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Music of Azerbaijan

(Redirected fromAzeri music)

Azerbaijani music(Azerbaijani:Azərbaycan musiqisi) is the musical tradition of theAzerbaijani peoplefromAzerbaijan Republic.Azerbaijani music has evolved under the badge ofmonody,producing rhythmically diverse melodies.[1]Music from Azerbaijan has a branchmodesystem, wherechromatisationofmajor and minorscalesis of great importance.[1]

Classical music

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Main article:Azerbaijani classical music

In 1920, Azerbaijani classical music had undergone a renaissance andBaku Academy of Musicwas founded to give classical musicians the same support as folk musicians. Modern-day advocates of Western classical music in Azerbaijani includeFarhad Badalbeyli,Fidan GasimovaandFranghiz Alizadeh.

Opera and Ballet

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Main articles:Azerbaijani operaandAzerbaijani ballet
Scene from Ballet of "The Maiden Tower"byAfrasiyab Badalbeyli
Scene from Ballet of "Leyli and Majnun" byGara Garayev
Creators of thenational anthem of AzerbaijanUzeyir Hajibeyov(left) andAhmad Javad(right)

The emergence of opera and ballet in Azerbaijan is associated with theImperial RussianandSoviet eraof Azerbaijani history, when Azerbaijani musicians became exposed to European music traditions first-hand. The very first documented performance of an opera inBakutook place in May 1889 whenAlexey Verstovsky's operaAskold's gravewas staged at a circus arena in Baku (on the site of the currentAzerbaijan Carpet Museumbuilding), accompanied by the folk choir of Dmitry Agrenev-Slavyanski. Beginning in 1900, opera troupes toured Baku on a yearly basis (except 1901 and 1913), featuring prominent singers of the time such asNatalia Ermolenko-YuzhinaandAntonina Nezhdanova.

Prominent Azerbaijani opera singers such asBulbul,Shovkat Mammadova,Fatma Mukhtarova,Huseyngulu Sarabski,Hagigat Rzayeva,Rashid Behbudov,Rauf Atakishiyev,Muslim Magomayev,Lutfiyar Imanov,FidanandKhuraman Gasimovas,Rubaba Muradova,Zeynab Khanlarovaand many other singers gained world fame.[2]

Folk music

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Main article:Azerbaijani folk music
Azerbaijani instruments:balaban,nagara,tar,saz,zurna.

Most songs recount stories of real-life events andAzerbaijani folklore,or have developed through song contests between troubadour poets.[3]Corresponding to their origins, folk songs are usually played at weddings, funerals, and special festivals.

Folk instruments

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Balabanis considered Azerbaijan's national instrument.
See also:Azerbaijani musical instrumentsandTar (Azerbaijani instrument)

Instruments used in Azerbaijani music include the stringed instrumentstar(skin faced lute), thekamancha(skin faced spike fiddle), theoud,originallybarbat,and thesaz(long-necked lute); the double-reed wind instrumentbalaban,theframe drumghaval,the cylindrical double faced drumnagara(davul), and thegosha nagara(pair of small kettle drums). Other instruments include thegarmon(small accordion),tutek(whistle flute), anddaf(frame drum).

Due to the cultural crossbreeding prevalent during the Ottoman Empire, the tutek has influenced various cultures in the Caucasus region, e.g. theduduks.Thezurnaand naghara duo is also popular in rural areas, and played atweddingsand other local celebrations.[4]

Ashiqs

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Main article:Ashiqs of Azerbaijan

Ashiqsare traveling bards who sing and play thesaz,a form oflute.Their songs are semi-improvisedaround a common base. This art is one of the symbols ofAzerbaijani cultureand considered an emblem of national identity and the guardian ofAzerbaijani language,literatureand music.

Since 2009 the art of Azerbaijani Ashiqs has been inscribed on theRepresentative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

Meykhana

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Main article:Meykhana

Meykhana is a distinctiveAzerbaijaniliterary andfolkrap tradition, consisting of an unaccompanied song performed by one or more people improvising on a particular subject.[5][6]Meykhana is distinct fromspoken word poetryin that it is performed in time to a beat.

