One Thousand and One Nights (sometimes referred to as Arabian Nights) Arabian Nights is a two-part ballet written in 1979. The music of the ballet was written by Fikret Amirov, and the libretto was written by Magsud and Rustam Ibrahimbeyov based on the fairy tale " Arabian Nights”.И. Л. Лебединский. Тысяча и один раз о «1001 ночи» / Под ред. В. П. Леонова и Назима М. ад-Дейрави. — Россия и арабский мир. — Санкт-Петербург: Ноах, 2007. — Т. 10. — С. 27. The premiere of the ballet took place in 1979 at the Azerbaijan State Academic Opera and Ballet Theater.
Music, choreography, libretto and artistic design are in organic unity in the ballet written on the basis of Arabic tales. Captivating melodies, colorful harmonic language and orchestration, the alternation of sincere lyrical scenes with folk scenes and household scenes are the main features of the Arabian Nights ballet. One of the main highlights of the ballet is the use of the female voice in the timbre dramaturgy. At the beginning of the ballet, the women's chorus, which sounds against the background of the orchestra's gentle, charming flowing intonations, is sad, but reflects the belief in bright dreams and devotion.
"Arabian Nights" is a deep philosophical play. It is a hymn to woman, her love and wisdom. Expressing very complex and deep ideas through dance is the greatest achievement of the composer in this genre.
History
Source and topics
The main rock of F. Amirov's ballet is the "Arabian Nights" tales with an ancient history, the cruel Shahriyar and the wise Shahrizade, the intelligence, bravery and kindness of the Eastern woman, and her victory with the strength of all these aspects. In ballet, there are many conflicts and moments of contrast. The emotional palette of the play is very rich: brutality and tenderness, hatred and love, death and joy meet here.
Authors of the libretto, Maqsud and Rustam Ibrahimbeyov, took the main point of the tale and managed to reveal its philosophical essence. Therefore, the red line here is the struggle between good and evil and the celebration of mercy. Compared to the original collection of fairy tales, the number of tales and characters in the ballet has been reduced. Mainly, three tales were used, which have an initial exposition, a conclusion, a finale, and also an independent theme. The fairy tales used are "Sindibad and the Magical Emerald Bird", "Aladdin and the Beautiful Here", "Alibaba and the Forty Thieves".
Fikret Amirov's work "A Thousand Nights" opened a new stage in the history of Azerbaijani ballet. Thus, in this work, the traditions of multi-act play and small-form ballets are combined. The composer was already an accomplished symphonist when he wrote in the ballet genre. In his work, in general, the symphonic way of thinking was formed by benefiting from the traditions of eastern culture. Deep philosophical concept, accuracy and logic of the author's thinking are the most remarkable points in the ballet "Arabian Nights", which is a very colorful and bright work. The dramaturgy of the ballet is born from the concept of this work, which is based on a rare monument of the peoples of the East. In other words, there are two worlds here: real and fairy-tale world. F. Amirov uses classical forms in this ballet and connects them in complete melodic and rhythm-intonation complexes.
Fikret Amirov, the author of ballet music, says in an interview that
Writing Arabian Nights ballet is a special stage in Fikret Amirov's creativity. Fikret Amirov, who usually takes the artistic content of his works from subjects close to the people, while writing the Thousand and One Nights ballet, remained faithful to the tradition and turned to the folk tales. S. Tahmiragizi notes that "the composer glorifies his thoughts, ideas of love and loyalty with the language of this epic genre." F. Amirov made the following statement in one of his interviews about the reasons for turning to the plot of "Arabian Nights" Arabic fairy tales:
One of the most valuable pearls of world folklore, the choreographic embodiment of the Arabian fairy tale "Arabian Nights" required F. Amirov's high mastery and creative courage as a composer. Because, before Amirov, the famous Russian composer N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov, who has a special place in the history of world music, and the French composer M. Ravel also created famous works addressing the themes of "Arabian Nights".
In general, the subject of the East has always interested F. Amirov. Music for the drama "Sheikh Sanan" by H. Javid, "Concert on Arabic Themes for Piano and Orchestra" written jointly with Elmira Nazirova, "A Thousand Nights" after the symphonic mugham "Gulustan-Bayati-Shiraz" inspired by the works of the great poets of the Middle East, Sadi and Hafiz. The ballet was another embodiment of the composer's attitude to the Arab world and Arab culture.
Before starting work on the ballet, the composer traveled to Iran, Iraq, Turkey, Egypt, Syria, Morocco and India, and was in close contact with the Middle Eastern culture. During his visits to these countries, Amirov noticed a number of commonalities in professional music with an oral tradition. Amirov's constant contact with Arabic music, in particular, encouraged him to understand the similarities between Azerbaijani folk music and the music of eastern peoples.
The choice of F. Amirov's "Arabian Nights" fairy tales is determined by a number of factors, among which the composer's love for oriental fairy tales and the materials collected from the music of Arab countries are among the main conditions. The composer explains the reason for addressing this topic as follows:
F. Amirov, who loves intense contrasts, expressive and emotional comparisons in his work, uses those qualities in "A Thousand Nights". According to R. Zohrabov, "In the music of the ballet, three natural qualities attract more attention: figurative plasticity, bright melodic language; rhythmicity arising from the nature of character and movements, elements of folk dance music; the color that characterizes the colors and shades of his music. All this, the composer moves away from the "numbered" system and manifests the symphonic development in large, detailed scenes."
Music The ballet Arabian Nights consists of an introduction and two acts. These two veils are in sharp contrast by their nature. Already the first bars of the orchestra seem to take the listener to the world of magical fairy tales. The combination of harp and piano with percussion in the high register creates a beautiful harmony.
Against this background, one of the leading themes of the ballet - the theme of love - emerges. This topic has a great emotional meaning in the work as a hymn to the ethical beginning. The theme of love covers the whole composition. Its creation is based on the register variation of a single intonation that passes through different stages of the image, appearing each time at the highest level of emotional tension. The beginning is derived from the staged mugham dramaturgy in the intonation development of musical thought. In the intro, this theme is painted with lyrical tones, and when a female chorus joins it backstage, it takes on an exciting mood. At the end of the first act, when Shahrizad meets Shahriyar, this theme sounds very broad. Throughout the ballet, the theme of love overcomes all the obstacles that stand in its way. In the finale, this theme completely dominates the orchestra, is renewed in tone, emotional aspect and is sounded in a competent, solemn C major. Musicologist V. Sharifova-Alikhanova characterizes the theme of love as follows: "This theme is also the epigraph of the ballet, as if it is an emotional camera that determines the content of the image."
One of the highlights of the intro is the addition of vocals performed by a female choir. On the one hand, this voice is the sound of a wonderful fairy tale world, and on the other hand, it is an echo of the distant past. The addition of sound to ballet in particular depends on several factors. On the one hand, this method is typical for the composer. Thus, F. Amirov used the human voice in the symphonic mugam "Gulustan-Bayati-Shiraz" and in the ballet "Nasimi dastani". In "Epic of Nasimi", it is the voice of the reciter, the female chorus, and the lyrical-dramatic tenor. In this work, the composer uses the voice in the most important moments from a dramaturgical point of view.
During dramatic climaxes and tense scenes, the composer's addition of the soprano and the chorus to the ballet makes certain situations and circumstances seem believable and natural. Each time its sound instills a tense emotional state into the development of the choreography.
The use of a woman's voice in the "Arabian Nights" ballet has a certain meaning. A woman is a symbol of high beauty and sublimity in Eastern poetry. Here, Shahrizad is embodied in such a sense. The theme of the vocal is heard twice more throughout the ballet. For the first time, the chorus expresses the "angry and sadness of women condemned to death". Then, a solo female voice is heard in the "Duet of Shahriyar and Shahrizad" scene.
The first act is mainly based on contrasts. At the beginning of the arrival of Shahriyar and Nurida on the stage, the timbre of the drums sounds. This lyrical scene is built on a cantilena melody. The next scene, "Orgy", is a tableau with great symphonic development. Here, themes are built from short motifs and sharp syncopated rhythms. The themes are superimposed, the ostinato turns into a rhythmic formula, quick passages. Suddenly, Shahriyar appears, his monologue reveals the sufferings of a deluded man. The mental state of the hero is expressed by the intonations of the jahargah lad. After the "Dance of the Executioners", a symbol of Shahriyar's cruel decision, a sad unison chorus of women sounds. Their singing is based on "Lamentation".
Shahrizad's sudden arrival takes place against the background of the theme of love. The sharp dissonant chord of the horns sounds like Shahrizad's stubborn voice. The first act is completed with this scene.
The first act moves appropriately from traditional ballet forms towards the finale, closing with musical and plot developments. The second act of the ballet is structured as a suite from three tales of Shahrizad. Although it is set in the form of a suite, symphonic is the main thing here. The three tales are perceived as "a ballet within a ballet".
Shahriyar, Shahrizadeh, the characters of the first act, executioners, women in bright blue clothes symbolizing the night also participate in the second act. These characters create wholeness and completeness in the ballet, removing the feature of diversion.
The introduction to all three tales in the second act is a description of a southern night. The ending of each tale is completed by the rhythm of the executioners and the anger of Shahriyar, who is about to kill Shahrizad. The music of the tales is very figurative and programmatic. It features nature scenes, fantastical creatures, a seashore, a pirate dance, love scenes, and more. The music of the tales is descriptive in nature, where an improvisational style of expression rather than a traditional structure is the key. In general, in the second act, various variations of short motifs are applied. The composer creates many variants from a rhythm-intonation seed.
The three tales in the second act of the ballet carry a great burden of meaning. The tales here directly prepare the evolution of Shahriyar's spiritual changes. It is the idea of good triumphing over evil in these tales that improves Shahriyar internally, and a sense of love and justice is established in the heart of the cruel ruler. Therefore, the lyrical duet between Shahriyar and Shahrizad at the end of the ballet sounds very emotional. Shahrizad wins Shahriyar with her wisdom, intelligence and strength of will. Artistic content finds its full expression in musical language.