Dauletkerey Shigayuly (1820-1887) –an outstanding composer-kuyshi, one of the prominent representatives of dombra art of a lyrical direction.
By its origin, he was one of the noble representatives of the steppe aristocracy. The great-grandson of Abulkhair – Khan of the Junior Zhuz in 1723-1748. His father, Sultan Shigay, temporarily (1815-1823) ruled the Inner (Bokey) Horde after the death of Khan Bokey, being regent of the underage future Khan Zhangir. Shigay died when Dauletkerey was only five years old, and his cousin, Sultan Mendigire Bokeykhanov, the richest and most influential man in the Bokey Horde after Khan Zhangir, took on further care for his upbringing.
Valuable information about the life and work of Dauletkerey Shigayuly is contained in the works of the famous Kazakh composer, academician A. Zhubanov, “Strings of Centuries. Essays on the life and creative activity of Kazakh folk composers of the 19th – early 20th centuries ”(Almaty: Dayn-Press, 2002),“ Nightingales of the Centuries ”(Alma-Ata, 1976),“ Classical Studies: a multi-volume book ”(Almaty: 2012. Т .2, Life and work of Kazakh composers). A detailed description of the origin and main stages of the life of the great kuyshi is given in the books of Professor P.V. Aravin “Dauletkerei and Kazakh music of the XIX century” (M.: “Sov. Composer”, 1984) and “Steppe constellations. Essays and studies about Kazakh music ”(Alma-Ata, Zhalyn). The music researcher, professor A.V. Zataevich, also gives a worthy assessment to the creative art of Dauletkerei in his famous work “500 Songs and Cues of the Kazakh People” (Almaty: Dayn-Press, 2002), which notes that his cui turned into the spiritual wealth of the Kazakh people.
As you know, Nursultan Nazarbayev in his article “The Seven Faces of the Great Steppe”, in order to seriously reflect on the fundamental foundations of our worldview, to deepen the modernization of historical consciousness, put forward six fundamental projects. “The historical process in the mass consciousness is mainly personified in nature … The great steppe has generated a galaxy of prominent figures. Among them are such large-scale figures as Al-Farabi and Yassaui, Kul-Tegin and Beibarys, Tauke and Abylay, and many others. Therefore, we should, firstly, the educational and encyclopedia park “Great names of the Great Steppe,” said Elbasy. Secondly, in his opinion, it is necessary to open a gallery of images of great thinkers, poets and rulers of the past in modern literature, music, theater and the visual arts. Thirdly, it is necessary to systematize and intensify activities to create and disseminate the popular science series “Outstanding Personalities” Great Steppe ”-“ Uly Dala Tulgalara ”[1]. In particular, in the context of this idea, our article was written dedicated to one of the outstanding personalities of the 19th century, the great composer, folk kuyshi Dauletkerey Shigayuly.
Biography
Dauletkerey Shigayuly was born approximately in 1820 in the Urdinsky district of the present West Kazakhstan region. According to Professor P.V. Aravin, the exact date of Dauletkerey’s birth remained unknown for a long time. It was assumed that he was born in 1799 in the Karamol area near Naryn Sands. However, new archival documents discovered by P.V. Arshavin refute this legend. They testify that Dauletkerey was born not in 1799, but in 1820, and not in the Karamol area, but on the Caspian coast, not far from the Konevskaya gang, where the headquarters of Sultan Shigay was located and where he lived in the last years of his life. The basis for determining the date of birth is the document “List of managing clans of the Inner Kyrgyz Horde”, compiled by the Provisional Council for the Management of the Internal Horde in 1853. It states that since 1852, Dauletkerey temporarily rules the Nogay clan and is 33 years old [2].
Dauletkerey’s father, Sultan Shigay, was a very wealthy Genghiside. However, according to the statement of academician Akhmet Zhubanov, he lacked the flexibility of mind and insight to understand the essence of new changes that took place in the Kazakh steppe in the first half of the nineteenth century. A typical steppe feudal lord of that time, he tried to educate his beloved son Dauletkerei in the traditions of his environment, who boasted of their descent from the direct descendants of Chigiskhan. After the death of Khan Bokey until coming of age, Zhangir ruled the Inner Horde for about eight years [3].
And so, by its origin, Dauletkerey Shigayuly, as Professor P.V. Aravin noted in his book “Dauletkerey and Kazakh music of the XIX century”, was one of the most notable representatives of the steppe aristocracy who were not part of the Kazakh clan community and severely oppressed the masses . According to established tradition, representatives of the aristocracy (“white bone”) enjoyed certain privileges in society. They were considered sultans by birth and claimed the khan’s power. The Institute of Sultanism was endowed with orders of intimidation and violence, which for a long time were supported by the chinigizids in Kazakhstan and Central Asia.
One of such powerful Genghiside feudal lords in the XVIII century was the great-grandfather of Dauletkerey Abulkhair – Khan of the Younger Zhuz in 1723-1748. From a young age, Abulkhair was distinguished by courage and courage. And in 1726, on the Kurultay of the Kazakhs of all three zhuzes, he was unanimously elected the Supreme Commander-in-Chief in the war against the Dzungars. The period of the Khanate of Abulkhair, his vigorous activity to unite the Kazakh people to fight against the Dzungarian invasion in the twenties of the XVIII century, and then the bold and far-reaching initiative for the voluntary annexation of the Younger Zhuz to Russia in 1731 received detailed coverage in the works of N. Rychkov, A. Levshin, V. Veliamin-Zernov, L. Meyer, A. Dobrosmyslov, M. Krasovsky, V. Vitebsky and F. Lobisevich, as well as in the works of Soviet researchers N. Appolova, M. Vyatkin, E. Bekmakhanov and others [4].
