Salamat Sadikova ( ky, Саламат Садыкова; ar, سلامات صاديقوف; also Sadykova and Sadicova; born 28 September 1956 in Kyzyl Jol village,

Batken Batken (also called Batkent) is a town in southwestern Kyrgyzstan, on the southern fringe of the Fergana Valley. It is the administrative seat of Batken Region. Since 2000, it is a city of regional significance, i.e. not part of a district. Howeve ...

Kyrgyzstan Kyrgyzstan,, pronounced or the Kyrgyz Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Asia. Kyrgyzstan is bordered by Kazakhstan to the north, Uzbekistan to the west, Tajikistan to the south, and the People's Republic of China to the east. ...

) is a

folk singer Folk music is a music genre that includes #Traditional folk music, traditional folk music and the Contemporary folk music, contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be c ...

"Tajik Songs of Sky And Destiny at Fest" - The Moscow Times
/ref> and the head of the coordinating council for the El-Ene (Mother Nation) Party in Kyrgyzstan. Widely regarded as a national treasure, she is often referred to by the

sobriquet A sobriquet ( ), or soubriquet, is a nickname, sometimes assumed, but often given by another, that is descriptive. A sobriquet is distinct from a pseudonym, as it is typically a familiar name used in place of a real name, without the need of expla ...

"The Voice of Kyrgyzstan," which is also the name of one of her albums.
Salamat Sadikova
''. Folklore Productions International.

Career

Sadikova initially faced much prejudice as a woman performing in the conservative southern area of the former

Kyrgyz Soviet Socialist Republic The Kirghiz Soviet Socialist Republic (Kirghiz SSR; ky, Кыргыз Советтик Социалисттик Республикасы, Kyrgyz Sovettik Sotsialisttik Respublikasy, ky, Кыргыз ССР, Kyrgyz SSR, russian: Киргизск ...

. Nonetheless, she eventually became the leader of the Kyrgyz national folk music and dance ensemble “Kambarkan”.Caucasus music-Silk Road
" Oman Ministry of Tourism. Facebook.

' Kyrgyzmusic.com She has received numerous awards, among them the title

People's Artist People's Artist is an honorary title in the Soviet Union, Union republics, in some other Eastern bloc states (and communist states in general), as well as in a number of post-Soviet states, modeled after the title of the People's Artist of the USS ...

of Kyrgyzstan and "Honored Artist of the Republic of Kazakhstan", Winner of the State prize of

Toktogul Toktogul ( ky, Toктогул, known until 31 July 1957 as ''Muztör'' ()), is a city (since 2012) in Jalal-Abad Region of Kyrgyzstan. Its population was 20,577 in 2021. It is the administrative seat of Toktogul District. It is named after its mos ...

, Owner of the title of World's Master of Music, Korea."People's Artist of Kyrgyzstan Salamat Sadykov take part in international folklore festival 'Masters of World Music'" - Park.RU
(translated) Her first CD along with “Kambarkan” ensemble was released in Japan during their tours all around Japan. She produced and released a CD of her music in the United States with support from Mark A. Humphrey, who is an

ethnomusicologist Ethnomusicology is the study of music from the cultural and social aspects of the people who make it. It encompasses distinct theoretical and methodical approaches that emphasize cultural, social, material, cognitive, biological, and other dim ...

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

Performances

Sadikova has performed—solo and with “Kambarkan”—throughout

Central Asia Central Asia, also known as Middle Asia, is a subregion, region of Asia that stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to western China and Mongolia in the east, and from Afghanistan and Iran in the south to Russia in the north. It includes t ...

, including the Sharq Taronalari (Eastern Melodies) international

music festival A music festival is a community event with performances of singing and instrument playing that is often presented with a theme such as musical genre (e.g., rock, blues, folk, jazz, classical music), nationality, locality of musicians, or h ...

Samarkand fa, سمرقند , native_name_lang = , settlement_type = City , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from the top:Registan square, Shah-i-Zinda necropolis, Bibi-Khanym Mosque, view inside Shah-i-Zinda, ...

