Ancient Melodies
On 11 October 2025 at 17:00, in the Chamber Hall of the Y. Rakhmadiyev State Academic Philharmonic (29 Abai Avenue), the Saryarqa Folk Music Ensemble will present a concert programme entitled «Ancient Melodies».
This event will be a significant cultural occasion aimed at promoting the spiritual heritage of the Kazakh people and revealing the depth of traditional instrumental music and the grandeur of national sound. Ancient kyuis, intertwined with contemporary compositions, will immerse the listener in the essence of Kazakh art.
The programme features works by great kyushi such as Korkyt, Ykylas, AsankaiGy and Baizhigit, alongside traditional folk pieces and modern authorial compositions. The timbral richness of rare and ancient instruments - kobyz, sazsyrnai, adyrna, sybyzgy, zhetygen, shertyer, barbyt and pialaphone - will give the concert exceptional artistic depth.
The evening will open with Togzhan Zhakhin’s piece «Under the Shade of Alatau» - a parade of traditional instruments that guides the audience through the spectrum of Kazakh musical timbres. The sacred kobyz will sound in Korkyt’s «Ushardyn Uluy» and «Korkyt», as well as in Ykylas’s «Kertolgau», «Akku» and «Shyngyrau», imbued with philosophical and spiritual imagery. AsankaiGy’s «Zher Uiyk» reflects on the nation’s dream of a promised land. The folk kyui «Zhilkysyn Zhau Aydagan Zhalgyz Zhigit» and Beisenbi Donenbay’s «Kymyz Kyui», performed on sybyzgy, together with Zhadyra Smagulova’s performance of «Zhorga Ayu» on shertyer, evoke vivid pictures of nature and the inner world of the Kazakh steppe. Special place is given to compositions by Karagoz Gasimova - «Zauren», «The Hunter’s Lament» and «Mystic World», written for sazsyrnai, adyrna and zhetygen, combining traditional roots with contemporary musical thinking.
The final note of the concert will be struck by the folk kyui «Piala», performed by the Saryarqa Ensemble together with Telman Yermagambetov on the unique pialaphone, bringing the artistic arc of the evening to a powerful close.
The Saryarqa Ensemble’s project is a vivid example of the revival of forgotten cultural heritage - a bridge between past and present, preserved in sound and passed on to new generations.
