Music of Tatarstan
Encyclopedia
Tatarstan
is an autonomous republic
within Russia
, where the largest ethnic group is the Tatars. Their traditional music is a mixture of Turkic
and Finno-Ugric elements, reportedly bridging Mongolian
and Hungarian
music. Nonetheless, the most distinguishing feature of Tatar music is the pentatonic scale
, which aligns it with the Chinese
and Vietnamese
musical traditions. Instrumental dance music, secular song and sacred music are all a part of Tatar folk music. Instrumentation includes the kubyz (jaw harp), surnay, quray (flute
) and accordion
-talianka.
In the mid-20th century, a number of Tatar composers became renowned, including Cäwdät Fäyzi
, Salix Säydäş
, Mansur Mozaffarov
and Näcip Cihanov
. Many of the works of the Russian-Tatar composer Sofia Gubaidulina
have been inspired by Tatar music.
The largest center of Tatar national music is the Jalil Opera and Ballet Theatre named after Musa Cälil
. The first Tatar opera
, Saniä, was staged in 1925. It was composed by Soltan Gabashi in collaboration with Vasili Vinogradov
. Farit Yarullin
was the creator of the first Tatar ballet
, Şüräle
. Modern Tatar music includes practically all existing basic musical genres.
Modern, non-traditional music includes pop, rock
, hip-hop music (for example, İttifaQ
), etc. One of the most remarkable artists, who obtained her own niche in Tatar music is the renowned world music
singer and composer Zulya Kamalova
, who currently resides in Australia
. One of the most outstanding examples of contemporary Tatar music is the rock opera
The Wanderer in Bulgar
– an amalgamation of Tatar Folk Music, the Tatar Opera tradition and western rock music
arrangements with Russian rock
prints. Tatar pop singers Alsou
(who sings in English, Russian and Tatar) and Zemfira
(who sings mostly in Russian) are currently among the most popular musical performers in Russia. The National Tatarstan Orchestra is the major symphony orchestra in Tatarstan.
Tatarstan
The Republic of Tatarstan is a federal subject of Russia located in the Volga Federal District. Its capital is the city of Kazan, which is one of Russia's largest and most prosperous cities. The republic borders with Kirov, Ulyanovsk, Samara, and Orenburg Oblasts, and with the Mari El, Udmurt,...
is an autonomous republic
Autonomous republic
An autonomous republic is a type of administrative division similar to a province. A significant number of autonomous republics can be found within the successor states of the Soviet Union, but the majority are located within Russia. Many of these republics were established during the Soviet...
within Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, where the largest ethnic group is the Tatars. Their traditional music is a mixture of Turkic
Turkic peoples
The Turkic peoples are peoples residing in northern, central and western Asia, southern Siberia and northwestern China and parts of eastern Europe. They speak languages belonging to the Turkic language family. They share, to varying degrees, certain cultural traits and historical backgrounds...
and Finno-Ugric elements, reportedly bridging Mongolian
Music of Mongolia
Music is an integral part of Mongolian culture. Among the unique contributions of Mongolia to the world's musical culture are the long songs, one of the greatest features of the Mongolian music, overtone singing and morin khuur, the horse-headed fiddle...
and Hungarian
Music of Hungary
Hungary has made many contributions to the fields of folk, popular and classical music. Hungarian folk music is a prominent part of the national identity and continues to play a major part in Hungarian music...
music. Nonetheless, the most distinguishing feature of Tatar music is the pentatonic scale
Pentatonic scale
A pentatonic scale is a musical scale with five notes per octave in contrast to a heptatonic scale such as the major scale and minor scale...
, which aligns it with the Chinese
Music of China
Chinese Music has been made since the dawn of Chinese civilization with documents and artifacts providing evidence of a well-developed musical culture as early as the Zhou Dynasty...
and Vietnamese
Music of Vietnam
Traditional Vietnamese music is highly diverse and syncretistic, combining native and foreign influences. Throughout its history, Vietnam has been heavily impacted by the Chinese musical tradition, as an integral part, along with Korea, Mongolia and Japan....
musical traditions. Instrumental dance music, secular song and sacred music are all a part of Tatar folk music. Instrumentation includes the kubyz (jaw harp), surnay, quray (flute
Flute
The flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening...
) and accordion
Accordion
The accordion is a box-shaped musical instrument of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone family, sometimes referred to as a squeezebox. A person who plays the accordion is called an accordionist....
-talianka.
In the mid-20th century, a number of Tatar composers became renowned, including Cäwdät Fäyzi
Cäwdät Fäyzi
Fäyzullin Cäwdät Xaris ulı Cäwdät Fäyzi was a Tatar composer and folklorist...
, Salix Säydäş
Salix Säydäs
Säydäşev Salix Camaletdin ulı was a Tatar composer and conductor. People's Artist of Tatar ASSR , Honoured Worker of Culture...
, Mansur Mozaffarov
Mansur Mozaffarov
Mozaffarov Mansur Äxmät ulı , Mansur Mozaffarov; Tatar Cyrillic: Мозаффаров Мансур Әхмәт улы; , Muzafarov Mansur Akhmetovich; 1902 – 1966) was a Tatar composer and pedagogue. TASSR Honoured Worker of Culture , People's Artist of TASSR . Mansur was a son of Tatar emancipatress Mahruy Mozaffariä...
and Näcip Cihanov
Näcip Cihanov
Näcip Ğayaz ulı Cihanov — Tatar Cyrillic: Нәҗип Гаяз улы Җиһанов, pronounced ; ; anglicised as Najip Jihanov or, more usually, Nazib Gayazovich Zhiganov — was a Tatar composer, teacher and statesman...
