Umar Dimayev
Encyclopedia
Umar Dimayev (October 1, 1908–1972) was a legendary Chechen
accordionist and folk musician. His sons - Ali, Valid, and Said
- are professional Chechen
musicians.
farmers on October 1, 1908 in Urus-Martan
. Despite their relative lack of wealth, the Dimayev family had traditionally been educated in music, as all of Umar's brothers and sisters played the accordion
, and Umar would later recall that his younger sister Aruzha would be the one who supported and cultivated his musical abilities: although their father discouraged Umar from playing the accordion, saying it discouraged the development of his son's masculinity
, Aruzha gave away her own instrument to Umar and taught him how to play the accordion. By the age of fifteen, neighbors routinely invited Umar to play at their family celebrations, including weddings, and at bedsides, since they felt that his music helped cure people.http://www.chechenworld.com/english/people/dimaevu.html
A small radio station
opened in Urus-Martan
in 1924, and young Umar started playing in local radio broadcasts. Five years later, in 1929, Umar gave a solo performance with the orchestra of the National Theater, to underline his growing popularity in Chechnya
. He would then work alongside the renowned Russia
n composer
Alexander Alexandrov
, who would teach Umar music composition. Several of Umar's compositions during this early period of his career are still played in Chechnya, such as "The Chechen Waltz" of the stage production "The Red Citadel," and a song based on "Bela", a frame story
of Mikhail Lermontov
's A Hero of Our Time
.http://www.chechnyafree.ru/index.php?lng=rus§ion=cmmodernrus&row=3
By the 1930s Umar had gained wide recognition throughout the Chechen-Ingush ASSR. He then served as soloist
of the folk band of the Chechen-Ingush radio company, and he won second prize at the first All-Union Folk Musicians contest.http://www.chechnyafree.ru/index.php?lng=eng§ion=musiceng&row=30
However, the lives of the entire Chechen
and Ingush people
would be dramatically affected by the forced deportation
to Central Asia
on February 23, 1944, and Umar was deported to Kazakhstan
with his entire family. His son Ali Dimayev would be born in exile in 1953. Nevertheless, Umar managed to perform his music on radio stations in Kazakhstan: Although the radio transmissions would last barely fifteen minutes, the exiled Chechens would gather at the homes of radio owners to listen to Umar's broadcasts. His folk songs reminded the Chechen people of their lost homeland, which the bereaved Chechens longed to return to. At the end of the transmission, the men would hide their wet eyes, and the mothers cried quietly.http://www.chechnya.cjes.ru/journal/?j_id=12&c_id=297
After returning from exile, Umar would reach the prime of his musical career in the 1950s, where he composed some of his best work, including "A Dance For Makhmoud Esambayev", after the renowned Chechen
dancer, "A Song of Chechen-Ukrainian Friendship" (Similar to the Chechen deportations, millions of Ukrainians
had died due to the Soviet-directed Holodomor
in the 1930s, but thousands of Ukrainians had then been saved from starvation by Chechens http://www.artukraine.com/famineart/chechens.htm), and a dancing tune called "Two Friends". He would also be one of the founders of the "Vainakh" dance company
.http://www.chechenworld.com/english/people/dimaevu.html
Umar died in 1972.
Chechen people
Chechens constitute the largest native ethnic group originating in the North Caucasus region. They refer to themselves as Noxçi . Also known as Sadiks , Gargareans, Malkhs...
accordionist and folk musician. His sons - Ali, Valid, and Said
Said Dimayev
Said-Emin Umarovich Dimayev was a Chechen composer. His father Umar Dimayev was a legendary accordionist and folk musician, and his brothers Ali and Valid are professional Chechen musicians.-Biography:...
- are professional Chechen
Chechen people
Chechens constitute the largest native ethnic group originating in the North Caucasus region. They refer to themselves as Noxçi . Also known as Sadiks , Gargareans, Malkhs...
musicians.
Biography
Umar was born into a family of peasantPeasant
A peasant is an agricultural worker who generally tend to be poor and homeless-Etymology:The word is derived from 15th century French païsant meaning one from the pays, or countryside, ultimately from the Latin pagus, or outlying administrative district.- Position in society :Peasants typically...
farmers on October 1, 1908 in Urus-Martan
Urus-Martan
Urus-Martan is a town and the administrative center of Urus-Martanovsky District of the Chechen Republic, Russia, located on the Martan River. The town is located in the central part of the republic, to the southwest of the capital Grozny. Population:...
. Despite their relative lack of wealth, the Dimayev family had traditionally been educated in music, as all of Umar's brothers and sisters played the 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....
, and Umar would later recall that his younger sister Aruzha would be the one who supported and cultivated his musical abilities: although their father discouraged Umar from playing the accordion, saying it discouraged the development of his son's masculinity
Masculinity
Masculinity is possessing qualities or characteristics considered typical of or appropriate to a man. The term can be used to describe any human, animal or object that has the quality of being masculine...
, Aruzha gave away her own instrument to Umar and taught him how to play the accordion. By the age of fifteen, neighbors routinely invited Umar to play at their family celebrations, including weddings, and at bedsides, since they felt that his music helped cure people.http://www.chechenworld.com/english/people/dimaevu.html
A small radio station
Radio station
Radio broadcasting is a one-way wireless transmission over radio waves intended to reach a wide audience. Stations can be linked in radio networks to broadcast a common radio format, either in broadcast syndication or simulcast or both...
opened in Urus-Martan
Urus-Martan
Urus-Martan is a town and the administrative center of Urus-Martanovsky District of the Chechen Republic, Russia, located on the Martan River. The town is located in the central part of the republic, to the southwest of the capital Grozny. Population:...
in 1924, and young Umar started playing in local radio broadcasts. Five years later, in 1929, Umar gave a solo performance with the orchestra of the National Theater, to underline his growing popularity in Chechnya
Chechnya
The Chechen Republic , commonly referred to as Chechnya , also spelled Chechnia or Chechenia, sometimes referred to as Ichkeria , is a federal subject of Russia . It is located in the southeastern part of Europe in the Northern Caucasus mountains. The capital of the republic is the city of Grozny...
