Asaf Zeynalabdin oglu Zeynally (), also spelled Zeynalli (5 April 1909,
Derbent
Derbent, also historically known as Darband, or Derbend, is the southernmost city in Russia. It is situated along the southeastern coast of the Dagestan, Republic of Dagestan, occupying the narrow gateway between the Caspian Sea and the Caucas ...
– 27 October 1932,
Baku
Baku (, ; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Azerbaijan, largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and in the Caucasus region. Baku is below sea level, which makes it the List of capital ci ...
), was an
Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental and landlocked country at the boundary of West Asia and Eastern Europe. It is a part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded by ...
i
composer
A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music.
Etymology and def ...
.
Early life
Asaf Zeynally was the third child of the
gardener
A gardener is someone who practices gardening, either professionally or as a hobby.
Description
A gardener is any person involved in gardening, arguably the oldest occupation, from the hobbyist in a residential garden, the home-owner suppleme ...
Zeynalabdin and his wife Asband. He grew up in a house located next to Derbent's famous historical Naryn-Kala sight. Asaf Zeynally's father died shortly after his birth, and his mother, Asband, a
weaver
Weaver or Weavers may refer to:
Activities
* A person who engages in weaving fabric
Animals
* Various birds of the family Ploceidae
* Crevice weaver spider family
* Orb-weaver spider family
* Weever (or weever-fish)
Arts and entertainmen ...
, became the family's breadwinner. She was also an amateur musician and singer, and she played the
accordion
Accordions (from 19th-century German language, German ', from '—"musical chord, concord of sounds") are a family of box-shaped musical instruments of the bellows-driven free reed aerophone type (producing sound as air flows past a Reed (mou ...
contributing to her younger son's growing passion for music. In 1916, 7-year-old Zeynally started attending the Derbent
Realschule
Real school (, ) is a type of secondary school in Germany, Switzerland and Liechtenstein. It has also existed in Croatia (''realna gimnazija''), the Austrian Empire, the German Empire, Denmark and Norway (''realskole''), Sweden (''realskola''), F ...
, a local primary school, where he became a member of the school
choir
A choir ( ), also known as a chorale or chorus (from Latin ''chorus'', meaning 'a dance in a circle') is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform or in other words ...
and was taught to play the
clarinet
The clarinet is a Single-reed instrument, single-reed musical instrument in the woodwind family, with a nearly cylindrical bore (wind instruments), bore and a flared bell.
Clarinets comprise a Family (musical instruments), family of instrume ...
often participating in public performances of an amateur
brass band
A brass band is a musical ensemble generally consisting primarily of brass instruments, most often with a percussion section. Ensembles that include brass and woodwind instruments can in certain traditions also be termed brass bands (particularl ...
outside school. In 1920, the family moved to Baku,
Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental and landlocked country at the boundary of West Asia and Eastern Europe. It is a part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded by ...
, where Zeynally continued his education at a
military school, at which he also learned to play the
trumpet
The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz musical ensemble, ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest Register (music), register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitche ...
.
[Asaf Zeynally]
. ''Axtar.az''
Contributions
In 1923, Zeynally enrolled in the newly established musical college (which would be later named after him) where he was taught by prominent composer
Uzeyir Hajibeyov
Uzeyir bey Abdulhuseyn bey oghlu Hajibeyov (18 September 188523 November 1948) was an Azerbaijanis, Azerbaijani composer, musicologist and teacher. He is recognized as the father of Azerbaijani classical music. He composed the music of the Az� ...
. While studying at the college, he composed his first work entitled ''Mahni'' ("The Song") and performed it on a
trumpet
The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz musical ensemble, ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest Register (music), register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitche ...
. The performance was perceived at revolutionary by music experts as the young composer managed to adjust the ceremonial
march
March is the third month of the year in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars. Its length is 31 days. In the Northern Hemisphere, the meteorological beginning of spring occurs on the first day of March. The March equinox on the 20 or 2 ...
-like tune of the instrument in order to play folk Azeri music. Encouraged by Hajibeyov, Zeynally enrolled in the
composer
A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music.
Etymology and def ...
program at the
Azerbaijan State Conservatoire
The Hajibeyli Baku Academy of Music (Azeri: ''Hacıbəyli adına Bakı Musiqi Akademiyası'') is a music school in Baku, Azerbaijan. It was established in 1920 in Baku and was previously known as the Hajibeyli Azerbaijan State Conservatoire.
H ...
upon graduating from the musical college in 1926. Along with writing music, Zeynally publishes articles on Azeri musical culture, in which he mainly develops Hajibeyov's method of merging traditional Azeri styles with Western European
classical music
Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be #Relationship to other music traditions, distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical mu ...
. In the early 1930s, he was among members of
intelligentsia
The intelligentsia is a status class composed of the university-educated people of a society who engage in the complex mental labours by which they critique, shape, and lead in the politics, policies, and culture of their society; as such, the i ...
who opposed the goal of the
Soviets
The Soviet people () were the citizens and nationals of the Soviet Union. This demonym was presented in the ideology of the country as the "new historical unity of peoples of different nationalities" ().
Nationality policy in the Soviet Union ...
to ban
tar
Tar is a dark brown or black viscous liquid of hydrocarbons and free carbon, obtained from a wide variety of organic materials through destructive distillation. Tar can be produced from coal, wood, petroleum, or peat. "a dark brown or black b ...
. Since 1928 Zeynally taught at the music school by the Conservatoire, where he teaches theories of music (
Gara Garayev,
Jovdat Hajiyev and
Tofig Guliyev
Tofig Alakbar oglu Guliyev (; 7 November 1917, Baku – 4 October 2000, Baku) was a Soviet and Azerbaijani composer, pianist, and conductor.
Biography
Tofig Guliyev was born in Baku, in the family of salary worker. He became a student of the Aze ...
were among his students
[Big Moments of a Short Life]
by M.Sultanova. ''Dovlat Gomruk Komitasinin gazeti''. 13 May 2006. Retrieved 4 May 2007). 1929 becomes the peak of the composer's activity. Among his works produced that year, there was the
romance
Romance may refer to:
Common meanings
* Romance (love), emotional attraction towards another person and the courtship behaviors undertaken to express the feelings
** Romantic orientation, the classification of the sex or gender with which a pers ...
''Olkam'' ("My Country"), children's
suite, ''Garabagh shikastasi'' for a
symphonic orchestra
An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments:
* String instruments, such as the violin, viola, cello, a ...
, and other folk songs adjusted for Western instruments. In 1931 graduated from the Conservatoire and was appointed head of the Department of Music of the Baku Turkic Labour Theatre. There, his main contribution was writing music for the controversial propaganda play ''Sevil''. In 1932, the theatre successfully toured
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...
.
Asaf Zeynally died in 1932, at the age of 23, of an illness, never getting to compose the monumental
symphony
A symphony is an extended musical composition in Western classical music, most often for orchestra. Although the term has had many meanings from its origins in the ancient Greek era, by the late 18th century the word had taken on the meaning c ...
dedicated to Baku that he had planned earlier.
The
Asaf Zeynally Music School in Baku currently bears his name.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zeynally, Asaf
Azerbaijani composers
Azerbaijani people of Dagestani descent
1909 births
1932 deaths
People from Derbent
Baku Academy of Music alumni
20th-century Azerbaijani composers