Euronews: Tar is Azerbaijan`s musical heritage

Baku, September 6, AZERTAC Euronews has published an article highlighting the tar, an Azerbaijani musical instrument. “When silent it`s a figure of 8: when played it symbolises infinity. It`s called a “tar”; it comes from the same family as the lute; and its double heart is linked to millions of others,” says Euronews`s Aurora Velez. “With its 11 strings, the Azeri tar`s musical range makes it the most popular instrument in the Caucasus.” She said she learnt more about it from an Azeri specialist instrument-maker. “We use three types of wood for the tar: walnut for the neck, and hazel for the pegs, mulberry for the body, which is coated in a material made from cows’ heart,” Mahir Valadov told Velez. “Tars are made solely by hand, using specific techniques, often passed down through generations of the same families. Formerly they had just five or six strings: by the nineteenth century they had 11,” he said. Five years` ago, the art of making and playing the tar was added to UNESCO`s representative list of the intangible cultural heritage of humanity.