By Zumrud Dadashzadeh, “Gobustan”, February, 2001

Every introduction to Rahilia Hasanova’s music amazes, impresses, surprises, and makes us think and contemplate.  Some people do not understand her works.  Indeed, Rahilia’s music is not that simple.  It takes a very clever listener with subtle perception of music to walk through the labyrinths creatively build by the composer.  At the end, those who successfully finish this path are being rewarded with intellectual satisfaction and spiritual enlightenment. 

We are talking about one of the brightest stars of modern Azerbaijani music, composer Rahilia Hasanova.  Rahilia’s creativity is completely unique in the Azerbaijani art.  She does not copy anyone, and she does not sound like anything else.  The themes that she uses and the way she uses them in her works demonstrate complete independence and unlimited imagination of the author.

One of her first works, the collection of 12 pieces for piano, is symbolically called Cheshme, which means “a spring” in translation from Azerbaijani.  From which deep layers of earth is this stream of water flowing?  The answer comes from listening to Rahilia’s music.  It is those ancient Mugams[1], traditional Azerbaijani dances and songs that give birth to Rahilia’s music.  Like the waters of a spring, her pure melodies colored in various rhythms and carrying serious messages magically flow, attracting and keeping our attention.

The Cheshme became a starting point for the composer in her search for ways to express the traditions of Azerbaijani music and creative thinking through the language of modern arts.  To see this, one should simply turn to some of the composer’s beloved works, such as the Sonata for Cello, which perfectly illustrates features of the traditional national performing arts, the String Quartets, or the Third Symphony, that are based upon the principles of the Mugam development.

When studying the roots of the composer’s creativity, we may want to take a close look back at her childhood and student years.  “I loved improvising on piano from my early childhood.  Even before I could completely grasp the depth of mugams, I still enjoyed listening to them very much.  Maybe it’s because my uncle Ildyrym Hasanov was a wonderful performer of mugams.  I will always remember how he sang Jahargah,” - says Rahilia.

While a student at the Azerbaijani Conservatory in the 1970s, Rahilia Hasanova met one of the founders of the Azerbaijani composition school, well-known composer Kara Karayev.  His main characteristic as a professor was his determination to find and unlock his students’ potential, while stressing to them the importance of creative thinking and creative search in each of them.  Later, Rahilia Hasanova remembers her classes with the professor: “He required us to search, because his own art was nothing but endless search.  Sometimes, true miracles happened during his seminars: a poor attempt of a student, a so-called ugly duckling, could turn into a beautiful swan as a result of the slightest correction from the professor.”

Rahilia’s perspective in her art is absolutely unique.  In her opinion, traditional music of any century, let it be the Indian Raga or ancient Chinese art, can give a push to modern European classical music.  “One may achieve great results by combining Bach’s philosophical depth, Bartok’s love of folklore, and Stravinsky’s musical inventions,” – says Rahilia Hasanova who is herself constantly searching for the ideals in art.

The main characteristic of Rahilia Hasanova as a composer is her ability to avoid repetitions in her music and grab the attention of listeners right from the beginning.  During last 20 years, she has given Azerbaijan’s culture and arts new breath, images, and themes. 

The composer takes her ideals from the deepest layers of traditional national arts: from various and unexpected themes ranging from Sufism philosophy, ancient national customs, to the art of carpetmaking.  For instance, the Third Symphony, written in 1979, employs different methods to simulate the path that is taken by a Sufi.  Exactly like a Sufi who comes to the end of his path, a listener of this music arrives at spiritual purification and enlightenment at the end.

An original instrumental work called Pirebedil, created in 1996, was devoted to the eternal and unique artistry of the ancient Azerbaijani carpetmaking art.  As a child, Rahilia loved sitting and watching for hours at how the weaver girls were working.  In Pirebedil, Rahilia Hasanova illustrates all of the variety of patterns and designs that the weavers were using to make carpets in the Khaly style.  It is amazing how perfectly Rahilia found the ways to reflect in music all the beauty of the designs and images typical to Pirebedil carpers.

Another example of her extraordinary imagination and innovative thinking is her piano composition, Alla Meykhana[2], written in 1996.  In this creation, the composer translates to the wordless language of piano meykhana-style entertaining traditional musical poetry, using the rhythms typical to meykhana that makes the work very theatrical.  The pianist performing the work periodically snaps her fingers exactly like the meykhana tellers do while reciting their short poems.

Generally, Rahilia Hasanova is the composer who thinks and creates like a producer.  She loves presenting her completely instrumental works as theatrical performances.  Most of the time, the performers playing the music turn into actors on the stage:  they move around, whisper to each other, or loudly say something, attracting more and more the spectators’ attentions.

