Manifestation of Azerbaijani Music Elements in Ilham Nazarov’s Performance Technique as a Countertenor
Authors: Ozel Osman 
Published: June 2021

The article is devoted to the study of the features of the vocal performance of the Honored Artist of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Nazarov, who entered the history of Azerbaijani musical culture as the first performer with a countertenor timbre of voice. At the same time, the singer's uniqueness in vocal art lies in the fact that he has a wide range, as well as various vocal timbres, which determines the use of various performing techniques.
The purpose of the research is to determine the features of Ilham Nazarov’s vocal performance technique as a countertenor and the influence of elements inherent in Azerbaijani music on his performance technique.
The research methodology is based on the use of methods of music-analytical, historical, theoretical analysis, as well as physiological analysis of voice. In the article, the characteristics of the performer’s voice are also presented with documents, which are confirmed through laboratory tests. The methods and principles of the approach used in the framework of the research are aimed at studying the features of the musician’s voice and studying the characteristic elements of Azerbaijani music in its performance technique.
The scientific novelty of the research is that the influence of Azerbaijani music on the performance of the Honored Artist of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Nazarov is being investigated for the first time. At the same time, the author explains the place and importance of the musician’s work in the art of vocal performance in Azerbaijan. I. Nazarov is the first performer with a countertenor voice timbre in the art of vocal performance in Azerbaijan. Voicing samples of national music with such a timbre of the voice itself requires a technique of distinctive performance. In this respect, the structure of the musician's performance is a process based on a complex technique. These features have been first studied and investigated on a scientific basis.
Conclusions.  Based on the study of the features of I. Nazarov’s performance, the following may be concluded: I. Nazarov is a vivid example of the art of vocal performance in Azerbaijan. The features of the voice turn the performer into a unique phenomenon in the musical culture of Azerbaijan. The study focuses on the physiological features of the musician’s voice and presents the size of the vocal folds for the first time. This explains the volume of the broadband of the performer’s voice, as well as the reason for his performance by both the bass and countertenor timbre of the voice.
The countertenor timbre of the voice has a distinct technique of performance. Performers having such a timbre of voice mostly refer to the composers’ works of the Baroque period. Voicing the national music of Azerbaijan with a countertenor voice timbre in itself means the combination of two different performance techniques. Thus, in his work, the performer successfully combined the technique of countertenor performance with the  features of the original performance of Azerbaijani mugham. As a result, the musician was successful in forming a unique, original style of performance.