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| Ashiq Yusuf Ohanes |
Ashiq Yusuf Ohanes, who dedicated his life to the development of the Urmia Ashiq School, like his grandfather Ashiq Iso and father Ashiq Yaghub, passed away on May 12 at the age of 92 in his hometown of Urmia.
Born in 1927 in the village of Taka Diza near Urmia, into a Christian Assyrian (Aysor) family, Yusuf chose to follow in the footsteps of his father and grandfather in his teenage years, continuing their art.
For the past 20 years, Ashiq Yusuf and Ashiq Mohammad Hossein Dehqan were recognized by the local population as the two living grandmasters of the Urmia Ashiq School.
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| Savalan Film (1989) |
The late master, who devoted his life to the Urmia Ashiq School, primarily performed in the Turkish language but also sang songs in the Assyrian language.
The ashik saz (stringed instrument) that Ashiq Yusuf used until the final years of his life was crafted approximately 170 years ago by his saz-maker grandfather, Ashiq Iso.
Yusuf Ohanes appeared in the 1989 film Savalan, directed by the late Yadollah Samadi, performing songs and taking on a role.
The Urmia Ashiq School, rooted in the western part of Iranian Azerbaijan, particularly in regions along the Turkish border, was established in the 18th and 19th centuries by Dollu Mustafa, Balovlu Miskin, and Qul Hartun.
The Urmia School, with its center in Urmia, spread widely across different areas of West Azerbaijan Province.
Masters of the Urmia School, whose saz instruments often featured crescent-and-star symbols, drew inspiration from tunes of Turkish regions in various countries, enriching the school with new songs and melodies. Compositions like Halab Havası (Aleppo Tune), Osmanlı Şərqisi (Ottoman Ballad), Sivastopol Havası (Sevastopol Tune), Göyçə Gözəlləməsi (Goycha Elegy), Həmədan Gəraylısı (Hamedan Lyric), Qars Havası (Kars Tune), Osmanlı Bəhrisi (Ottoman Melody), and Tərəkəmə Gözəlləməsi (Tarakama Elegy) are part of this legacy.
One of the key features of the Urmia School is its representation by musicians not only from the Turks of West Azerbaijan Province but also from other ethnic communities such as Assyrians (Aysors) and Armenians. Moreover, it has flourished among Sunni, Shia, Alevi, and Christian populations, producing master performers across all these groups.
Link to the original text in Turkish on the Azerbaijani section of Voice of America:
92 yaşlı Aşıq Yusuf Ohanes Urmiyədə vəfat edib