However, the accession of Kazakhstan to Russia, along with positive aspects, had many negative sides. Tsarism ruthlessly robbed the indigenous population of Kazakhstan. This policy was supported by local feudal lords, including high-ranking relatives of Dauletkerey, who were interested in oppressing their peasants, through whose work they lived. In order to colonize Kazakhstan, develop wealth, ensure trade security and consolidate new areas for the Russian Empire in the first decades after the Kazakhs accepted Russian citizenship, the tsarist government launched political and economic events in 1734 under the project of the Senate Chief Secretary I.K. Kirillov was established Orenburg expedition, later renamed the Orenburg Commission.
These measures undertaken by tsarism already in the initial period of entering the Kazakhs under the protectorate of Russia testify to the initial colonial nature of its policy towards the Kazakhs. Thus, tsarism took measures aimed at consolidating its power in the newly acquired territory. In 1822, the “Charter on Siberian Kirghiz” was adopted, developed by the Governor-General of Western Siberia M.M. Speransky. According to this Charter, the khan’s power in the Middle Zhuz was abolished and the Region of Siberian krigiz was formed.
According to the charter of the Siberian Kirghiz of 1822, the region was divided into external and internal districts, which, in turn, were divided into volosts and auls. Outer districts were Kazakhs who roamed outside the Irtysh River. The districts were ruled by “duans,” consisting of the administration, the police, and the courts. Orders were issued or led by the aga-sultans. The Aga-Sultans had assistants in the person of four assessors, two of whom were Russians and appointed by the governor, the remaining two were nominated by the Biy and elders from the Kazakhs.
In the Junior Zhuz, under the jurisdiction of the Orenburg Governor-General, according to the “Charter of the Orenburg Kirghiz”, the khan’s power was abolished in 1824. Its territory was divided into three parts – Western, Middle and Eastern, at the head of each stood the sultans-rulers. In turn, the units were divided into distances (sites) with remote heads, and the distances were divided into clans and departments, the managers of which were appointed by the Orenburg Border Commission from among the noble biys. All three parts of the Junior Zhuz were controlled by the Orenburg Border Commission. In order to strengthen its power, tsarism built fortified lines in the depths of the Kazakh steppe.
After the villainous assassination of Khan Abulkhair by Sultan Barak, the new Khan of the Junior Zhuz Nuraly did not bring peace and tranquility to the nomads of his wards, not justifying the long-awaited hope of the people. In this situation, in search of a better life, the brothers Bokey and Shigay, on the advice of the batyr Syrym from the Baibakty clan, decide to migrate to the fruitful lands between the Volga and Ural (Zhaik) rivers.
Now let us briefly dwell on the history of the Bokey horde, where the whole drowsy life of Dauletkerey passed. The vicinity of the lower coast of the Volga River, where it flows into the Caspian Sea, to the Ural River since 1635, after the Dzungar invasion, Kalmyk clan-tribal associations inhabited. The Kazakhs called this area “Kalmyk steppe” (Қалмақ қыры). In 1771, the Kalmyks completely left this land, one part returned through the Kazakh steppes to their historical homeland – Dzungaria, the other – migrated to the valley of the Don River.
With the permission of the tsarist government in 1801, five thousand Kazakh wagons headed by Sultans Bokey and Shigay (a total of 22,775 people of both sexes) migrated to this vacated land. Then another 1265 wagons with 8333 Kazakhs migrated. Thus, the Bokey or Inner Horde as an administrative unit was created on March 11, 1801 by decree of Emperor Pavel I on the basis of a petition from Sultan Bokey. In those years, the formation of the Horde and the strengthening of the power of Khan Bokey was provided with interesting assistance by the father of Dauletkerey – Sultan Shigay. According to the studies of Professor P.V. Aravin, Sultan Shigay, in his campaigns against the Khan of the Junior Zhuz Zhantore, successfully used the services of the Astrakhan Governor L.A. Kozhevnikov and Astrakhan Russian Cossacks [5].
Constant communication with representatives of the Russian administration had a strong influence on Shigay. He began to speak Russian well, attentively studied the customs of the neighboring people. Thanks to this, Russian and Ukrainian cultures exerted their definite influence on the spiritual development of the Shigay family.
Later, when he temporarily acted as khan, the Sultan Shigay often enjoyed the support of the Don Cossacks. So, the Cossacks of the Don Cossack Regiment more than five years accompanied Shigay in all his trips across the steppe. For a long time, Shigay during his service, the Russian officer Golubev will provide services as an adviser. With the help of Golubev, he conducted serious negotiations with the military governor and commander of the Separate Orenbug Corps, General P.K. Essen [6].
The Bokey horde on the outside bordered on the Astrakhan, Saratov, Orenburg provinces, military fortresses in the Urals and fishing on the northern coast of the Caspian Sea. It was a compact, small khanate; its area was 200 kilometers from east to west and 350 kilometers from north to south. By the end of the 30s of the XIX century, about 20 thousand households and 80 thousand inhabitants were located here. However, land and pastures were divided far from in favor of the common people. Two-thirds of the land was unfairly transferred to private ownership by the Kazakh feudal lords, as well as by the Russian landowners Yusupov and Bezborodko.
