“Heydarbaba” (2008) – Sari Gelin Ensemble * Written by Mohammad-Hossein Shariar and B. Kerimov * CD: Azerbaijan Traditional Music (2011) * Label: ARC Music
The notes on this disc on the ARC label credits the “emotive vocals” of the Lök-Batan Folklore Group’s Zulfiya Mamedova, who’s female, but the bonus track at the end features an uncredited male vocalist. He’s Gochaq Askerov of the Sari Gelin Ensemble, and he’s singing a musical rendering of the Iranian Azerbaijani poet Mohammad-Hossein Shariar’s “Heydar Babaya Salam.” It’s a mountain of a poem expressing Shariar’s childhood memories of a real, geographical mountain near Tabriz, Iran. Written in the Azer dialect, the verses won a place in the hearts of all Turkic nations to the extent that it brought Shariar’s dialect acceptance in Iran, while certain phrases in the poem became Azeri idioms. A full translation of it can be seen at Azerbaijan International. Music credits go to “B. Kerimov,” who is also credited on YouTube versions by the Azerbaijani vocalist Rubabe Muradova (1930-1983). This track first appeared on the Sari Gerin Ensemble’s 2008 Music from Azerbaijan disc.