Meykhana is often compared tohip hop music,also known asnational rapamong Azerbaijani residents, as it also includes performers that is spoken lyrically, in rhyme and verse, generally to an instrumental or synthesizedbeat.[7]Performers also incorporate synthesizers, drum machines, and live bands. Meykhana masters may write, memorize, or improvise their lyrics and perform their worksa cappellaor to a beat.[8]

Mugham

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Main articles:MugamandKhananda

Mugham is one of the many folk musical compositions fromAzerbaijan,in contrast withTasnif,Ashugs.[9]Mugam draws onArabic maqam.[10]

It is an art form that weds classical poetry and musical improvisation in specific local modes. Mugham is a modal system.[11]Unlike Western modes, "mugham" modes are associated not only with scales but with an orally transmitted collection of melodies and melodic fragments that performers use in the course of improvisation.[12]Mugham is a compound composition of many parts. The choice of a particular mugham and a style of performance fits a specific event.[12]The dramatic unfolding in performance is typically associated with increasing intensity and rising pitches, and a form of poetic-musical communication between performers and initiated listeners.[12]

Three major schools of mugham performance existed from the late 19th and early 20th centuries - the region of Garabagh, Shirvan, and Baku. The town ofShushaofKarabakhwas particularly renowned for this art.

The short selection of Azerbaijani mugham played inbalaban,national wind instrument was included on theVoyager Golden Record,attached to theVoyagerspacecraft as representing world music, included among many cultural achievements of humanity.[13][14][15]

In 2003,UNESCOproclaimed mugham as a Masterpiece of Oral and Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.[16]

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Popular music is distinguished from the traditional genres as those styles that entered the Azerbaijani musicality after the fall of theSoviet Union,either due to attempts of national modernization from 1918 onwards, the opening of the republic to Western musical influences or modern fusions and innovations from artists themselves.[17]

Mainstream pop

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Main article:Azerbaijani pop music
Nikki Jamalbecame one of the most successful pop artists of the 2010s.

Azerbaijani pop music had its humble beginnings in the late 1950s with Azerbaijani cover versions of a wide range of imported popular styles, includingrock and roll,tango,andjazz.As more styles emerged, they were also adopted, such aship hop,heavy metal,andreggae.

Azerbaijani pop music reached a new level after the country made its debut appearance at the 2008Eurovision Song Contest.The country'sentrygained the third place in 2009 and fifth the following year.[18]Ell and Nikkiwon the first place at theEurovision Song Contest 2011with the song "Running Scared",entitling Azerbaijan to host the contest in2012,in Baku.[19][20]

The biggest pop stars in Azerbaijan are arguablyRoya,Aygun KazimovaandBrilliant Dadashova.[21]

Azerbaijani jazz

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Main article:Azerbaijani jazz

The Azerbaijani jazz is a popular variety ofjazz,widespread inAzerbaijan.It covers a broad range of styles (traditional, post-bop,fusion,free flexion)[22]and often features a blend with traditional Azerbaijani music. Among modern famed Azeri jazz musicians areAziza Mustafazadeh,who was influenced byBill EvansandKeith Jarrett,[23]Isfar Sarabski,Salman GambarovandRain Sultanov.

Azerbaijani hip hop

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Main article:Azerbaijani hip hop

The first Azerbaijani hip-hop song "Yesterday is Past", created in 1983 byChingiz Mustafayev,who would later become Azerbaijan's national hero for unrelated reasons.[24] The pioneer of Azerbaijani rap often associated with name ofAnar Nagilbazin 1992, which also included elements ofdiscobut the popularity of the rap genre came with the rise ofDayirman,which included primarily patriotic elements.[25]

Azerbaijani rock

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Main article:Azerbaijani rock

The Azerbaijani rock scene began in the mid-to-late 1960s, when popularUnited StatesandUnited Kingdombands became well-known. Soon, a distinctively Azerbaijani fusion of rock and folk emerged; this was called Azerbaijani rock, a term which nowadays may be generically ascribed to most of the Azerbaijani rock.[26]ColdünyaandYuxuare the best known group of older classical Azerbaijani rock music.

