A concert on the occasion of the 900th jubilee of eminent Azerbaijani poetess Mahsati Ganjavi takes place in Reims
A concert on the occasion of the 900th jubilee of eminent Azerbaijani poetess Mahsati Ganjavi was organized at famous Reims Conservatoire, November 30th, with organizational support from the Heydar Aliyev Foundation and assistance by the Embassy of Azerbaijan in France.
The host, Elizabeth Nacoco, mentioned that Azerbaijan situated in a region, where Asia and Europe meet, on the Silk Way, on the shore of the Caspian Sea; and said: “The first democratic republic in the Muslim Orient was established in Azerbaijan, a country with its ancient customs and traditions, back in 1918, and women were granted a right to vote.” He brought to the attention of the guests that first opera in the Muslim Orient was created in Azerbaijan in 1908, and the foundation of ballet was laid in our country in 1940. Elizabeth Nacoco talked of the significant ties that Azerbaijan has built in cultural sphere with UNESCO and other international organizations, including those in France, a country considered to be the cradle of culture, due to tireless efforts by Mehriban Aliyeva, Azerbaijan’s First Lady, the President of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation.
Elizabeth Nacoco has also noted that the Heydar Aliyev Foundation had provided financial support to the repair of two monuments in the Versailles Castle; the Strasbourg Cathedral, and seven churches in Normandy. She mentioned that, with a view to promoting Azerbaijan in France, exhibitions and concerts were held in a number of French cities, including Reims, within the project “Cultural Treasures of Azerbaijan – the Pearl of the Caucasus”, and that these events were met by city residents with much interest.
Bringing to attention that, in 2013, the Heydar Aliyev Foundation started holding a series of cultural events to mark the 870th jubilee of great Azerbaijani poet Nizami Ganjavi and the 900th jubilee of eminent Azerbaijani poetess Mahsati Ganjavi, E.Nacoco said, before Reims, such events had earlier been organized in Paris and Strasbourg.
Along with works by great Azerbaijani composers Uzeir Hajibeyli, Tofig Gouliyev, Fikret Amirov, Shafiga Akhundov and others, popular songs and songs composed to lyrics of Mahsati Ganjavi were performed, and rubaiyats by the poetess translated to French were read.
Among those watching the concert were officials of the Reims city municipality, members of the Champagne-Ardenne Regional Council, deputies, a delegation led by head of the Ganja Executive Authority Elmar Valiyev, and representatives of the Azerbaijani Diaspora.
After the concert, books with rubaiyats of Mahsati Ganjavi - printed at the Heydar Aliyev Foundation’s initiative - in the French and English languages were distributed among the guests.
