Sadigjan

Sadikh Mirza Asad oghlu was born in the family of a watchman in the city of Shusha, according to most sources, in 1846[3][4][5][6] (according to other sources - in 1842[7][8]) in a one- story house consisting of two rooms. Later, when the fame came to him, Mirza Sadikh built a three-story house on one of the best streets of Shusha and himself took part in its construction as a worker for several days.

From childhood, Sadikh showed a great interest in art, and wonderfully sang folk songs. His father, Asadullah, took him to the school of the famous musicologist Harrat Gulu. After checking his vocal abilities, Sadikh was accepted there. The graduates of this school, besides Sadigjan, were the most famous mugham performers of Shusha - Haji Husi, Mashadi Isi, Deli Ismail, Shahnaz Abbas, Bulbuljan, Keshtazly Hashim, Kechachioglu Mahammad, Jabbar Garyaghdioghlu. This school had a great influence on the formation of Sadikh as a musician. At the age of 18, Sadigjan lost his voice and after that he learned to play various musical instruments such as: kamancha, flute, nai, and tar. He was taught to play tar by the famous Shusha tarist Mirza Ali Asgar, who, being impressed by his play, said:

I would like Sadikh to have my wealth, and I could have his fingers.

In the ensemble of Mirza Ali Asgar, Mirza Sadikh was a kemanchist. But one day, when Mirza Ali Asgar fell ill, Sadigjan, replaced him as a tar player and managed to demonstrate his abilities in playing this instrument. Inspired by his success, Sadigjan devoted himself entirely to tar, and since then he has been constantly honing his skills.

To the beginning of the 19th century, Shusha was one of the cultural centers. Poets, playwrights, famous musicians and artists from all over the Caucasus came here where theatrical performances were staged and musical meetings were held. The musical meetings were the most famous in Azerbaijan and played an important role in the recognition of Sadigjan as a tar player. [15] Among these majlises organized by Mir Mohsun Navvab "Mejlisi- Faramushan" ("Mejlis of the forgotten"), "Mejlisi-khananda" ("society of musicians") and Majlises arranged by Khurshidbanu Natavan, where singers and musicians demonstrated their art, discussions were held on the problems of the music theory, the works of poets were performed, and competitions were organized. Sadikh took part in such Majlis events, thanks to which his name became known in the neighboring countries.

The excellent performance of Sadigjan attracted the attention of Mahmud Agha from Shamakhi. He is known by the work "Karabakh-nama" by the poet and musicologist Muhammed-agha Muzhtehidzade, in which he tells that "Mahmud-agha of Shirvan, having heard about the glory of Sadigjan, asked him to visit Shirvan." At the invitation of Mahmud Agha, Sadigjan visited Shamakhi and took part in a musical meeting. Once Mahmud-agha sent Seyid Azim Shirvani to Shusha after Mirza Sadikh, he dedicated to Sadigjan one of his muhammas. Being an admirer of Mirza Sadikh's creation, Mahmud-agha often invited him to his place together with Haji Husi and even gave him a tar, the body of which was made of gold. Since that time, the musical meetings at Mahmud-agha could not take place without Sadigjan. This greatly irritated Khurshidbanu Natavan since the performance of Sadikh was an adornment at the "Majlisi-Uns" organized by her, as well as at the celebrations in the Khan's palace which did not take place without his participation. It is assumed that due to him, Natavan and Mahmud-agha corresponded for a long time.

In addition to the participation in celebrations and musical meetings, Sadikh gave concerts during the breaks of performances held in Shusha and Tiflis. So, on 29 December 1886, in the building of the Artsruni Theater in Tiflis, the play “Monsieur Jourdan - a botanist and dervish Mastalishah”, based on the play of Mirza Fatali Akhundov, was staged, and during the intermissions Mirza Sadikh and the famous khanende (mugham performer) Mirzali were expected to perform. The “Caucasian Review” issued in Tiflis, wrote about Sadikh in the heading “Theater and Music”:

From the memoirs of contemporaries of Mirza Sadikh follows that he spent most of his life on the road participating in the festivities that took place in the Caucasus, Iran, Central Asia and Turkey. In March 1872, on the occasion of the celebration of Novruz, he was invited by the Iranian ambassador to Russia to St. Petersburg where he performed with the famous khanende Sattar.

