Bulbul, ( az, Bülbül, born Murtuza Rza oghlu Mammadov, 22 June 1897 – 26 September 1961) was a famous Azerbaijani and

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

opera

tenor A tenor is a type of classical music, classical male singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. The tenor's vocal range extends up to C5. The lo ...

, folk music performer, and one of the founders of vocal arts and national musical theatre in Azerbaijan.

Biography

Bulbul was born in 1897 in Khanbaghi, a hamlet in the former royal gardens between

Shusha / hy, Շուշի , settlement_type = City , image_skyline = ShushaCollection2021.jpg , image_caption = Landmarks of Shusha, from top left:Ghazanchetsots Cathedral • Yukhari Govhar ...

and Khankandi. His mother was from the village of Pareular, the daughter of a nomad

Kurd ug:كۇردلار Kurds ( ku, کورد ,Kurd, italic=yes, rtl=yes) or Kurdish people are an Iranian peoples, Iranian ethnic group native to the mountainous region of Kurdistan in Western Asia, which spans southeastern Turkey, northwestern Ir ...

. He was known for his musical talent since his childhood, which is why people nicknamed him Bulbul ("nightingale" in Azerbaijani). He chose it as a stage name when he became involved in professional music. While still a young

khananda A khananda ( az, xanəndə ; fa, خواننده; alternative spellings in English: khanende, khanande, khanandeh) is a name generally given to singers of mugham, an Culture of Azerbaijan, Azeri folk music genre. The word is of Persian origin ...

, he was invited to

Baku Baku (, ; az, Bakı ) is the capital and largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and of the Caucasus region. Baku is located below sea level, which makes it the lowest lying national capital in the world a ...

in 1920 to perform the role of Karam in

Uzeyir Hajibeyov Uzeyir bey Abdulhuseyn oghlu Hajibeyov ( az, Üzeyir bəy Əbdülhüseyn oğlu Hacıbəyov; russian: Узеир Абдул-Гусейн оглы Гаджибеков, translit=Uzeir Abdul-Guseyn ogly Gadzhibekov; September 18, 1885November 23, 19 ...

's opera ''Asli and Karam''. There he became acquainted with European-style opera and decided to excel in this genre. He later studied music and vocal arts at Azerbaijan State Conservatoire (now known as the

Baku Academy of Music The Hajibeyov Baku Academy of Music (Azeri: ''Hacıbəyov adına Bakı Musiqi Akademiyası'') is a music school in Baku, Azerbaijan. It was established in 1920 in Baku and was previously known as the Hajibeyov Azerbaijan State Conservatoire. H ...

), where he was admitted in 1921, as well as in the

La Scala La Scala (, , ; abbreviation in Italian of the official name ) is a famous opera house in Milan, Italy. The theatre was inaugurated on 3 August 1778 and was originally known as the ' (New Royal-Ducal Theatre alla Scala). The premiere performan ...

Theatre in

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

. In his songs, Bulbul was able to blend national manners of performance with traditions of Italian vocal school. He was also first to play the lead role of Koroglu in Uzeyir Hajibeyov's opera of the same name in 1938. Throughout his life, Bulbul was the vocal performer and the co-author of a number of songs and

romance Romance (from Vulgar Latin , "in the Roman language", i.e., "Latin") may refer to: Common meanings * Romance (love), emotional attraction towards another person and the courtship behaviors undertaken to express the feelings * Romance languages, ...

s. Bulbul was also known for his music-related publications and teaching vocal arts at his '' alma mater'', the Azerbaijan State Conservatoire between 1932 and 1961. He acquired a PhD degree in music in 1940. His

monograph A monograph is a specialist work of writing (in contrast to reference works) or exhibition on a single subject or an aspect of a subject, often by a single author or artist, and usually on a scholarly subject. In library cataloging, ''monograph ...

s nowadays serve as an important source for those studying

Azerbaijani music Azerbaijani music (Azerbaijani: Azərbaycan musiqisi) is the musical tradition of the Azerbaijani people from Azerbaijan Republic. Azerbaijani music has evolved under the badge of monody, producing rhythmically diverse melodies.Энциклоп ...

