"Who told you that we Circassians will become extinct?!" 
[«Хэт фэ къыв­жезыIар, адыгэр ды­кIуэ­­ды­жыну?!»]

Composed and sung by Albert Lhache [Лъачэ Альберт; Альберт Тлячев].

This is a song that expresses the Circassian collective yearning towards unity of all the Circassians, everywhere, in Circassia and all the Diaspora countries. It embraces optimism and negates the narrative of the doomsayers who predict the extinction of the Circassian nation. 

Lhache is a prolific Adigean singer and songwriter. He composed many songs on Circassian villages, towns and clans in Circassia and the diaspora, emphasizing Circassian unity. "Who told you?!" well represents his fine art of composition. The artist is a good representative of modern-day Circassian bards.

"Who told you that we Circassians will become extinct?!" [«Хэт фэ къыв­жезыIар?!»], Albert Lhache

“Song of Prince Aytek Qanoqwe” [«Айтекъ Каноковъ воредъ»; «Пщы Къанокъуэ Айтэч и уэрэд»], Kabardian Chorus under the direction of Mogamed Qwezhey (Къуэжей Мухьэмэд; Могамед Кожаев). [Prince Aytek Qanoqwe was the chieftain of the Beslanay nation-tribe during the Circassian-Russian War. He harried the Russian lines with his troops in the 1830s.] [No. 25445] [http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k127880t/f2.item.r=kabarde.langEN]

This is one of 12 Kabardian (Circassian) songs and chants that are preserved on records in the Musée de la Parole, Paris. The records are labelled in both Circassian (Arabic alphabet) and Russian. These recordings were cut by Pathé in 1910 (29 cm, 86 rpm, Hill and Dale Records). They are in good condition, and since 1912 have been kept at the Musée de la Parole. They are valuable musicological and folklore sources. The Musée de la Parole has done Circassian musicology and culture a great service by digitizing these timeless and priceless recordings and making them freely available in the public domain.  

The 12 Kabardian songs are catalogued in:
International Commission on Folk Arts and Folklore, “Collection of the Phonothèque Nationale (Paris)”, Archives of Recorded Music, Series C: Ethnographical and Folk Music Volume I, Paris: UNESCO, 1952, pp. 38-39.

In these unique recordings two choral groups perform songs and chants that (we think) have been lost in the repertoires of the Circassian bards of modern times. The two chorus masters are Yibrehiym Qwmiqw (Къумыкъу Ибрэхьим) and Mogamed Qwezhey (Къуэжей Мухьэмэд; Могамед Кожаев). These should be of great interest to Circassian musicologists, musicians, and musical and cultural institutes and archiving centres in Circassia, and elsewhere. 


Song of Prince Aytek Qanoqwe [«Пщы Къанокъуэ Айтэч и уэрэд»]

Amjad Jaimoukha

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