It is known that starting from the 18th century in the countries of the Middle East, including Azerbaijan, singers and performers who gained recognition and fame among people were given a name or pseudonym with using “jan” (“soul”). Among people, Mirza Sadikh also received the name Sadigjan. Such an honor, besides him, was given only to the famous singer - Abdul-Bagi Zulalov, who was called Bulbuljan.

In the beginning, Sadigjan, accompanying Haji Husi, made up a trio together with him and the kemanchist Ata Bagdagul oglu. Later, he moved to the Shusha khanende Mashadi Isi trio. In 1880, as part of it, he received an invitation to Tabriz for the wedding of Mozafereddin Qajar Mirza, the son of Nasreddin Shah Qajar. Many other musicians and singers also performed at the wedding, but Haji Husi and Sadikh were recognized as the best khanende and tar player and were awarded the Shiri-Khurshid order.

According to Aghalarbey Aliverdibeyov, the author of the “Harun al-Rashid” opera and a connoisseur of Azerbaijani musical history, at the mentioned above wedding, a well-known tar player challenged Sadigjan to a musical duel. He also stated that the good performance of Mirza Sadikh was possible thanks to the changes made on the fretboard of the instrument, in the fret system of the tar. Sadigjan accepted the challenge, but at the same time cut all the pointers on the instrument's neck. Seeing this, the opponent refused to participate and kissed the fingers of Mirza Sadikh.

In the 90s of the 19th century, under the leadership of Sadigjan, an ensemble was created in Shusha, which included famous singers and musicians of that time. Among them were Haji Husu, Mashadi Isi, Jabbar Garyaghdioglu, Deli Ismail, Khanlyg Shukur, Bulbuljan, Kechachioghlu Muhammed, the tar player Ter-Vartanesov, Mashadi Zeynal and others. Two girls also participated in the ensemble performing Azerbaijani, Georgian, Armenian dances, as well as the belly dance. Among the participants was the mutrub Mirza Ismail, who played a prominent role in the ensemble. Although it was not necessary for his role, he was not only a good tar player, but also had an excellent voice. Among the ensemble's musicians, in addition to Azerbaijanis, were Georgians, Armenians, and Lezgins. The ensemble's performance took place in the concert halls of Shusha, Baku, Ganja, Ashgabat, Tehran, Istanbul, Derbent, Vladikavkaz, at the musical meetings of Khurshidbanu Natavan, Mahmud-agha, Mashadi Melik, in the gardens of Tiflis ("Mushtekhid") and İravan ("Khurrem").

Sadigjan also showed himself as a teacher. Among his students were such famous musicians as Gurban Pirimov, Mashadi Zeynal, Arsen Yaramyshev, Mardi Janibekov, Hamid Malybeyli, Tatevos Artyunyan, Mashadi Jamil Amirov, Shirin Akhundov and others.

Sadigjan died in 1902 in Shusha at the age of 56.

Sadikhan firstly increased the number of strings from 5 to 18, then reduced their number to 13 - two three-choir ones at the bottom (“kok” - white, yellow main strings), in the middle - a single one (“bem kok” - tone thick red string used for a richer sound, as well as for chords) and a steam room (“dem” - the main strings for playing a melody) are bass, and on the upper side of the fretboard there are two paired sonorous ones (“zeng simler”, “jingene simler” - white resonant strings). The aliquot strings (resonant strings not used during the performance) — sonorous and tonal — added by Mirza Sadikh made the sound of the timbre effects of the instrument richer and increased the performance technique's possibilities. The presence of these strings contributed to the emergence of a special interpretation of the mugham on the tar. During the accompaniment of the khanende, aliquot strings create an organ point with the help of the vibrational effect “khun”, making mugham melodies more varied and brighter. They play a big role in the performance of the complex pieces, ensuring the perfection of the sound. So, in the process of performing mughams, as well as concerts, and plays written for tar, the richness of the sound is achieved thanks to these strings. In the course of his work on improving the instrument, Sadikhjan used the theoretical knowledge of the musicologists Safiaddin Urmavi and Mir Mohsun Navvab. After the death of Sadikhjan, the number of strings was reduced to 11.