The Ural military department fruitful lands off the coast of the Big and Small rivers and the Kamys-Samar Lake completely seized from the indigenous population in favor of the Russian Cossacks. The Ural military Cossacks also used land plots off the coast of the Zhaik River. Kazakhs were strictly forbidden to cross the western side of the Zhaik River and place their nomads along this river. Land restrictions imposed by the Russian border administration severely affected the economy of the Kazakh communities wandering near the border line. The prohibitions of wandering near military fortifications and Cossack farms, the constant raids of the Yaik and Orenburg Cossacks and service Bashkirs, the seizure of communal pastures by the pro-Russian top of the Kazakh aul pushed the nomads to organized resistance to the colonialists.
In 1815, after the death of Khan Bokey, the khan’s throne passed into the hands of his son Zhangir. However, before his coming of age, the Horde was led by Bokey’s brother-in-law, Shigai, father of Dauletkerey. In 1824, Zhangir was proclaimed khan by decree of the tsarist government. Khan Zhangir, embarking on the fulfillment of his high mission, using the support of the tsarist administration, began to restructure the traditional system of local government and individual aspects of the public life of the population.
Khan Zhangir transferred to the horde the system of local economy of the Russian nobility, seized the very best lands, arbitrarily distributed public lands to sultans and foremen, he granted Tarkhanism to ordinary Kazakhs, elevating them to the nobility. In addition to all this, the khan sold and resold public lands to private individuals. Gradually, a special privileged feudal-Bay estate was formed, which became a strong social support of the khan. In the Bokey horde, trade began to develop. Commodity-money relations more and more penetrated the Kazakh masses, intensifying their class differentiation. At the same time, at the initiative of Khan Zhangir, the first comprehensive schools, schools and mosques were opened in the Horde.
In 1827, Khan Zhangir, placing his constant headquarters in the town of Zhaskus in Naryn Sands, began to lead the people from this center. In the same year, the Khan Council was created, which included representatives of all 12 clans of the Bayuly tribe. In 1845, Khan Zhangir died. Prior to this, the system of khan rule in Kazakhstan was abolished everywhere. Now the tsarist administration decided to put an end to the khanate in the Inner Horde, as a result, the khan’s power there was replaced by the Provisional Council, which was led by a Russian official [7].
After the death of Shigay, Dauletkerey was brought up in the family of his cousin Mendigerey Bokeykhanov (1808-1868), who in 1827 became the ruler of the Sherkesh clan and took the boy with him. Mendigerey was the richest sultan from the dynasty of Abulkhair Khan after Khan Zhangir. He owned a huge land allotment, numerous herds of horses and flocks of sheep. The archive document “The Case of Sultan Mendigerey’s Accusation of Harassment of the Kazakhs” contains information that in 1848 he had 2400 horses, 50 camels, 60 cows and 3500 sheep, and the land allocated to him by the khan had 44 versts in a circle [8].
Mendigerey led the largest Kazakh clans and, in the absence of the khan, performed his duties. The descendants of Khan Bokey were the most educated people of that time. Mendikerey also sought to give a fairly high education to his children. For example, a cousin of Dauletkerey Kushakgali, along with the Russian language, was fluent in French, Arabic, Persian, Turkish and Tatar. Dauletkerey, brought up with him, apparently, was also comprehensively educated. Mendikerey tried to educate Dauletkerei in the traditions of his social environment. He often took the boy on trips across the steppe, from a young age introduced him to the affairs of managing the Sherkesh clan.
Young Dauletkerey, himself for some time trying to lead certain clans, early realized what unlimited power the rulers of that time have and sometimes are cruel, and how simple the Kazakhs are, who are crushed by the arbitrariness of the khan and his faithful satraps in the person of the sultans close to him. He was deeply indignant at the way his high-ranking relative, Khan Zhangir, took the land from ordinary people and gave it to the Russian colonialists. Although Dauletkerey did not directly participate in the Isatay-Makhambet uprising, there is evidence that he sympathized with his leaders. He expressed his feelings in kuyy Zhiger, Topan, and especially in kuy Kara skin. Many years after the uprising, he creates this accusatory kuy, in which, according to popular tradition, he painted a gloomy image of the adviser to Khan Zhangir, Karaul-Khoja Babadjanov, the worst enemy of Isatay and all the rebels participating in the national liberation movement [4].
After the uprising was suppressed, the tsarist regime, having abolished the Bokey Khanate, takes all power into its own hands. Khan Zhangir is appointed governor general of the same region, now the whole Junior Zhuz submits to him. After such political transformations, ordinary people fall into double oppression, on the one hand, they will be forced to pay taxes of the tsarist administration, and on the other, they will be exploited by local sultans and bais. Having witnessed such arbitrariness, Dauletkerey during his reign by the Nogai clan tries to some extent ease the fate of his fellow tribesmen.
Now let’s dwell on the main points of Dauletkerey’s work, briefly linking them with some episodes of the great kuyshi’s life. Dauletkereiy from early childhood was fond of music. While still a child, he listened with great pleasure to the famous Kazakh akyns and kuyshi who arrived at them at the invitation of the Sultan of Mendigerey. According to the stories of the famous music researcher, academician Akhmet Zhubanov, the nephew of Dauletkerey Nausha Bokeykhanov, who lived in Soviet times, performed about fifty kuys of the composer. Valuable information about the glorious kuyshi was also provided by his nephew. Khan Zhangir, who was educated in Russia and later reached the rank of general, created all the necessary conditions for children to receive education in Russian. Thanks to this, Dauletkerey also managed to learn to read and write in Russian. And not for nothing that he was then called an educated boy.