. Bulbul was the first musician to publish study guides and manuals used in teaching students how to play the

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 bit ...

kamancheh The kamancheh (also kamānche or kamāncha) ( fa, کمانچه, az, kamança, hy, Քամանչա, ku, کەمانچە ,kemançe) is an Iranian bowed string instrument used in Persian, Azerbaijani, Armenian, Kurdish, Georgian, Turkmen, a ...

and balaban, traditional musical instruments of Azerbaijan. Bulbul was awarded the highest artistic order of the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

–

People's Artist of the USSR People's Artist of the USSR ( rus, Народный артист СССР, Narodny artist SSSR), also sometimes translated as National Artist of the USSR, was an honorary title granted to artists of the Soviet Union. Nomenclature and significan ...

, as well as the ''"Stella di Garibaldi"'' order in Italy. He died in

. His second son Polad Mammadov also known as

Polad Bülbüloğlu Polad Bulbuloghlu ( az, Polad Bülbüloğlu; born February 4, 1945) is a Soviet and Azerbaijani singer, actor, politician, and diplomat. Bulbuloghlu became famous in the Soviet Union with composing jazz-influenced pop songs which has heavy Azerba ...

, was from his second marriage to Adelaida Mammadova, also an accomplished singer and actress. Polad is currently the Azerbaijani Ambassador to Russia.

Commemoration

Bulbul was buried at the

Alley of Honor The Alley of Honor ( az, Fəxri Xiyaban, Honorary ''Allée'') is a public cemetery and memorial in Baku, Azerbaijan. The Alley includes burials of famed Azerbaijanis and Azerbaijan-affiliated expatriates, including several Presidents, scientists ...

in Baku. The Ministry of Culture of Azerbaijan purchased the bronze busts of Bulbul and several other famous Karabakh Azerbaijanis that had once been erected in Shusha, on the black market in

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

. Following the Armenian occupation of Shusha in 1992, these monuments were machine-gunned, removed from their original place and intended to be sold as scrap metal. Nowadays these monuments are preserved in the courtyard of the Azerbaijani Museum of Arts in

. In 2008 the

Central Bank of Azerbaijan The Central Bank of Azerbaijan (CBA, az, Azərbaycan Mərkəzi Bankı) is the central bank of Azerbaijan Republic. The headquarters of the bank is located in the capital city Baku. The National Bank of the Republic of Azerbaijan was establish ...

minted a 100- manat gold

commemorative coin Commemorative coins are coins issued to commemorate some particular event or issue with a distinct design with reference to the occasion on which they were issued. Many coins of this category serve as collectors items only, although some countries ...

dedicated to Bulbul.

Monument to Bulbul

On 31 October 2012, the Monument to Bulbul containing a statue of the singer was unveiled on Bulbul Street in

, not far from the house where the singer lived. The monument was created by sculptor Akif Asgarov. The monument's unveiling was attended by President of Azerbaijan

Ilham Aliyev Ilham Heydar oghlu Aliyev ( az, İlham Heydər oğlu Əliyev, ; born 24 December 1961) is the fourth president of Azerbaijan, serving in the post since 31 October 2003. The son and second child of the former Azerbaijani leader Heydar Aliyev, ...

, the principal of the Baku Music Academy, People's Artist

Farhad Badalbeyli Farhad Shamsi oghlu Badalbeyli ( az, Fərhad Şəmsi oğlu Bədəlbəyli; born 1947) is an Azerbaijani pianist and composer. He was awarded the title, People's Artists of the Azerbaijan SSR (1978), the People's Artist of the USSR (1990), and lau ...

, People's Artist

Arif Babayev Arif Haji oglu Babayev ( az, Arif Hacı oğlu Babayev) was an Azerbaijani film director and Honorary Art Worker of the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic, Azerbaijan SSR (1964). Biography Arif Babayev was born on September 20, 1928, in Baku. The ...

, chair of the jury of the 4th Bulbul International Contest of Vocalists

Sergei Leiferkus Sergei Leiferkus (born 4 April 1946) is an operatic baritone from Russia, known for his dramatic technique and powerful voice particularly in Russian and Italian language repertoire. He is most notable for his roles as Scarpia in ''Tosca'', Ia ...

, artistic director of the contest Robert Koerner, and the singer's son,

.Ilham Aliyev attended a ceremony to unveil a statue of outstanding singer Bulbul
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Awards and decorations

*Honorary citizen of

Sumgait Sumgait (; az, Sumqayıt, ) is a city in Azerbaijan, located near the Caspian Sea, on the Absheron Peninsula, about away from the capital Baku. The city has a population of around 345,300, making it the second largest city in Azerbaijan after Ba ...

*Honorary artist of

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of th ...

(1935)

References

External links