Kurenkey Belekov (1826—1907) — a well-known folk author-performer. He was born in the village of Taldy-Bulak on Issyk-Kul in a family of musicians — his father was a kerneichi, komuz player, and choorchu.
In 1877, at a folk festival in the Issyk-Kul aiyl of Balikchy, musicians competed in playing the komuz. Kurenkey Belekov entered into a creative competition with the famous komuz player Chyngyshbay and lost. This defeat became a stimulus for the development of Kurenkey's talent.
According to Murataaly Kurenkee, the son of Kurenkey Belekov, recorded by A. Zataevich, his father was the author of many widely known pieces. The akyn and komuz player Chalagyz Imankulov recalled that Kurenkey often told listeners the content and the story of the creation of the kyuu before playing it, rolling up his sleeves and producing slightly hoarse guttural sounds.
To his son Murataaly, who inherited not only the profession but also the repertoire from his father, Kurenkey said: “The komuz is the soul of the Kyrgyz. It frees one from feelings of loneliness, prevents one from aging due to grief, alleviates sorrow, helps preserve youth, and allows one to forget about old age. At folk festivals, the komuz resembles a steed, inspired by devoted fans to achieve success. It gives people spiritual enjoyment, teaches them not to give in to enemies, and to be confident in themselves when they have to fight. The komuz is an inexhaustible treasure and a friend of man, helping to unravel mysteries, give birth to wise thoughts, and sing of love.”
For the first time, Kurenkey Belekov's kyuu were recorded in musical notation by A. Zataevich from Murataaly and published in 1934. A second time, also from Murataaly, Kurenkey's kyuu were recorded by V. Vinogradov and published in 1962 in the monograph "Murataaly Kurenkee" under the titles "Monolbay," "Taibala," "At chubatuu," "Tazkara jalgyzym," and "Kyz-kuyoo." There is no doubt that these recordings are only a small part of the musician's instrumental heritage.
One of Kurenkey Belekov's kyuu is "Kok-Sandal" (mistakenly referred to in A. Zataevich's collection "Kyrgyz Instrumental Pieces and Melodies" as "Murataalynyn Kok-Sandal"), Kok-Sandal is the nickname of Kurenkey's horse, to which the kyuu is dedicated, performed in a quarter tone, with varied texture, contrasting dynamic shades, and changes in tempo. According to M. Smirnov (V. Belyaev), who studied Murataaly's work in the 1940s, “this is a large-scale, thoroughly detailed piece, somewhat close to the style of symphonic works of contemporary music... The main theme, melodically vividly outlined, is repeated three times with variations, the last time in full three-part harmony.”
The author of the cited article also mistakenly attributed this piece to Murataaly, probably because it was recorded in his performance. Here we encounter a typical phenomenon of folk music, transmitted not in the form of unambiguous and strict musical notation, but in an unwritten form of a living intonational image, into which time and the creativity of generations bring new nuances each time.