In western Kazakhstan, even before the advent of Dauletkerey, there were several areas of kuyshi musical skill. According to A. Zhubanov, although the environment in which Dauletkerey grew up did not manage to exert a comprehensive influence on the formation of his worldview, his work nevertheless developed under the influence of the music of the kuyshi of the Bokey horde of democratic direction Sokyr Yeszhan, Baizhuma, Balamaysan and others. The creative development of Dauletkerey was greatly influenced by his friendly relations with the then famous Bokey dombra-kuyshi Muserali, who appreciated his musical talent in dignity, drew attention to the need for him to compose independent kuyes. With the help of Muserali, he gets acquainted with the works of the famous kuyshi Aryngazy, Zhantore, Arenzhan and others. Along with this, in the Khan’s Headquarters, which in winter turned into a permanent place of communication between the Sultans, in the early forties of the nineteenth century, aristas of the Saratov Drama and Stage Theater were often invited. There is an assumption that due to this, Dauletkerey has been familiar with Russian and European music from an early age. He masterfully played the Russian balalaika, also learned to play the guitar and mandolin.
In this drawing, executed in 1854 by the artist R. Cheredeyev, according to the outline sketch of the French traveler Pauli, the center shows Dauletkerey playing his kuy on the dombra, and around it are other speakers with their instruments [4].
The most interesting – in the same figure is drawn a man who is dancing in vain. Among the nukers and court employees of Khan Zhangir there were many lovers of songs and music. Having looked at them, Mendigerey looked indulgently at the hobbies of his nephew, although internally he did not approve of his interest in art. But he was already unable to restrain him [3].
Communicating closely with ordinary Kazakhs and Russian peasants in neighboring farms, the young Dauletkerey is interested in their way of life and traditions. At the same time, he also communicates with residents from Karakalpaks, Turkmens and Kalmyks, wandering near Lake Baskunchak, and gets acquainted with their customs. Later we will meet Alniyaz Khodaygulov, poet-improviser of the Karakalpak people, among close friends of the great kuyshi, who at one time worked as a personal cook with the khan Zhangir himself. Thanks to such friendship in the process of creative activity, Dauletkerey includes Karakalpak and Turkmen plays for playing on the dombra.
During the years of work as Sultan, Dauletkerey gained the respect of the people and enjoyed his trust. His communication with Russian intellectuals, visiting a number of cities in Russia (Orenbur, Moscow, St. Petersburg, Simbirsk, Nizhny Novgorod), acquaintance with everyday life and customs, the cultural heritage of the neighboring people, significantly expanded his worldview, inspired his desire to know the world of music. In 1859 he watched at the Bolshoi Theater the ballet of C. Pugnya “Katerina – the daughter of a robber” and the opera by G. Verdi “La Traviata” [4].
Dauletkerey was friends with the chairman of the Provisional Council for the management of the Bokey Horde with G.V. Vashchenko (1791-1869). On the recommendation of the same G.V. Vashchenko, he was included in the honorary representatives of the Kazakh people sent to St. Petersburg in 1859 to celebrate the coming of age as the heir to the tsar’s throne, the son of Emperor Alexander II, Nikolai Alexandrovich. The purpose of his inclusion in this delegation was to gradually accustom him to the art of governing the people. But he himself went on a trip not to make a visit to the palace of the tsarist colonialists, but to get to know the advanced culture of Russia, the country of Pushkin.
During this trip, he will personally see and hear a lot of useful and interesting things. For the first time he will watch works performed by the orchestra of European composers. Not being a poet, but with his whole heart feeling the world of poetry, he is among the first to make his contribution to the funds that were collected and intended to erect a monument to A. Pushkin near the lyceum where the poet studied [6].
In this drawing, Dauletkerey is the first among
honorary Kazakh delegates [4].
The above-mentioned delegation of the Kazakh intelligentsia from the Inner Horde has only two people, the first of them is the leader of the Nogai clan, the graduate of the Orenburg Cadet Corps named after I.I. Neplyuyev Edige Suyunishgaliev, the second – Dauletkerey Shigayuly. When the composition of the delegation was determined, Dauletkerey was leaving, he went to travel to Bashkortstan. He, among other sultans, went to the wedding of the daughter of the late khan Zhangir – Khadisha, married to the Belebeyev landowner – Colonel Tevkelev. After a short rest in Orenburg, travelers, following the Kazan highway through Ufa, safely arrived at the rich Tevkelev estate in the Tatar village of Kasimovo, located in Belebey. Wedding celebrations lasted two weeks. In the estate of Tevkelev, several large tents were pitched for guests. Here Dauletkerey first truly got acquainted with Tatar folk music. He also watched young people who cheerfully sang Tatar folk songs to the accordion and violin. Through Tatar music, Dauletkerey became acquainted with Russian folk instruments, and this, in turn, provoked interest in him for that new musical culture that would soon enthrall him during a long trip to central Russia [4].
And so it can be affirmatively noted that in general, the Dauletkerey trip to Ufa and Belebey had a strong impact on the development of his musical thinking. Being among the Bashkirs in Belebey Uyezd, Dauletkerey was also very interested in the original art of folk musicians playing kurai. Acquaintance with them enriched the musical world of Dauletkerey with unforgettable lyrical melodies, which turned out to be so close to his spiritual mood. Long Bashkir lyric songs like Uzun-Kuy reminded him of the same songs of the Kazakh steppe, involuntarily forcing him to listen to the peculiar melody of Bashkir folk music. During this trip, he also drew attention to the similarity and at the same time to the difference between the Bashkir three-stringed dombra and the Kazakh double-stringed one.
No less interest in Dauletkerey was also caused by Russian songs that sounded all along his path to Belebey. The masterful performance of these songs by Russian Cossacks and peasants who migrated from inner Russia to Ufa and Orenburg provinces as a whole also had a strong influence on him. the work of the local Cossacks, Russian peasant migrants, Bashkirs and Tatars, and possibly Chuvashs. At the same time, it is appropriate to recall the words of Professor A.V. Zataevich when he argued that at that time “Dauletkerey, in his position and education, could have – and probably had – a well-known idea of music developed under other conditions and with other people ” [9].