. Many of the works of the Russian-Tatar composer Sofia Gubaidulina
Sofia Gubaidulina
Sofia Asgatovna Gubaidulina, is a Russian composer of half Russian, half Tatar ethnicity.Gubaidulina's music is marked by the use of unusual instrumental combinations...
have been inspired by Tatar music.
The largest center of Tatar national music is the Jalil Opera and Ballet Theatre named after Musa Cälil
Musa Cälil
Musa Cälil was a Soviet Tatar poet and resistance fighter. He is the only poet of the Soviet Union who was simultaneously awarded the Hero of the Soviet Union award for his resistance fighting, and the Lenin Prize for authoring The Moabit Notebooks; both the awards were awarded to him...
. The first Tatar opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
, Saniä, was staged in 1925. It was composed by Soltan Gabashi in collaboration with Vasili Vinogradov
Vasili Vinogradov
Vinogradov Vasily Ivanovich Vasili Vinogradov; ; 1874 – 1948) was an ethnically Russian Tatar opera composer, violinist and pedagogue...
. Farit Yarullin
Färit Yarullin
Yarullin Färit Zahidulla ulı aka Färit Yarullin; Tatar Cyrillic: Яруллин Фәрит Заһидулла улы; , Yarullin Farid Zagidullovich; 1914 – 1943) was a Tatar composer, the creator of the first Tatar ballet, Şüräle. His works include chamber music, romances, songs and arrangement of folk music...
was the creator of the first Tatar ballet
Ballet
Ballet is a type of performance dance, that originated in the Italian Renaissance courts of the 15th century, and which was further developed in France and Russia as a concert dance form. The early portions preceded the invention of the proscenium stage and were presented in large chambers with...
, Şüräle
Süräle
Şüräle , is a male monster in Bashkir and Tatar mythology. According to legends, Şüräle lives in forests. He has long fingers, a horn on its forehead, and a woolly body...
. Modern Tatar music includes practically all existing basic musical genres.
Modern, non-traditional music includes pop, rock
Tatar rock
Some of the earliest Tatar rock bands were Soviet bands Saq-Soq and Bolgar, as well as Başqarma from Finland, bands active in the late 1980s. Today the most popular Tatar rock bands are Alqanat from Aqtanış and Xat from Sarman...
, hip-hop music (for example, İttifaQ
Ittifaq
Ittifaq or Ittifak may refer to:# Ittifaq al-Muslimin, a political party of Muslims in the Russian Empire# Ittifaq party, a nationalist political party in Tatarstan# İttifaQ, the Tatar hip-hop group...
), etc. One of the most remarkable artists, who obtained her own niche in Tatar music is the renowned world music
World music
World music is a term with widely varying definitions, often encompassing music which is primarily identified as another genre. This is evidenced by world music definitions such as "all of the music in the world" or "somebody else's local music"...
singer and composer Zulya Kamalova
Zulya Kamalova
Zulya Kamalova is an award-winning Tatar singer. She currently resides in Australia though tours both countries frequently.-Life:Zulya grew up in Tatarstan and began performing and writing music at age 9. In 1991, she moved to Australia, settling in Hobart, Tasmania...
, who currently resides in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. One of the most outstanding examples of contemporary Tatar music is the rock opera
Rock opera
A rock opera is a work of rock music that presents a storyline told over multiple parts, songs or sections in the manner of opera. A rock opera differs from a conventional rock album, which usually includes songs that are not unified by a common theme or narrative. More recent developments include...
The Wanderer in Bulgar
The Wanderer in Bulgar
The Wanderer in Bulgar aka The Minstrel in Bulgar is a 30 minutes Tatar rock opera written and directed by Vladislav Chebitarev, music by Räşid Kalimullin based on İldar Yüziev's libretto for classical opera Cuckoo's Cry...
– an amalgamation of Tatar Folk Music, the Tatar Opera tradition and western rock music
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
arrangements with Russian rock
Russian rock
Russian rock refers to rock music made in Russia or in the Russian language. Rock and roll became known in the Soviet Union in the 1960s and quickly broke free from its western roots. According to many music critics, its "golden age" years were the 1980s , when the Soviet underground rock bands...
prints. Tatar pop singers Alsou
Alsou
- Early life :Alsou was born in Bugulma, Tatarstan. Her father, Ralif Rafilovich Safin is a Russian oligarch, a former LUKoil executive and a current member of the Federal Council, the upper chamber of the Russian parliament. He is also the owner of the FC Zhemchuzhina-Sochi football team and was...
(who sings in English, Russian and Tatar) and Zemfira
Zemfira
Zemfira, officially Zemfira Talgatovna Ramazanova ; born 26 August 1976 in Ufa, Bashkortostan) is a Russian rock artist of Bashkir descent...
(who sings mostly in Russian) are currently among the most popular musical performers in Russia. The National Tatarstan Orchestra is the major symphony orchestra in Tatarstan.