Mykola TROFIMOV, director of the National Choir Dumka, shared that “the idea to record for the first time in history the national anthem of the Crimean Tatar people ‘Ant Etkenmen’ (‘I’ve Pledged’) was suggested by Oleksii Skoryk, director of SOE ‘Krymsky dim’ (‘Crimean Home’), and our band began to learn the lyrics with great enthusiasm. The author of the lyrics is Noman Celebicihan (1885-1918), a well-known public and political figure, poet, and the first Mufti of the Crimean and Eastern European Muslims. The song ‘Ant Etkenmen’ was approved by the Kurultai as the anthem of the Crimean Tatar people in 1991. Now it was adapted for a symphony orchestra and a choir by composer Cemil Karikov and recorded together with the Ukrainian Radio Symphony Orchestra conducted by Volodymyr Sheiko. It was the first performance and recording of the anthem in such an imposing manner!”
In the concert at the National Opera the anthem was first performed in the Crimean Tatar, and in the finale, in Ukrainian. The phonogram of the recording will be sent to all Crimean Tatar centers across the world.