While Dauletkerey continued to travel around Bashkortstan, the Orenburg administration was actively preparing to send honorary Kazakhs to St. Petersburg. Regarding this trip, a letter from Colonel K.I.Gern, who replaced G.V. Vashchenko as chairman of the Provisional Council, to Dauletkerey reads as follows: “When I was appointed as chairman of the Provisional Council for the Management of the Internal Kirghiz Horde, I’m based on of the order received from the Governor-General, I inform your Degree that among the Horde who will be sent this summer to St. Petersburg and Moscow, you are elected as the forerunner of my Actual State Counselor Vashchenko, which was followed by the consent of His Excellency Alexander Andreevich (Katenin). As a result, I ask you to arrive in Orenburg by the 25th of the current month, from where you, among other Horde residents, will leave for your destination. To this, I consider it to be unchanged to add that the government took all the costs both during the trip and during the stay of the Horde residents in the capitals, and I hope that your degree will be stocked up with the necessary funds for the duration of your stay in the capitals and toilet accessories, the value and quality of which would be fully consistent with your rank and dignity ”[10].
According to archival information, for traveling to St. Petersburg from July 23 to August 4, 1859, he was in Orenburg and received money in the amount of 500 rubles in silver at the expense of the Provisional Council from the Border Commission [11].
At the end of the preparatory work on August 4, 1859, the chairman of the Border Commission, a well-known diplomat and ecologist V.V. Grigoryev led honorary Kazakhs on a long journey. At the same time, assessor Kostromitinov, accompanying the delegation of honorary Kazakhs, he gave the following strict instructions to fulfill.
Firstly, it was indicated to follow from Orenburg to Moscow along the route through the following cities: Samara, Simbirsk, Arzamas, Nizhny Novgorod and Vladimir-on-Klyazma. Secondly, in Moscow, honorary Kazakhs should have come to the Military Governor, examined the Kremlin palaces, the Faceted Chamber, the university, the Educational House, one of the best hospitals, several factories. Thirdly, it was assumed that honorary Kazakhs would attend two performances of the Bolshoi Theater. Fourth, for the first time in their lives, honorary Kazakhs should have traveled from Moscow to St. Petersburg by train, which was a novelty for the steppe nomads. Fifthly, in St. Petersburg, the Kazakh delegation was to examine the Hermitage, the Arsenal, the Mint, Tauride and other palaces, the Mineralogical Museum, the Public Library, the Zoological Museum of the Academy of Sciences, the Botanical Garden, and a glass factory. Further, honorary Kazakhs had to make a trip to Kronshtad, Peterhof, Tsarskoye Selo, Pavlovsk and Gatchina, to visit Yelagin, Kamenny and Krestovsky islands. In addition to this in the evenings it was planned to attend performances in tetras of the capital [4].
Most of the above activities have been completed. But in order to save time on the road and being afraid of being late for Moscow, the honorable Kazakhs in Samara and Simbirsk did not call in and immediately arrived in Nizhny Novgorod on August 11. The Kazakh honorary delegation visited the Yarmor Theater here. It was a huge witty building, accommodating up to a thousand spectators. The stay of Dauletkerey in Nizhny Novgorod, as Professor P.V. Aravin notes, enriched his inner musical world with vivid impressions not only from the performances of the fair theater. No less, if not more, was his direct acquaintance with Russian folk song. Maybe, writes P.V. Aravin, it is from here that Dauletkerey’s serious study of Russian musical culture begins, which played such an important role in shaping his creative image [4].
Dauletkerey and his companions on August 13, 1859 from Nizhny Novgorod went to Moscow. Along the way, they passing through the ancient Russian cities of Arzamas, Murom and Vladimir, get even closer acquainted with folk music, both vocal and instrumental. On August 16, they arrived in Moscow and stayed in it for a week, filled with vivid impressions. These days, with the participation of honored guests, parades and reviews of troops of the Separate Grenadier Corps were held. Here Dauletkerey first listens and gets acquainted with the unusual for him the music of a brass band.
Here it would be appropriate to cite an excerpt from a letter from the Moscow military governor to the Orenburg governor, Adjutant General Alexander Andreevich Katenin of August 24, 1859, preserved in archival materials of the time: “To appoint the Horde’s sights of the capital, I appointed one official to whom they led visited the factories: the stearin of the Highest Approved Partnership, the perfumery Gikka, the cloth merchants Gameshins, the carpet and handkerchief Guchkovs, the pool on the Sukhorev Tower, the station and cars of the Nikolaev railway and telegraph. Moreover, they twice visited the Bolshoi Theater and once a public walk in the garden. All that the Kyrgyz saw aroused their strong curiosity and surprise, and when examining the factories and telegraph, they went into detailed questions and tried to figure out their device. They were equally impressed by theatrical performances and the magnificent lighting of the garden and fireworks ”[12].
Kazakh “deputies” on August 24 arrived by train in St. Petersburg and were accommodated in the hotel “Moscow”. Until September 8, Dauletkerei and his companions were busy exploring the sights of the capital. These days they visited the Hermitage, the Mint, the Institute of Technology and other previously planned historical places.
The Horde guests, who arrived from Kazakhstan, on September 8 took part in the court celebrations in the Winter Palace, held on the occasion of the coming of age of the heir to the throne. This festive event ended with a grandiose ball in the Noble Assembly, Dauletkerey first saw the closest retinue of the royal court, the highest dignitaries and aristocrats of St. Petersburg.