. He would then work alongside the renowned 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...
n composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
Alexander Alexandrov
Alexander Alexandrov
Alexander Alexandrov may refer to:*Aleksandr Danilovich Aleksandrov , Russian mathematician and physicist*Aleksandr Pavlovich Aleksandrov , Russian cosmonaut...
, who would teach Umar music composition. Several of Umar's compositions during this early period of his career are still played in Chechnya, such as "The Chechen Waltz" of the stage production "The Red Citadel," and a song based on "Bela", a frame story
Frame story
A frame story is a literary technique that sometimes serves as a companion piece to a story within a story, whereby an introductory or main narrative is presented, at least in part, for the purpose of setting the stage either for a more emphasized second narrative or for a set of shorter stories...
of Mikhail Lermontov
Mikhail Lermontov
Mikhail Yuryevich Lermontov , a Russian Romantic writer, poet and painter, sometimes called "the poet of the Caucasus", became the most important Russian poet after Alexander Pushkin's death in 1837. Lermontov is considered the supreme poet of Russian literature alongside Pushkin and the greatest...
's A Hero of Our Time
A Hero of Our Time
A Hero of Our Time is a novel by Mikhail Lermontov, written in 1839 and revised in 1841. It is an example of the superfluous man novel, noted for its compelling Byronic hero Pechorin and for the beautiful descriptions of the Caucasus...
.http://www.chechnyafree.ru/index.php?lng=rus§ion=cmmodernrus&row=3
By the 1930s Umar had gained wide recognition throughout the Chechen-Ingush ASSR. He then served as soloist
Solo (music)
In music, a solo is a piece or a section of a piece played or sung by a single performer...
of the folk band of the Chechen-Ingush radio company, and he won second prize at the first All-Union Folk Musicians contest.http://www.chechnyafree.ru/index.php?lng=eng§ion=musiceng&row=30
However, the lives of the entire Chechen
Chechen people
Chechens constitute the largest native ethnic group originating in the North Caucasus region. They refer to themselves as Noxçi . Also known as Sadiks , Gargareans, Malkhs...
and Ingush people
Ingush people
The Ingush are a native ethnic group of the North Caucasus, mostly inhabiting the Russian republic of Ingushetia. They refer to themselves as Ghalghai . The Ingush are predominantly Sunni Muslims and speak the Ingush language...
would be dramatically affected by the forced deportation
Population transfer in the Soviet Union
Population transfer in the Soviet Union may be classified into the following broad categories: deportations of "anti-Soviet" categories of population, often classified as "enemies of workers," deportations of entire nationalities, labor force transfer, and organized migrations in opposite...
to Central Asia
Central Asia
Central Asia is a core region of the Asian continent from the Caspian Sea in the west, China in the east, Afghanistan in the south, and Russia in the north...
on February 23, 1944, and Umar was deported to Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan , officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country in Central Asia and Eastern Europe. Ranked as the ninth largest country in the world, it is also the world's largest landlocked country; its territory of is greater than Western Europe...
with his entire family. His son Ali Dimayev would be born in exile in 1953. Nevertheless, Umar managed to perform his music on radio stations in Kazakhstan: Although the radio transmissions would last barely fifteen minutes, the exiled Chechens would gather at the homes of radio owners to listen to Umar's broadcasts. His folk songs reminded the Chechen people of their lost homeland, which the bereaved Chechens longed to return to. At the end of the transmission, the men would hide their wet eyes, and the mothers cried quietly.http://www.chechnya.cjes.ru/journal/?j_id=12&c_id=297
After returning from exile, Umar would reach the prime of his musical career in the 1950s, where he composed some of his best work, including "A Dance For Makhmoud Esambayev", after the renowned Chechen
Chechen people
Chechens constitute the largest native ethnic group originating in the North Caucasus region. They refer to themselves as Noxçi . Also known as Sadiks , Gargareans, Malkhs...
dancer, "A Song of Chechen-Ukrainian Friendship" (Similar to the Chechen deportations, millions of Ukrainians
Ukrainians
Ukrainians are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine, which is the sixth-largest nation in Europe. The Constitution of Ukraine applies the term 'Ukrainians' to all its citizens...
had died due to the Soviet-directed Holodomor
Holodomor
The Holodomor was a man-made famine in the Ukrainian SSR between 1932 and 1933. During the famine, which is also known as the "terror-famine in Ukraine" and "famine-genocide in Ukraine", millions of Ukrainians died of starvation in a peacetime catastrophe unprecedented in the history of...
in the 1930s, but thousands of Ukrainians had then been saved from starvation by Chechens http://www.artukraine.com/famineart/chechens.htm), and a dancing tune called "Two Friends". He would also be one of the founders of the "Vainakh" dance company
Dance company
A dance troupe or dance company is a group of dancers and associated personnel who work together to perform dances as a spectacle or entertainment.-Members:*Artistic Director*Choreographers*Dancers*Board of Directors*Education administrator...
.http://www.chechenworld.com/english/people/dimaevu.html
Umar died in 1972.