same name written by
Fuzuli. The first performance was made by actor and director
Huseyn Arablinski. The band-master was the writer-dramatist
Abdurrahim bey Hagverdiyev. Huseynqulu Sarabski was in the role of Majnun and Abdurrahim Farajov in the role of Leyli. In subsequent performances, Hajibeyov himself and his close friend and colleague, composer Muslim Magomayev, performed as band-master. This role was acted for the first time by Huseyinqulu Sarablinski. Then, these people – Sidghi Ruhulla, Khanlar Hakhverdiev, Aliovsat Sadigov, Shirzad Huseynov, Gulagha Mammadov, Mais Salmanov, Gulu Asgerov, Bakir Hashimov, Ali Mehdiyev, Arif Babayev, Baba Mirzaev,
Janali Akbarov, Safa Gahramanov, Alim Gasimov and Mansum Ibrahimov performed in a role of Majnun at the next performance.
Koroghlu Koroghlu opera premiered on 30 April 1937 at the Azerbaijan Opera and Ballet Theatre. This is the first classical opera that based on the motives of heroic epic in Azerbaijan. In this opera, Hajibeyov created arias, mass choral scenes, various ensembles, ballet numbers and recitatives. In the next years of his life, he worked on
Firuza opera.
Musical comedies Husband and Wife The first musical comedy of Hajibeyov is
Husband and Wife which consists of three scenes. This is the first example of Azerbaijani musical comedy. The first premiere of it was in 1910. H. Sarabski and A. Aghdamski performed in the roles of Marjan and Minnat. Hajibeyov wrote the sketch of the comedy himself. ====
If Not That One, Then This One ==== After
Husband and Wife opera, he began to write his second operetta. The premiere was at the theatre of Mailovs brothers in Baku in 1911. "Mən nə qədər qoca olsam da" song and "Uzundere" national folk music are sounded in this opera with some changes on it. Later, this opera was translated into various languages, performed in Caucasian countries, Turkey, Bulgaria and other countries.
Arshin Mal Alan The first feature film based on
Arshin Mal Alan musical comedy was shot in 1916. This film was the silent film. For the next time it was screened at Baku Movie Studio in 1945 with some changes. The main role of the film belonged to Rashid Behbudov. This comedy again was screened in Baku, in 1965. The director of the film was Tofiq Taghizade and Fikrat Amirov performed as a music redactor. It was translated into many languages such as English, German, Chinese, Arabic, Persian, Polish etc. ==Publications==