Postcards from the Road

UNITED STATES
Residency at Harvard University
Cambridge, MassachusettsNovember 26-30, 2007

The Silk Road Ensemble with Yo-Yo Ma’s 2007 residency at Harvard used as its centerpiece the classic Arabian love story of “Layla and Majnun.” Known and beloved throughout Central Asia, the tale tells how ill-fated love turns the protagonist into Majnun—literally a ‘madman.’

During the residency, Harvard professors Ali Asani and Ingrid Monson gave related presentations, with musical examples by the Ensemble.

Ensemble member Jonathan Gandelsman arranged the 1908 opera by Uzeyir Hajibeyov into a 35-minute chamber piece. The Silk Road Ensemble arrangement of “Layla and Majnun” was made possible in part by generous support from the Académie Musicale de Villecroze.

Performed on two nights as a work in progress by the Silk Road Ensemble with Yo-Yo Ma, “Layla and Majnun” moved the packed house to momentary silence before the audience stood and burst into cheers.

Participating Silk Road Ensemble Artists

Jeff Beecher, bass
Nicholas Cords, viola
Jonathan Gandelsman, violin
Rauf Islamov, kamancheh
Colin Jacobsen, violin
Yo-Yo Ma, cello
Ali Asgar Mammadov, tar
Alim Qasimov, mugham vocals
Fargana Qasimova, mugham vocals
Shane Shanahan, percussion
Kojiro Umezaki, shakuhachi
Yang Wei, pipa

	The weeklong residency allowed the Ensemble time to rehearse and develop “Layla and Majnun” to more fully integrate elements of Western music with mugham sections ©Aida Huseynova 2007 click the photo to enlarge
	Renowned mugham singer Alim Qasimov—the leading performer of the opera in Azerbaijan over the last two decades—performed the role of Majnun; his daughter and student Fargana Qasimova performed the role of Layla © David O’Connor 2007 click the photo to enlarge
	Dr. Aida Huseynova, ethnomusicologist, teacher and Fulbright scholar, presents an overview of the cultural significance in Azerbaijan of mugham, a form of storytelling through poetry and song © Isabelle Hunter 2007 click the photo to enlarge
	“Layla and Majnun” was performed as a multimedia presentation, incorporating images of paintings depicting the lovers, their joys and struggles © David O’Connor 2007 click the photo to enlarge