01/07/10 - The Spanish flamenco to the accompaniment of the Uzbek sato

Дата публикации: Jan 19, 2012 1:17:36 PM

A curious gig has taken place at Alisher Navoi State Academic Bolshoi Theater. The spectators said they had a genuine pleasure to listen to compositions in a startling combination of European and Uzbek national music instruments performed by the popular French singer and musician Nilda Fernandez and the Uzbek band Axes Percussion Group.

The renowned French chanson singer has arrived in Tashkent within the program of development of cultural cooperation between Uzbekistan and France. The action was organized by the Fund Forum and Victor Hugo French Cultural Center in Tashkent. This year, Nilda Fernandez tours with his new album, Beaches of the Atlantic, recorded in Genoa, Italy, after long-term wanderings in a number of countries. His current performance has become some kind of invitation for traveling. At the press conference the singer put: “I have heard much about your country and for a long time wished to come here. And I looked forward to arriving in Uzbekistan and learn what Uzbek palov is really like. I do really want to perform with Uzbek musicians. Usually, visiting one place or another with my guitar and songs, I share them with musicians of the country where I perform. For me, it is always good meetings, enrichment and unforgettable experience. We rehearsed with Uzbek musicians in Conservatory where we got surrounded with astounding and fine music with lots of traditional folk melodies. “Chanson is a new direction in our repertoire,” tells Janibek Azbekov, director of Axes Percussion Group. “Thus, we have chosen up necessary musical instruments. Nilda brought his repertoire, yet during the rehearsals we improvised much. As a result, it is turned out into some kind of synthesis – Nilda’s text and our music, and he was impressed by our national music at that. At first he wanted only oud to play, but when heard other our instruments, he insisted on our enriching his performance with such a diverse sounding.”

Nilda Fernandez and Uzbek musicians have created an interesting and special tandem where absolutely different instruments were involved – accordion, contrabass as well as Uzbek national doira, sato and qo’shnay. Nilda is a Spaniard, so the influence of Spanish and Argentine music is expressly felt in his creativity. It was absolutely staggering to listen to his songs accompanied by Uzbek musical instruments. Rather diverse soundings were quite harmoniously combined with each other. Musicians improvised, bewitching the audience by both highly skillful playing on musical instruments and the ability to feel keenly each other’s national color. Their performance was full of sudden transitions. From the French song once perfectly sang by Edith Piaf, they smoothly moved to the Uzbek Tarona. The audience presented a storm of applauses to the French singer who fervently danced the Andijon Polka on the scene. Spanish flamenco played on such Uzbek instruments as sato and qo’shnay sounded rather vividly. In short, the performance caught the fancy of everyone visited the concert. It could be seen by the reaction of spectators who constantly applauded the musicians, and sometimes sang along with them.

Similar concerts took place in Bukhoro and Samarqand within the tour.