[Bilimsel Haber] New DVD: The Music and Culture of Azerbaijan

[Onur Inal]

The Inner Asian and Uralic National Resource Center at Indiana University is
pleased to announce the publication of The Music and Culture of Azerbaijan,
the newest addition to the Global Voices series of educational DVDs. The
Global Voices Interactive series presents music of a culture, with the goal
of re-creating the music and gaining a better understanding of the culture
from which it comes.

In The Music and Culture of Azerbaijan, musicologist Aida Huseynova sheds
light on the music of this former Soviet republic of the South Caucasus
located on the shores of the Caspian Sea. The DVD and digital book
accompanying it on the same disc present the history of Azerbaijan's rich
musical heritage. Recordings of performing artists and composers demonstrate
how this music uniquely blends the musical traditions of the West with that
of the Muslim East. Many of the musical examples in video and/or audio
format are historical recordings of music, ranging from traditional mugham
to opera and jazz. Dr. Huseynova spotlights songs that were sung around the
world in the mid-20th Century by the Azerbaijani musical ambassador, Rashid
Behbudov. The Culture section of the DVD provides an overview of the Arts,
Language and Literature, People and Traditions and general information about
the country. This important resource exemplifies the opening sentence to
Huseynova's book, "If you really want to understand Azerbaijani people,
listen to their music."

Dr. Aida Huseynova is Associate Professor of Musicology at Baku Music
Academy. She has a PhD in musicology from the St. Petersburg Conservatory in
Russia. Dr. Huseynova's main area of expertise is East-West synthesis in
musical culture of Azerbaijan. She has presented numerous lectures on the
history of Azerbaijani music throughout Europe, and has served as translator
and consultant for Yo-Yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble.

Single copies of the DVD are available free of charge for non-commercial use
from the Inner Asian and Uralic National Resource Center. To request a copy,
please visit the Center's website at http://www.indiana.edu/~iaunrc or send
an email with your name, address, and institutional affiliation (if
applicable) to iaunrc at indiana.edu. The DVD can only be sent to US addresses.