London’s Wigmore Hall is celebrated for its warm sound and intimate acoustics and it’s loved, of course, by classical singers of chamber music and lieder. But in 2016 there was a different stripe of vocalist appearing at the hall – the Azeri singer Alim Qasimov. He was accompanied by his ensemble of traditional Azerbaijani instruments – plucked tar, bowed kamancha, reedy balaban and drums. Along with his daughter, Fargana Qasimova, he struck rhythmically on a daf (frame drum), swayed with the music and, with expressive hand gestures, sent his voice heavenwards. Although Wigmore Hall doesn’t host many mugham recitals, this ‘classical music’ of Azerbaijan, with its poetic settings, both secular and religious, suits the space very well. In fact, the modern, purpose-built International Mugham Center in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, shares a similar intimacy and fewer seats.

That’s not to say Alim Qasimov singing mugham is only for small, refined audiences. He’s a powerful figure on stage, not through the volume of the music or exaggerated gestures, but due to the eloquence and craft of his performance. The shining star of Azeri mugham has appeared at festivals around the world and in 2010 performed a sublime late-night set at WOMAD where a thousand or more could appreciate the music’s transcendental and calming power.

Alim Qasimov was born in 1957 in a village about 100km north of Baku. He was interested in singing from an early age, won a school competition singing mugham and went to study at the music school in the capital.

On stage he may appear serious and aloof, but in person he is easygoing with a mischievous sense of humour. As a student, one of the veteran singers he admired was Hajibaba Huseynov (1919-1993), a People’s Artist of the Soviet Republic of Azerbaijan. “But when I asked him if he’d sing something for me so I could learn it,” Qasimov remembers, “he said ‘no’. So I had to invent a trap.”

Qasimov offered to drive him home from the music school and bought a tape recorder and microphone, which he hid in the boot of the car. On the journeys he would ask questions about the repertoire and how to sing. “Once, when I was driving, I asked him too many questions, one after another, and he guessed something was going on. ‘Listen, you son of a bitch, are you recording me?,’ he said.”

In Soviet times mugham was seen as a regional curiosity, rather than a refined art form. Of course, the Islamic religious repertoire was disapproved of, but much Sufi love poetry can be ambiguously addressed to either God or a human lover, and can be interpreted as sacred or secular. It was also frequently played at weddings, which is where Qasimov developed his performing skills. “It was a big test for a singer,” says Qasimov, “because people would request pieces and you had to perform them.”

It was after the independence of Azerbaijan in 1991 that mugham started to receive state support as a classical Azeri art form and Qasimov became more internationally known. In the early 90s he witnessed a concert by Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan in Paris, which he said was a revelation. “Nusrat showed me how to be free.”

Mugham gets its name from the Arabic word maqam, which refers to the mode or scale of a piece of music in many musical cultures in the Middle East and North Africa. Azeri mugham is one of these forms and combines mainly Persian and Turkic traditions. The modes and the instrumentation – tar and kamancha – are largely Persian, while the poetry is in Azeri which is close to Turkish. It’s a seductive mix.

“What certainly marks Qasimov out as an artist is his willingness to experiment, whether it’s with Jeff Buckley, Kronos Quartet or singing with his daughter”

Qasimov made a couple of recordings for the Inédit label of the Maison des Cultures du Monde in Paris from 1989; American singer and guitarist Jeff Buckley became a fan and recorded ‘What Will You Say’ with Qasimov in a concert at Olympia in Paris in 1995; and Qasimov was awarded the IMC UNESCO music prize in 1999. The first international album that brought him great recognition was Love’s Deep Ocean for the German label Network in 2000. This was, I think, the first time he recorded with his daughter Fargana. He has been doing so ever since.

Women singing mugham was nothing new. The Soviets encouraged women, as well as men, to perform. But what makes Qasimov special is this duo partnership with his daughter. Traditional mugham is essentially a solo voice with a small accompanying instrumental group, but Qasimov has expanded it to this duo form with their two voices intertwining. Qasimov’s high tenor voice is often above that of his daughter. “We’ve worked together for many years,” says Qasimov, “but she’s not going to sing in the same way as me. And I couldn’t sing the way she sings, but God has helped keep everything together.” Is he a believer?

“Yes, of course,” he says emphatically and laughs, “without belief you may as well hang yourself.” But he is opposed to Islamic restrictions and fundamentalism. “Religion isn’t a cage, it is freedom. You have to be relaxed about it and use religion to open the mind.”

Much credit for Qasimov’s profile has to go to the Aga Khan Music Initiative, which has organised concerts and recordings, including a big Voices of Central Asia concert at the London Coliseum in 2004 with Alim Qasimov opening, a pair of recordings of Alim and Fargana for Smithsonian Folkways Recordings and the aforementioned concert at London’s Wigmore Hall in 2016.

Azeris look at Nagorno-Karabakh, the territory disputed with Armenia, as the heartland of mugham. In a patriotic gesture, Qasimov and Fargana recently recorded ‘Qarabağ Șikestesi’, a medley of songs from the region preceded by thunderclaps and the Islamic call to prayer. They performed it in May at the Kharybulbul Music Festival in Shusha, the capital of Karabagh.

What certainly marks Qasimov out as an artist is his willingness to experiment, whether it’s with Jeff Buckley, Kronos Quartet or singing with his daughter. Recently, thanks to Morgenland Festival in Germany, he worked with French serpent player Michel Godard. Qasimov’s mystical vocals, the medieval wind instrument, plus bowed kamancha and piano in a kind of jazz quartet is a novel kind of mugham.

Best Albums

Mugam d’AzerbaïDjan 2 

(Inédit, 1990)

With Elshan Mansurov on tar and Malik Mansurov on kamancha, this is intense and traditional mugham in the mode of Rast. It’s the better of Qasimov’s two recordings in Inédit’s Mugham Anthology with varied moods and tempos both slow and fast.

Love’s Deep Ocean 

(Network Medien, 2000) 

The recording that first took Qasimov’s name worldwide. It is a powerful but approachable album of lighter repertoire, with Fargana and an expanded instrumental ensemble including balaban (duduk), clarinet and nagara drums. A Top of the World in the Winter 1999/Spring 2000 issue (#5).

Spiritual Music of Azerbaijan 

(Smithsonian Folkways, 2007)

One of the albums in the Aga Khan Music of Central Asia series. There’s a substantial seven-part mugham suite in the Chargah mode, including ‘Mualif’, an otherworldly duet with Fargana, plus some lighter composed songs. Reviewed in the January/February 2008 issue (#49). 

Rainbow 

(Smithsonian Folkways, 2010) 

An inspired and experimental meeting of Alim Qasimov, Fargana and his ensemble with Kronos Quartet. It includes the brief but energetic ‘Leyla’, which is phenomenal. Reviewed in the June 2010 issue (#68).

Intimate Dialogue 

(Dreyer Gaido, 2010)

A powerful live recording at Morgenland festival, an event that has done an enormous amount to promote Middle Eastern music in Europe. The physical CD version comes with useful translations of the lyrics. 

This article originally appeared in the October 2021 issue of Songlines. Never miss an issue – subscribe today