Acquaintance with the “power and brilliance” of the empire, at the same time and with the life of the simple Russian people all the way from Orenburg to Moscow and St. Petersburg, without a doubt, played an important role in the formation of its advanced public views and beliefs. Thanks to a trip to the capital of the Russian Empire, Dauletkerei was the first of the Kazakh kuyshi composers to get acquainted with the culture and life of many peoples of Russia. All this markedly expanded and enriched the musical world of the young composer. No matter how hard the government officials tried to isolate Dauletkerey and his companions from communication with the people, the very atmosphere of traveling around Russia created favorable conditions for such contacts. As a result, Kazakh guests at every step saw not only the “brilliance” of the empire, but also the vast expanses of Russian land with the squalid villages of poor peasants [4].
After returning from St. Petersburg, Dauletkerey was inseparable from the Khan’s Headquarters almost all the time, where his elder brother Kushakgali rented a large wooden house, furnished in Russian. Now he spent all his free time among the officials of the Provisional Council, carefully studying and taking into account the mores and customs brought by the Russian people. A little later, after returning from central Russia, he was entrusted with the management of the Kyzylkurt, Maskar and Tolengut clans, which, in comparison with other clan communities, were in the most distress. However, Dauletkerey, even dealing with the management of tribal communities, never interrupted his creative activity. Under the pretext that he would compose kuy, in the summer he set his yurt as far as possible from the aul, and he spent the winter almost without a hitch in a wretched father’s house, built in 1825 by his late parent. He did not expect anything good from the future dynasty of sultans, who gradually lost their former power. However, no matter how he wished the triumph of good over evil and condemned the arbitrariness and cruelty of the ruling elite, which they apply to their own people, he could not completely break with the environment to which he belonged [3].
Dauletkerey internally realized the limitations of the historical life of the Sultans dynasty and the rapid approach of its end, as it was increasingly moving away from the common people and its social situation was greatly shaken. New forces now began to enter the historical arena. In the mid-1830s, a national liberation movement led by Isatay Taimanov and Makhambet Utemisov took place in Western Kazakhstan, in particular in the Bokey Horde. After the suppression of the uprising, the Russian administration, having eliminated the Bokey Khanate, takes all power into its own hands. Khan Zhangir is appointed the governor-general of that region, as has already been noted by us. Now he submits to the entire Junior Zhuz. Ordinary people fall into double oppression, on the one hand, they will be forced to pay taxes to the tsarist administration, and on the other, they will be exploited by local sultans and bais. Having witnessed such arbitrariness, Dauletkerey during his reign by the Nogai clan tries to some extent ease the fate of his fellow tribesmen.
Now we continue the story about the main aspects of the creative activity of the famous kuyshi. According to Academician A. Zhubanov, the first Dauletkerey kuys were created in the early forties of the nineteenth year. These include his kuys “Kyz Akzhelek”, “Kos alka”, “Kerilme”, “Zheldіrme”, “Konyr” and some others. Most of these kuys is devoted mainly to the events that individual people experienced, and not to major social events. For example, kuy “Kyz Akzhelek” is dedicated to a girl, “Zheldіrme” – a horse race, “Kerilme” – an unprecedented beauty, “Kos alka” – a double necklace, “Kos Ishek” – a description of some technical methods of playing dombra. They were very graceful for their time, full of charm lyrical plays. At the same time, the above-mentioned kuy characterize only the beginning of an independent creative search, the stage of its gradual becoming already known among the kuyshi people [13].
According to researchers, the creative path of Dauletkerey can be divided into three stages. The first stage is 1840-50. At this stage, he composed the kuys “Kyz Akzhelek”, “Kos alka”, “Konyr”, “Zheldіrme”, “Yskyrma”, “Kos ishek” and others. In terms of sound and meaning, they were close to folk because their content was simple and convenient for execution. In the performance of some of them, special techniques are used. As noted above, regarding the kuy “Kos Ishek”. The melody of this kuy sounds alternately on both strings of the dombra. Similar techniques have been successfully used in the performance of the kuy “Konyr”. Kuy “Kos Ishek” and “Konyr”, created during the search for new means of expression, are truly innovative. And not in vain A.V. Zataevich gave the following characterization to these two kuys: “Two plays, in their content generalized by the restless and pathetic beginning of somewhat emphasized expressiveness and, by the nature of their built-in melodic formulas, as if overflowing beyond the boundaries of a typical Kazakh instrumental melody and the methods of its development” [9].
In terms of his artistic style and quality, his kuy “Bulbul” (Nightingale), “Kara Kozha”, “Mundy Kyz” (Saddened Girl), “Zhumabike” and others occupy a higher level. These works can be conditionally attributed to the second stage of the creative path of Dauletkerey. According to Academician A. Zhubanov, kuy “Bulbul” was born during a meeting of two luminaries of musical art Kurmangazy and Dauletkerey. A.V. Zataevich, who first wrote this kuy on a note, wrote as follows: “A magnificent example of great folk art! A play of extraordinary poetry and picturesqueness, with its thoughtful recitations of a purely eastern character, arising against the soft, vacillating background of even trios of intro and interlude! What a flash of temperament! And what a delight for the beauties of the southern night – the “nightingale” without empty and external onomatopoeia! A thing saturated with exciting content, just like a Scheherazade tale… ”. According to A.V. Zataevich, the dedication of his works to the characterization of individuals, their merits is found even among the great composers of the West. Regarding the musical color of the above-mentioned kuys, the Russian composer gives a worthy assessment. According to him, a similar voice of music by Edward Hagerup Grigt is heard from kuy “Konyr” Dauletkerey [9].
