GARIFOLLA KURMANGALIYEV’S DOMBYRA

People’s Artist of Kazakhstan, singer and composer

Master craftsman: Aslan Serikbayev

This replica of the dombra was made in 2024 to commemorate National Dombra Day and the 205th anniversary of Kurmangazy, the “Father of Kuy,” as part of the regional “Dombra-Dastan” Festival of Dombra-Making Masters. The replica was crafted based on an original dombra owned by Serik Sabituly Abdrakhmanov, an Honored Cultural Worker of the Republic of Kazakhstan, traditional singer, and a disciple of Garifolla Kurmangaliyev. According to information provided by Serik Sabituly, in 1934 the First All-Kazakhstan Gathering of Artistic Talents was held in Almaty. Garifolla Kurmangaliyev attended the event together with his younger cousin Kenzhegali Zhangirov. Garifolla Kurmangaliyev won first place at the gathering and, in June 1934, was accepted as a solo performing artist at the Abai Opera and Ballet Theatre. Kenzhegali Zhangirov, however, returned to his native region. Before returning home, Garifolla Kurmangaliyev presented the aforementioned dombra to Kenzhegali Zhangirov, who brought the instrument back with him. Before his death, Kenzhegali Zhangirov instructed his son to pass the dombra on to Serik Sabituly, who had been a student of Garifolla Kurmangaliyev. In this way, the instrument was preserved and passed down through generations.

Garifolla Kurmangaliyev was an extraordinary figure in twentieth-century Kazakh musical culture. Known as the “Mukhit of our time,” he spent decades representing the ancient and highly developed vocal and instrumental traditions of Western Kazakhstan. It was Garifolla Kurmangaliyev who preserved and transmitted the musical legacy of Mukhit, the outstanding nineteenth-century master of the expansive and epic Kazakh song tradition.

Garifolla Kurmangaliyev was born on January 1, 1909, in Karatobe District, West Kazakhstan Region. He was an Honored Cultural Worker of the Republic of Kazakhstan, a singer with a tenor voice, and a People’s Artist of the Kazakh SSR.

In 1934, he participated in the First All-Kazakhstan Gathering of Folk Artistic Performers held in Almaty. In the same year, he joined the Kazakh Musical Drama Theatre, now known as the Kazakh State Academic Opera and Ballet Theatre. From 1967 onward, he taught at the Republican Studio of Arts and Circus.

Kurmangaliyev performed complex vocal parts and dramatic roles in major Kazakh operas, including Yevgeny Brusilovsky’s Er Targyn, Aiman-Sholpan, and Kyz Zhibek; Mukhan Tulebayev’s Birzhan and Sara; and Abai, an opera by Akhmet Zhubanov and Latif Khamidi.

1. Махамбеттің термесі – Ғарифолла Құрманғалиев (1970 жыл)

2. Сартайдың термесі – Ғарифолла Құрманғалиев (1972 жыл)

3. Халық әні «Ақсұңқар» – Ғарифолла Құрманғалиев (1970 жыл)