Electronic dance music

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There are many clubs across Azerbaijan, especially across its Baku region.[27]The alternative music scene, however, is derived mostly from Baku's club scene that seesDJsmerging the past with the present, utilising traditional motifs with new age sounds and electronic music.[27]

See also

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References

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  1. ^abЭнциклопедический музыкальный словарь, 2-е изд., Москва, 1966 (Encyclopedical Music Dictionary(1966-1967), 2nd ed., Moscow)
  2. ^"Звезды азербайджанской оперы".Всероссийский Азербайджанский Конгресс. Archived fromthe originalon 2014-09-03.
  3. ^Broughton, Simon and Sultanova, Razia. "Bards of the Golden Road". 2000. In Broughton, Simon and Ellingham, Mark with McConnachie, James and Duane, Orla (Ed.),World Music, Vol. 2: Latin & North America, Caribbean, India, Asia and Pacific,pp 24–31. Rough Guides Ltd, Penguin Books.ISBN978-1-85828-636-5
  4. ^Азербайджанская свадьба.furorika.ru(in Russian). Archived fromthe originalon 26 June 2014.Retrieved26 June2014.
  5. ^Bahl, Taru; Syed, M. H.Encyclopaedia of the Muslim World.Anmol Publications PVT. p. 25.ISBN9788126114191.
  6. ^Мейхана - это не «хулиганский жанр», а часть азербайджанского фольклора - режиссер Абдуль МахмудовArchived2013-10-14 at theWayback Machine(in Russian)
  7. ^Aghayev, Shamil."МЕЙХАНА - ОНА И В ИЗРАИЛЕ МЕЙХАНА".gorskie.ru. Archived fromthe originalon 30 August 2010.Retrieved23 December2010.
  8. ^Kajar, Chingiz (2007).Старый Баку.
  9. ^Intangible Cultural Heritage - The Azerbaijani Mugham
  10. ^Music encyclopedias, e.g.The New Grove's entry on Azerbaijan.
  11. ^"Weaving chords of beauty in Baku".euronews.Euronews.Retrieved26 June2014.
  12. ^abcHunt, Ken."Alim Qasimov and the domino principle".kenhunt.doruzka.Retrieved26 June2014.
  13. ^Azerbaijani Music Selected for Voyager Spacecraft
  14. ^Azerbaijani mugham sent out to outer space 32 years ago
  15. ^"Voyager - Spacecraft - Golden Record - Sounds of Earth".NASA.Retrieved2009-05-25.
  16. ^UNESCO: The Azerbaijani Mugham
  17. ^"Musiqi tarixi".azerbaijans(in Azerbaijani).Retrieved26 June2014.
  18. ^Augstein, Frank."Azerbaijan duo upset favorites Ireland for first-time win at 2011 Eurovision Song Contest".Daily Journal. Associated Press.RetrievedMay 14,2011.[permanent dead link‍]
  19. ^"Azerbaijan wins the Eurovision Song Contest".BBC. May 14, 2011.Archivedfrom the original on 14 May 2011.RetrievedMay 14,2011.
  20. ^Lusher, Adam (May 15, 2011)."Azerbaijan wins Eurovision Song Contest".The Telegraph.London.RetrievedMay 15,2011.
  21. ^Эстрадная музыка.azerbaijans(in Russian).Retrieved26 June2014.
  22. ^"Music".Ministry of Culture and Tourism of Azerbaijan.Retrieved2010-01-25.
  23. ^William Minor.Unzipped souls: a jazz journey through the Soviet Union,Temple University Press, 1995, p. 83-84
  24. ^Documenting the Horrors of Karabakh
  25. ^"Rep musiqisi".Azerbaijanis(in Azerbaijani).Retrieved29 December2011.
  26. ^"History of Azerbaijani Rock".azerbaijans.Retrieved25 June2014.
  27. ^abБитва "электроников".echo.az(in Russian). Archived fromthe originalon 2016-03-03.Retrieved26 June2014.
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