, Uzbekistan. She has also performed at various countries outside of Central Asia, including

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

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 ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

and the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. In 2003, she performed at the Days of Kyrgyz Culture in Moscow. In 2006, at the

Shanghai Cooperation Organisation The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) is a Eurasian politics, political, economy, economic and security organization. It is the world's largest regional organization in terms of geography, geographic scope and world population, population, c ...

's annual conference, she performed in front of several heads of state, such as those of China and Russia. She was among the 36 international artists who performed at the first World Masters Festival of Arts and Culture—billed as "the cultural Olympics of the traditional artists of the world"—in

Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 ...

in October 2007. In 2008, she was an Official Showcase Artist at

WOMEX WOMEX (short for Worldwide Music Expo) is an international world music support and development project based in Berlin, whose main event is an exposition held annually in different locations throughout Europe. It integrates a trade fair, showca ...

—a world music exposition held that year in

Seville, Spain Seville (; es, Sevilla, ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula ...

— along with being a part of the musical program for the " Rose of the World 2008" in Russia.

Music and style

Sadikova sings lyrical songs of the Kyrgyz people and accompanies herself on the Kyrgyz lute, called

komuz The komuz or qomuz ( ky, комуз , az, Qopuz, tr, Kopuz) is an ancient fretless string instrument used in Central Asian music, related to certain other Turkic string instruments, the Mongolian tovshuur, and the lute. The instrument can be f ...

. Some of her songs are traditional, or were popularized decades ago by Myskal Omurkanova (1915–1976), the first great Kyrgyz female artist to record extensively. Her other songs were often written specially for her by leading Kyrgyz and Kazakh composers, such as Kyrgyzstan's unofficial national anthem, ''Kyrgyz Jeri'' (Kyrgyz Land), though she performs some original compositions as well. In content and emotion, Sadikova's songs might be compared to the

ghazal The ''ghazal'' ( ar, غَزَل, bn, গজল, Hindi-Urdu: /, fa, غزل, az, qəzəl, tr, gazel, tm, gazal, uz, gʻazal, gu, ગઝલ) is a form of amatory poem or ode, originating in Arabic poetry. A ghazal may be understood as a ...

song tradition or to Portuguese

fado Fado (; "destiny, fate") is a music genre that can be traced to the 1820s in Lisbon, Portugal, but probably has much earlier origins. Fado historian and scholar Rui Vieira Nery states that "the only reliable information on the history of fado was ...

. As translated from a quote from '' Plural World'', Sadikova says:
Salamat Sadikov: The Voice of Kyrgyzstan
'. Plural World. ::(Quote translated from French: "Mes chants portent l'amour et la nostalgie des villages de montagne, isolés, oubliés, même par les voix de ma propre terre")

Notable songs

The follow are some popular pieces sung by Sadikova:
"Esingdebi"

"Alymkan"

"Кыргыз жерим" (Kyrgyz Jeri)

"Гүлгүн Жаш"

"Ay nuru" (Moonlight)

Tours

In 2008 and 2009, Sadikova had concert tours in Moscow, Ukraine, Germany, Netherlands, Spain, Belgium, South Korea and Taiwan. *WOMEX 2008 - Seville, Spain *Festival Roza Mira - Moscow *World's Master of Music – South Korea in 2007 and 2009 *Hengchun International Folk Song and Music Festival – Taiwan *International Festival of Music and Dance "Svirzh" – Ukraine *Tour concerts in Japan, Germany, Turkey, Netherlands, Belgium *2 solo concerts in Oman – Muscat and Salalah, in the frame of the cultural events of the Ministry of Tourism of Oman. February 2010

Critical reception

Michael Heumann, in the online

Stylus Magazine ''Stylus Magazine'' was an American online music and film magazine, launched in 2002 and co-founded by Todd L. Burns. It featured long-form music journalism, four daily music reviews, movie reviews, podcasts, an MP3 blog, and a text blog. Addi ...

, wrote the following regarding Sadikova:

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sadikova, Salamat 1956 births Living people Ethnic Kyrgyz people (individuals) Kyrgyzstani women singers People from Batken Region