Even now, despite the variety of creative findings, genres, and topics, we can speak of the absolute uniqueness of methods that the composer Rahilia Hasanova uses in her music.  She completely rejects the traditional division of musical material into main and supporting parts.  The basis of her works is a musical theme that very slowly and purposefully develops, step by step, becoming richer and richer with new features and ideas on its way.  It continuously and constantly expands, and its growth from the inside out creates a unique dramaturgical landscape which reflects the author’s progressive thinking.  This process, which links different rhythms and ever-changing musical themes and make them grow into powerful culminations, describes the unique character of the composer Rahilia Hasanova.

In addition, no matter which creation the composer is working on, she definitively constructs a certain ritual for it: whether it is a Sufi ritual (like in her works Sema, Dervish, the Third Symphony), the ritual of the Novruz[3] celebration (in her ballet-pantomime Kos-Kosa), a ritual of mourning (in the works Marsia, Gasida), or the ritual of carpetmaking (Pirebedil).

When listening to Rahilia’s music it becomes obvious how closely it relates to the traditions of national Azerbaijani music.  At the same time it is impossible to find a single retelling of a mugam in her works.  While having all these mugams in the picture, Rahilia employs various unusual methods of composition and continuously binds masterful musical turns that create an unquiet and restless “musical carpet” full of complex patterns and designs. 

The ability of Rahilia Hasanova to create large-scale productions using the minimum number of composition techniques and methods is fascinating.  It’s not surprising that some people compare the composer’s works to the movement of minimalism of 1960^th-1970^th in American music.  It should be noted though that the composer learned about this movement many years after she first created works in this style.  She independently came to the idea of minimalism through studying mugams, the Sufism philosophy, and various advancements in performing techniques.  The information about minimalism was first published in her country only in the 1990s.  Rahilia first heard the works composed in the minimalist style at the Moscow Festival “Vanguard” that was held in 1990.  At the same time, Rahilia’s Third Symphony, representing the best example of Azerbaijani minimalistic music, was composed in 1979.  While developing in parallel with the leading compositions of the 20^th century, Rahilia Hasanova’s works in many ways surpassed the musical search of that epoch and became one of the first productions composed in the minimalist style.  This was confirmed by many participants of the New Music Festival that took place in Baku in 1989, where Rahilia’s Third Symphony was performed for the first time.  The Polish composer Yeji Kornovich noted with a great admiration the resemblance between Rahilia’s style and one of the famous French composer Tristan Murail.

Despite the fact that Rahilia writes music in traditional genres (symphony, quartet, and sonata), she interprets them in an unusual and unique way, as if she filters them through the sieve of the national Azerbaijani thinking.  For instance, her Third Symphony is far from the classical four-part model.  This work consists of only one part which develops from a very unique musical foundation.  Based on the dynamic purity of dramaturgy, this main musical theme does not close at the end - it remains open.  Such features of her work, on one hand, are typical in Eastern philosophy and music, but on the other hand, they are also typical for the Western culture, literature, and its different movements; for example “a stream of consciousness” (by Joys, Prust).  At the same time, Rahilia uses the simplest elements of national musical language, e.g. national dance rhythms, while building very unique constructions that have the power to leave a striking impression on a listener.  This shows that due to its progressional qualities, the constructions in Rahilia’s works are not behind the European forms.  In her music, Eastern and Western philosophies meet, which creates the idea of impossibility of equal synthesis of these two beginnings. 

The composer-producer thinking of Rahilia Hasanova finally brought her to the theater.  During her student years, she created a ballet-pantomime Kos-Kosa about the struggle between the two seasons of the year, winter and spring.  “I created this work as a unique one-hour long ritual dance,” – remembers Rahilia.  In coming up with the idea for this performance, we were not only inspired by this Azerbaijani mythology, ancient forms of national dance, but we also got to know the dances of the Asian and African nations.  The arrangement of performers included a chorus, flute, and percussion instruments.  It was thought that while performers are setting themselves up on the stage, two actors in masks would perform mimical dance.  Here, in the center of the stage, we would place two big candles.  Recitations from different parts of the Azerbaijani epic poem ‘Kitabi Dede Gorgud’ suited well the general mood of the performance.  At that time, 25 years ago, our small group included director Tarlan Gorchiyev, one artist, one balletmeister, actors, and myself.  We all worked hard with great enthusiasm.  Unfortunately, people around us did not understand the concepts of the performance.  The ballet never had a premier…

However, the theatrical debut of Rahilia Hasanova took place in 2000.  She created music for the Iravan Dramaturgic Theater’s performance of Husseyn Javid’s “Maral” poem.  The director Elmira Malikova, being greatly inspired by Rahilia’s music, was picturing the Javid’s drama as an original ritualistic event, and she described the genre of the performance as a tragic one-act oratorio.

