Azerbaijan: Music

Music of Azerbaijan builds on folk traditions that reach back nearly 1,000 years. For centuries Azerbaijani music has evolved under the badge of monody, producing rhythmically diverse melodies.Azerbaijani music has a branchy mode system, where chromatisation of major and minor scales is of great importance. As is the case also with Arabic and Turkish and even more evidently, much of the musical terminology of Azerbaijani cultures is of Persian origin.

Mugam

Main article: Mugam

See also: Khananda

The classical music of Azerbaijan is called mugam (more accurately spelled muğam), and draws on the music of the Iranian-Arab-Turkish maqam. It is usually a suite with poetry and instrumental interludes. The sung poetry sometimes includes tahrir segments, which use a form of singing similar to yodelling. The poetry is typically about divine love and is most often linked to Sufi Islam.
In contrast to the mugam traditions of Central Asian countries, Azeri mugam is more free-form and less rigid; it is often compared to the improvised field of jazz.
UNESCO proclaimed the Azerbaijani mugam tradition a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity on November 7, 2003.

Musical instruments

Instruments used in traditional Azeri music include the stringed instruments tar (skin faced lute), the kamancha (skin faced spike fiddle), the oud, originally barbat, and the saz (long necked lute); the double-reed wind instrument balaban, the frame drum ghaval, the cylindrical double faced drum naghara (davul), and the goshe nagara (naqareh) (pair of small kettle drums). Other instruments include the garmon (small accordion), tutek (whistle flute), daf (frame drum) and nagara (drum) (barrel drum)

Ashiqs

Main article: Ashiq

Ashiqs are traveling bards who sing and play the saz, a form of lute. Their songs are semi-improvised around a common base.

Opera in Azerbaijan

The Opera of Koroglu By Uzeyir Hajibeyov
Opera of Leyli and Majnun
Opera of Shah Ismail

Azeri Musicians

The most famous contemporary Azeri musicians are perhaps jazz singer Aziza Mustafa Zadeh and her father, Vagif Mustafa Zadeh, who are quite popular internationally in jazz circles.
Mugam singers: