Only a part of information about musical aspects of the history of Adygea’s culture has survived. There is no doubt that this is deservedly the most important role of Adyghe musicians in the public life of the mountain ethnic group.
Adyghe musical culture, from a historical and modern point of view, is a system that combines long-established and new forms of existence. The most famous examples of Adyghe music of the 19th - 21st centuries, presented in the form of amateur forms, musical folklore, as well as pop and academic art.
The system of musical culture of the Circassians has a pronounced lively, dynamic form and includes many elements. Structurally, this system was formed about two centuries ago and repeats the structure of the developed types of other national cultures of the North Caucasus. By the end of the 20th century, there was a division of the general movement of the Adyghe music into traditional, pop and academic forms, and each of them now has its own audience and its famous musicians.
The main figure of Adyghe musical creativity is the medieval dzheguako (artists who performed at public and family celebrations). Both at home and outside the region, the names of many performers and composers of Adygea became known: Kim Tletseruk, Mohammed Khagauj, Kaplan Tuko, Aslan Nekhai and others.
It is worth noting the historical period of the formation of the Soviet government, when the amateur art activity appeared, and as a special form of the development of musical culture, it became the basis of a completely new musical direction for the Circassians, which was closely associated with pop and academic musical professionalism. The traditional musical culture of the Circassians remained the most large-scale and popular area of culture in our days. Moreover, at the end of the 20th century in Adygea, there was a revival of the juguaco institute, but in new actual forms and in the growth of the number of young harmonists and folk instrumental ensembles playing at festivals and other cultural events.
The new century was marked by attempts to revive the culture of traditional singing and the development of such national musical instruments as Kamyl and shychepshine.
The role of musical folklore in the Adyg culture is most significant. Up to the present, this is the most popular and most developed part of the musical culture of the Circassians. The most prominent representatives and bearers of folk music today are the State Folk Dance Ensemble of Adygea "Nalmes" and the State Folk Song Ensemble of Adygea "Islamey".
The development of musical folklore is the basis for the formation of national art in general. Therefore, the work of recording works in ethnographic expeditions never stops in the republic, which are then recorded by professional musicians and performers, and subsequently used by amateur artists. Both the vocal and dance culture of Adygea today are a single whole, including musical folklore, amateur performances, pop genres and academic creativity. The cultural space in which new types of musical culture of Adygea are being formed consists of clubs, Houses of Culture, concert venues, as well as vocational education institutions.
Musical culture of Adygea today
The system of musical culture of Adygea has retained the national flavor and the ability to be perceived by the audience of other cultures, it has been steadily strengthening its position over the years in the life of the ethnic group. All this made it possible for Adygea to become on a par with other subjects of the Russian Federation and to feel confident in the general processes taking place in the country, and even more broadly in European musical culture.
A striking example of a new stage in the development of the musical culture of Adygea can be the theatrical show “FREEDOM”, organized and performed by the companies “ETNIKA” and “TLEBZU-RECORDS” as part of the international festival of folk art “Adyghe Folklore”. A significant event was the recent release of the album of the same name by the famous Adyghe artist Aslan Tlebzu, the author of “FREEDOM”. We invite readers to listen to this album right now:
Photo in the top of the article from the site http://adygi.ru