The constant background sounds of meditational music during the whole performance are not directly related to the actions on the stage: the music tells about invisible to our eyes worries and emotions in the hearts of the personages.  It also creates a basis for philosophical contemplation.  One piece of this multiple-layer music imitates the stroke of a clock; the other illustrates a mirror on the wall.  It’s interesting to hear how Rahilia herself talks about intrusion of these symbols into the music: “When I just started working on this music, I only knew the basic framework for a drama.  But according to Javid’s instructions, on the stage everything has its role and participation, even including a clock or a mirror.”  Even in the text of the poem, one can see the following phrase: “In reality every stroke of this clock means a stroke to our own lives.”  What is it?  Occasion?  Imagination of the author?  In my mind, this is nothing but the proof of presence of mysticism in the creative process.

In this performance all important words and expressions are colored into particular intonation – the rhythm determines the content.  Creation of colorful vocal score for “Maral” without a doubt is a major achievement of Rahilia Hasanova.  Using poems of Huseyn Javid, distinguished by their phonic richness, the composer very keenly sensed and presented inner music of Javid’s poetry.  The chorus, which strengthened even more the connection between the performance and the ritual, very actively participates in the actions on the stage.  Here, between the performers’ singing and speaking, we hear “the musical thought” which is the innovation that Rahilia Hasanova brought to Azerbaijani music.

The composer’s work on “Maral” attracted a lot of attention from the public.  The music and the performance left different impressions on people and sometimes developed interesting and unexpected associations.  For instance, the theatrologist Aydin Talibade emphasized the composer’s ability to show Husseyn Javid in the frame of the cosmos, myth, and ritual.  He also mentioned that this great performance fully meets all requirements of the modern theatrical performance.  He says: “Here, everything is so linked to Rahilia Hasanova’s music that if one eliminates the music, then the performance’s connection to the sacral world and cosmos will immediately cease; the performance will dramatically change, losing its soul and completeness.  Even though I am not a musicologist, I can say that this music should be perceived as Bach’s Passions, the shamans singing, etc.  Rahilia’s music is the guide to the hidden, unknown, and secretive world of Husseyn Javid, the bridge between the text full of love and struggles and the cosmos.”

Indeed, Rahilia Hasanova in cooperation with the Director presents a very interesting concept: using modern and very original artistic methods, they give a new musical life to Javid’s poem and, thus, open the door to the 21^st century of our classic Azerbaijani dramaturgy.

The director of the “Yug” Theater in Azerbaijan, Vagif Ibrahimogly, highly praised the performance, describing it as the one that forces us to contemplate and the one that is based on absolutely unique theatrical thinking.  He turns to the modern Azerbaijan’s theater representatives and makes a prophetic call: “Directors, Rahilia Hasanova is the composer who very deeply understands and senses the musical dramaturgy.  Our theater needs her!”[4] 

In my own turn, I was very happy to see that the composer, whom I only knew as an author of mostly instrumental music, now appeared as someone who deeply appreciated and understood the Azerbaijani literature and could create unique vocal intonations in the traditions of Azeri language and thinking.  Although, I should note that back in 1984, she composed beautiful romances on the words of the Azeri poet Samed Vurgun.  At that time, her music was considered to be too complex for the singers; therefore those works were never officially performed. 

Rahilia’s work in “Maral” demonstrated her extraordinary creative potential and portrayed her as the author who is capable of composing a great opera.  In Rahilia Hasanova’s opinion, a modern opera cannot develop in the traditional way anymore.  The static, motionless singers on the stage do not arouse that much curiosity and excitement among our present-day impatient spectators.  Modern musical performance needs the singers-actors: here you need artistry, plastic, and music – meaning the interrelation of all of the components and coordinated cooperation between a director, composer, choreographer, and an artist.  Rahilia’s ballet-pantomime “Kos-Kosa” and choral symphony “Javidi Destgakh” are both the examples of this type of synthetic performance. 

Lately, Rahilia Hasanova’s works are often performed outside of Azerbaijan, receiving very high praise everywhere around the world.  Rahilia created several works to the order of the Dutch group “New Ensemble”.  In 1997, her author’s concert was held in Poland where it was a great success.  In 1999, her work for organ “Gaside” was performed in Germany.  In May 2001, in the United Kingdom, at the Chard Festival of the modern music, Rahilia herself performed several of her piano works.  She impressed and fascinated the multicultural audience of the Festival both as a composer and a pianist. 

