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| Music of Azerbaijan | ||||||
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| Nationalistic and patriotic songs | ||||||
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Azerbaijani music (Azerbaijani: Azərbaycan musiqisi) is the musical tradition of theAzerbaijani people from theAzerbaijan Republic. Azerbaijani music has evolved under the badge ofmonody, producing rhythmically diverse melodies.[1] Music from Azerbaijan has a branchmode system, wherechromatisation ofmajor and minorscales is of great importance.[1]
In 1920, Azerbaijani classical music had undergone a renaissance and theBaku Academy of Music was founded to give classical musicians the same support as folk musicians. Modern-day advocates of Western classical music in Azerbaijani includeFarhad Badalbeyli,Fidan Gasimova andFranghiz Alizadeh.
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The emergence of opera and ballet in Azerbaijan is associated with theImperial Russian andSoviet eras of Azerbaijani history, when Azerbaijani musicians became exposed to European music traditions first-hand. The very first documented performance of an opera inBaku took place in May 1889 whenAlexey Verstovsky's operaAskold's grave was staged at a circus arena in Baku (on the site of the currentAzerbaijan Carpet Museum building), 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-Yuzhina andAntonina Nezhdanova.
Prominent Azerbaijani opera singers such asBulbul,Shovkat Mammadova,Fatma Mukhtarova,Huseyngulu Sarabski,Hagigat Rzayeva,Rashid Behbudov,Rauf Atakishiyev,Muslim Magomayev,Lutfiyar Imanov,Fidan andKhuraman Gasimovas,Rubaba Muradova,Zeynab Khanlarova and many other singers gained world fame.[2]
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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.
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 exchange prevalent during the rule of the Ottoman Empire, the tutek has influenced various cultures in the Caucasus region, e.g. theduduks. Thezurna and naghara duo is also popular in rural areas, and played atweddings and other local celebrations.[4]
Ashiqs are traveling bards who sing and play thesaz, a form oflute. Their songs are semi-improvised around a common base. This art is one of the symbols ofAzerbaijani culture and considered an emblem of national identity and the guardian ofAzerbaijani language,literature and music.
Since 2009 the art of Azerbaijani Ashiqs has been inscribed on theRepresentative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
Meykhana is a distinctiveAzerbaijani literary andfolk rap tradition, consisting of an unaccompanied song performed by one or more people improvising on a particular subject.[5][6] Meykhana is distinct fromspoken word poetry in that it is performed in time to a beat.
Meykhana is often compared tohip hop music, also known asnational rap among 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 cappella or to a beat.[8]
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 ofShusha ofKarabakh was particularly renowned for this art.
The short selection of Azerbaijani mugham played inbalaban, national wind instrument was included on theVoyager Golden Record, attached to theVoyager spacecraft as representing world music, included among many cultural achievements of humanity.[13][14][15]
In 2003,UNESCO proclaimed mugham as a Masterpiece of Oral and Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.[16]
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]
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'sentry gained the third place in 2009 and fifth the following year.[18]Ell and Nikki won the first place at theEurovision Song Contest 2011 with the song "Running Scared", entitling Azerbaijan to host the contest in2012, in Baku.[19][20]
The biggest pop stars in Azerbaijan are arguablyRoya,Aygun Kazimova andBrilliant Dadashova.[21]
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 Evans andKeith Jarrett,[23]Isfar Sarabski,Salman Gambarov andRain Sultanov.
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 Nagilbaz in 1992, which also included elements ofdisco but the popularity of the rap genre came with the rise ofDayirman, which included primarily patriotic elements.[25]
The Azerbaijani rock scene began in the mid-to-late 1960s, when popularUnited States andUnited Kingdom bands 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]Coldünya andYuxu are the best known group of older classical Azerbaijani rock music.
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 seesDJs merging the past with the present, utilising traditional motifs with new age sounds and electronic music.[27]
