Kenzhebek Kumysbekov’s two albums devoted to a single composer have only one title in common — Waltz. Ten years separate their release. The first has ten works, four orchestral ensembles and three singers. The second has twelve works, two orchestras and six singers.
The catalogue record preserves the exact order of the earlier LP. The later release also appears in the primary information list issued by the Melodiya record label. Four orchestral ensembles succeed one another on the earlier record; the later album is divided between two orchestras. Over a decade, the very manner of presenting Kumysbekov’s music on a composer-portrait album changed.
The Kurmangazy Orchestra — at the beginning and the end
Record S30-09873-4 was released in 1977. Side one contains Dala Syry, Farabi Sazy, Waltz and Lyrical Poem. Side two consists of Menin Dalam, Tughan El, Zheneshe, Zhurek Syry, Oi Tolqyny and Shalqyma.
Six of the ten pieces — the first four and the final two — were performed by the Kurmangazy Orchestra of Kazakh Folk Instruments under A. Murzabekov. It opens the record and returns for its finale.
Three more ensembles appear between these two orchestral anchors: the State Symphony Orchestra of the Kazakh SSR, a chamber orchestra conducted by M. Serkebayev and a Soviet popular-music orchestra conducted by A. Guryanov. The vocal works are divided among Murat Musabayev, Zeinep Koishybaeva and Yeskendir Khasangaliyev.
The early album therefore does not split into orchestral and song halves. One leading ensemble, three other groups and three human voices present Kumysbekov’s music. Their alternation creates the record’s inner order.
Dala Syry stands first in that order. The record places a dedication to Akhmet Zhubanov beside the title. Five years later, Dala Syry would open a large book of Kumysbekov’s scores.
Object · Dala Syry, 1982. The Oner publishing house released a 232-page collection of seven scores for an orchestra of Kazakh folk instruments in Alma-Ata, in an edition of 1,000 copies. Four titles passed into it from the 1977 record: Dala Syry, Farabi Sazy, Menin Dalam and Oi Tolqyny.
Two sides — two orchestras
Record S30 25225 006 was released in 1987. The first side belongs to the Kurmangazy Orchestra conducted by Shamgon Kazhgaliyev. It contains The Triumph of Labour, My Native Land, Waltz, Life Is Like a Song, Golden Steppe and The Road of Life.
The entire second side is occupied by the Otyrar Sazy folklore and ethnographic orchestra conducted by Nurgisa Tlendiyev: My Proud One, The Swans Have Arrived, My Youth, The Dancing Birches, The Daughter-in-Law and The Legend of Korkyt. Melodiya’s information list draws the boundary precisely at the midpoint: tracks 1–6 belong to one ensemble, tracks 7–12 to the other.
Six singers are named within the two orchestral halves: Gafiz Yesimov, Zeinep Koishybaeva, Shakhmardan Abilov, Maigul Kazturganova, Yermek Abildayev and Zhumat Makhambetov. Of the first LP’s vocal soloists, only Zeinep Koishybaeva appears again on the second record.
Over ten years the composer-portrait album acquired a stricter form. In 1977 the Kurmangazy Orchestra surrounded a central section featuring three other ensembles. In 1987 two orchestras divided the entire record equally. The vocal voice kept its place but was now contained within this two-part orchestral structure.
Of the ten earlier and twelve later titles, only Waltz recurred. The 1987 record did not reproduce the former set. It assembled the composer-portrait album anew — around two ensembles, two conductors and six singers.
Epilogue on the jubilee stage
In February 2022, two titles from the earlier editions returned in the programme of the namesake orchestra. Dala Syry travelled from the first track of the 1977 LP through the opening section of the score collection; Ayaly Menin Mekenim travelled from the 1982 collection to the title and finale of the jubilee evening. The full story of that concert continues in Dala Syry Once More.
Two moments in one music
The two records do not constitute a complete discography of Kumysbekov. They preserve two ways of assembling an album devoted to one composer. In 1977 three more ensembles and three singers gathered around the Kurmangazy Orchestra. In 1987 two equal sides went to two orchestras and six vocal soloists.
Ten years separate the first and second releases. Only Waltz appears in both track lists. Yet on each record, beside the large orchestra, there remained a place for an individual human voice.