Many famous composers and musicologist around the world including Dushan Mihalek (Israel), Kristof Meyer (Germany), and Sinan Savashkan (United Kingdom) remain very interested in Rahilia’s music and emphasize that Rahilia’s works deserve to receive international recognition.  Dushan Mihalek set up several Radio programs in Israel devoted to Rahilia Hasanova’s music and creativity.  After listening to Rahilia’s music for the first time, the Italian musician Beatrice Philly-Hoh said that there is no woman-composer of Rahilia Hasanova’s rank anywhere: neither in Britain, nor in Switzerland.    

The persistent supporter of the modern national Azerbaijani music, pianist Rena Rzayeva, successfully performed Rahilia’s works in many different countries.  In 1993, after a series of concerts performed by Rena Rzayeva in the United Kingdom, the critic Gunter Metsner wrote about Rahilia Hasanova highly praising her works: “The sonata for piano by Rahilia Hasanova made an enormous impression on public everywhere.  What I heard is hard to describe in words.  In Rahilia’s music, the Glass’s minimalism connecting to the Breketo’s Hard Jazz create such enormous euphoria that explosions of Rakhmaninov’s music lose their power in comparison, suddenly sounding silently and muffled.”[5] 

But no matter how paradoxical it is, the composer Rahilia Hasanova is little known in her own country Azerbaijan.  Although as a researcher, I can say with full responsibility and confidence that the full picture of modern national music is impossible to imagine without this composer’s works.  Rahilia Hasanova’s creativity deserves to represent the Azerbaijani music and culture at an international level.  It’s a pity that at home it does not interest anyone except for a small circle of experts and professionals.  It’s hard for the talented individuals like Rahilia Hasanova to accept this kind of cold and indifferent attitude.  But Rahilia herself is not dramatizing the situation.  I would even say that she now works with added energy.  She worries only about unimplemented ideas and lost time for creative process.  She loves composing music regardless of milliards of problems and obstacles in life: “Sometimes, when the telephone rings, or someone interrupts me with unnecessary question, or a loud sound from outside stops my flow of creative thinking, it cuts the chain of my ideas, and that is what usually frustrates me – nothing else.”

Rahilia Hasanova also actively participates in the Association of Women in Music.  She is a member of the Honors Committee of the Italian Foundation of Adkins Chiti “Donne in Musica.” 

Rahilia successfully continues the traditions of national Azerbaijani music art along with the other Azerbaijani women in arts, taking the estafette from such first women-composers of Azerbaijan as Adilia Huseynova, Agabaji Rzayeva, and Shafiga Akhundova, whom the very first classic composer of Azerbaijan Uzeir Hajibayov himself blessed and directed to this path.

At last, the portrait of the composer Rahilia Hasanova would not be complete without mentioning her family and interests.  Rahilia is a great, loyal partner, good-natured, generous, and modest person, a mother to two beautiful and smart daughters who are very serious about their professions (Samira graduated from the Moscow State and Syracuse Universities and Jamilia graduated from the Baku State University.)  Rahilia can create convenience and cosiness in her house.  She regularly visits the nature and enjoys very much taking care of her flowers and plants.  She also very much likes writing articles on music.  During the last several years we often see her notes in such famous Azeri magazines as Shargi, Azeri Irs, etc.  Her recent essay devoted to our great composer Kara Karayev and his supporters is so unique and full of unexpected and original life observations that I certainly start thinking that a true talent is talented in everything.  Whatever Rahilia does, she always perfectly implements her ideas in any kind of art.

Nowadays, when low-quality pop music occupies all of the TV and Radio time, devoting oneself to the academic genres of music takes a lot of patience.  Only those who highly appreciate values and ideals of the Great music do not quit their difficult paths of creating art.  While going through the difficulties, they create works that make us contemplate and think.  Rahilia Hasanova who is devoted to music with her soul and heart is exactly that type of a composer.

Several years ago I was depressed both physically and emotionally.  At the end of the summer I called Rahilia and after our conversation I was brought back to life.  She supported me and told me about her works that she created during those hot summer days and her plans for the nearest future.  I was very inspired by Rahilia’s example, having seen the volume of the work this very fragile-looking but strong inside woman has done and is planning to do.

I would like to finish these notes with a thought that Rahilia Hasanova shared at her meeting with students of the Baku Music Academy.  “Sometimes, when I feel sad or tired, I look up outside of the window, and as soon as I see a small part of the blue sky, I immediately feel peace inside.”  Like this, the composer always seeks this window in her music, a window into the world…