Another original kuy of that time is the kuy “Salyk Olgen” (Salyk’s death). He was composed by Dauletkerey in memory of his beloved, untimely deceased nephew Salyk Babadzhanov, who graduated from the Orenburg Cadet Corps, who had the military rank of cornet. Salyk was one of the highly educated people of that time, for scientific works he was elected a member of the Russian Geographical Society. “Salyk Olgen” is one of the saddest cuys of Dauletkerey [3].
According to the stories of a close relative of Naushi, already at the age of twenty, the performing skills of kuyshi became known not only in the Horde, but also far beyond its borders. According to A.Zhubanov, most of Dauletkerey’s kuys are full of optimism and are dedicated to showing a calm, serene, measured, sometimes joyful life (“Kerilme”, “Tundyrma”, “Demalys”), at the same time he devotes a number of kuys to exaltation of respected and close people from his environment (“Aksakal”, “Vashchenko”). Having mastered the sound technique of the instrument well, while playing individual kuys he skillfully imitates various natural sounds made by wildlife – nightingale singing (“Bulbul”), human whistle (“Yskyrma”). And so, one of the features of a number of his kuys – unlike others, they are performed with high virtuoso (technical) skill. This group includes kuy – “Kos Ishek”, “Kenzhebay”, “Tundyrma” and some others. At the same time, several kuys of the composer are devoted to specific events, to an individual person or to other objects of nature (“Kos alka”, “Tartys”) [14].
The works of the third and last stage of Dauletkerey’s work are devoted to philosophical topics. For example, in his kuy “Topan”, “Zhiger”, “Sholtak”, “Korogly” and others, issues of life and death, problems of art and the role of the individual in society are touched on.
In 1861, Dauletkerey was appointed the ruler of the clan in Kyzylkurt, there a year later he met with the “father” of the kuys – Kurmangazy. Dauletkerey during the meeting played his kuy “Bulbul” (Nightingale). Kurmangazy really liked the work, he included it in his repertoire and even composed a peculiar paraphrase on this subject. Playing each other, the Kurmangazy and Dauletkerey borrowed a lot from each other. Thus, creative contact was made between two great composers of Western Kazakhstan, who raised dombra art to a high level of professional skill. According to A. Zhubanov, the first meetings of Kurmangazy with Dauletkerey took place at a time when they began to draw closer to the youth environment, gathering students around them, became famous kuyshi. Close communication of Dauletkerey with Kurmangazy ultimately helped him to take the path of the nationality in his work [3].
And before that, when the work of Dauletkerey began to gradually pick up the pace of its development, the strict regime of Khan Zhangir prevented him from communicating freely with ordinary people. An even greater deterioration in the situation of the common people, which clearly made itself felt especially after the brutal suppression of the Isatay-Makhambet uprising, provoked an internal protest from him against the policy of the ruling regime, representing both the tsarist administration and the environment of Khan Zhangir. In such an environment, he had heard about the courage and courage of the leading figure in the musical art of Kurmangazy, and dreams of meeting him. Having learned about this intention of Dauletkerey, Kurmangazy having brought his students with him, several times he visits him and holds dombra competitions with him. As a result, such meetings between Kurmangazy and Dauletkerey became a big event in their life. Regarding this event, A. Zhubanov wrote in his works the following: “These meetings of the two kuyshi composers invariably ended with the performance of their works on the dombra… During these meetings, Kurmangazy took over kuy “Bulbul” of Dauletkerey, and Dauletkerey – “Serper” of Kurmangazy. This was the creative contact of two composers of Western Kazakhstan who raised dombra art to a high level of professional skill” [15].
Critical of his creative path, he now decided to devote his remaining strength and energy as a kuyshi to composing works that reveal the essence of significant social phenomena, and not get carried away by the plot of short-term interests of life. It was in this direction that his kuys “Sholtak”, “Topan”, and “Zhiger” came to light. They widely disclosed the deep philosophical themes of life, expressed the people’s desire for freedom, at the same time reflected the thoughts of a person who suffered a lot in life, courageous, restrained, serious. According to Akhmet Zhubanov, in contrast to Kurmangazy, the lyrical orientation of kuys prevails in Dauletkerey. However, he also has a lot of kuys, which contain elements of drama. These include, for example, kuy “Salyk Olgen”, “Topan” and others [15].
In the last three decades of the life of a wonderful kuyshi, a true flowering of creativity has begun. Kuy, quite perfect in skill and depth of their content, appear. According to researchers, in any era and in any nation, the works of each composer have their own peak, the so-called culmination of it. At Dauletkerey, such a climax, for example, is his kuy “Zhiger”. Undoubtedly, this work is distinguished by the depth of musical content, its melody is elegant, the rhythm is quite harmonious. Fully adhering to the same opinion, A.V. Zataevich once said the following: “Where does this name come from:“Zhiger”, i.e. Energy? If this is indeed energy, then it is not effective and offensive, but, so to speak, static, i.e. turning out to be in the very character of the expression of courageous and majestically mournful reflection and characterizing the hidden power of the suffering soul… In this kuy, the sounds exceed the capabilities of the dombra, beat over the edge, boil. This work, written at an elevated pace, is of great importance.”At the same time, he compares Zhiger with the IV department of the Pathetic Symphony by P. Tchaikovsky [9].
Later this opinion of A.V. Zataevich is realized in the symphony of the famous Kazakh composer Gaziza Zhubanova, which is also called “Zhiger”. As a result, the musical heritage of the great kuyshi, having found its continuation in the genre of modern symphony, will have an impact on the further development of national art.
According to A.Zhubanov, optimistically turning his gaze to his surroundings, while at the same time expressing internal indignation against the atrocities and arbitrariness of his relatives, Dauletkerey could not finally break with the environment to which he belonged. In this regard, he invested his emotional crisis, emotion and anxious spirit of that time in the aforementioned kuy “Zhiger”. With the same kuy and others – like “Tartys”, “Sholtak”, “Topan” – he expressed his angry protest against injustice and lawlessness, his sentence to the existing tsarist regime and the arbitrariness of local feudal lords [15].
Merits
The boundless expanses of the Great Steppe, stretching from Altay to Atyrau, were always full of gifted sons and daughters who glorified our land with truly grandiose military and labor affairs. No matter what time they live, they always personify the honor and dignity of their native people.
Among them, we are particularly proud to name the founders of the Kazakh national musical art of the great composers Kurmangazy, Dauletkerey and Dina Nurpeisova, who glorified the Kazakh people throughout the world with their magnificent skill and invaluable spiritual treasure.
Their wonderful kuys now, with bated breath, is being listened to by millions of people who are increasingly striving to use them as a powerful tool in educating the younger generation. For kuy is the soul of a Kazakh. Kuy is power, kuy is our shrine [16].
On duty, as the Sultan of the Junior Zhuz, managing the clans of Nogay, Sherkesh, Kyzylkurt and the Kalmyk yurt, he also promoted performing art in the language of dombra, praised the general culture and unity of the people, forcing listeners to think about the values and meaning of life.
The first kuys of Dauletkerey appeared in the early forties of the XIX century. These include the popular kyuys “Kyz Akzhelen”, “Kos alka” (“Double Necklace”), “Konyr” (in this case “Gentle”), “Zheldirme” (“Trotting”), “Kerilme” (“Languor”) and others. They were very graceful for their time, full of charm lyrical plays. In the last three decades of kuyshi’s life, a true flowering of creativity has begun. Kuy appear, perfect in skill and depth of content. These include kuy, such as “Zhiger”, “Topan”, “Zheldirme”, “Tartys”, “Yskyrma”, “Kos alka”, “Kyz Akzhelen” (1860-1880) and others.
In general, the works of Dauletkerey demonstrate progressive social views, the philosophy of life, the lyrics of the time, and the history of the people. Especially vividly in his kuys are pictures of nature and its beauty. In total, akyn composed about a hundred instrumental works for dombra in his life. According to the famous music researcher Akhmet Zhubanov, Dauletkerey’s nephew Nausha Bokeykhanov, who lived in Soviet times, played about 50 of his kuys. Towards the end of his life, Dauletkerey, having reached the pinnacle of dombra art, transfers his knowledge and experience to young musicians.
According to archival sources studied by P.V.Aravin, Dauletkerey died between April 15 and May 4, 1887 in his wintering camp, in the Karamol area, south of the Naryn sands. The kuyshi family had three adult sons, the eldest of whom Azamatkerey was already confidently following in the footsteps of his father in administrative activities, he worked as an assistant to the ruler of several clan communities, and after the death of his father, he was the manager of the Kalmyk part of the horde. The youngest son Salauatkerei was inseparably next to his father, who, being a gifted musician, carefully studied his father’s art and became one of the worthy successors of his work [4].
Memory
Dauletkerey, as one of the great Kazakh composers-kuyshi, occupies a worthy place in the history of our independent country, which left its people a rich spiritual heritage. In order to perpetuate his memory in the city of Uralsk, one of the central streets was named after Dauletkerey. The streets in Almaty and Atyrau, the West Kazakhstan Institute of Arts, the Orchestra of Kazakh folk instruments of the West Kazakhstan Regional Philharmonic in Uralsk are also named after him.
According to the researchers, regardless of the origin and environment, Dauletkerey is rightfully considered the favorite composer of our people. His unique content has become an invaluable cultural treasure of the state. He strove to pass on his experience and knowledge to young performers all his conscious creative life. His disciples respectfully called “Bapas” (father). Later, such gifted dombrists as Balamaysan, Alikey, Makar, Turyp, Salauatkerey, Seytek, Nausha Bokeykhanov, Kali Zhantileuov came out of their numbers. Thanks to his students, the musical heritage of Dauletkerey has survived to the present day [13].
We know Dauletkerey not only as a virtuoso dombra player, an excellent performer of kuys, but also as a talented composer, founder of one of the leading trends in Kazakh national musical art. We consider it our duty to continue to promote the glorious name of the great Kazakh kuyshi Dauletkerey Shigayuly and his very instructive career among his many admirers.
References:
1. Nazarbaev N.A. Sem graneı Velıkoı stepı // Kazahstanskaıa pravda. 2018. 21 noıabrıa.
4. Aravın P.V. Daýletkereı ı kazahskaıa mýzyka XIX veka. – M.: «Sov. kompozıtor», 1984.
7. Mýsın Ch. Qazaqstan tarıhy. Almaty, 2008. 640 b.
9. Zataevıch A.V. 500 pesen ı kıýev kazahskogo naroda. Almaty: Daın-Press, 2002. 378 s.
13. Qazaq halqynyń tarıhı tulǵalary (qysqasha anyqtamalyq). Qurast. Á.Kópіsh.
14. Jubanov A.Q. Án-kúı sapary. Almaty: Qazaq SSR-nіń «Ǵylym» baspasy, 1976.
16. Amanjol Q. Kúı – qudіret, kúı – kıe // Egemen Qazaqsta. 2017. 17 qarasha.