“Mugham compositions are performed by a group of musicians consisting of a khanada [singer], a ghaval [drum] player, and a musician on either the stringed musical instruments tar or kemancha. In 2003, UNESCO recognized it as a global cultural heritage, too!
First-time listeners often describe the sound of it as inducing feelings of melancholy, due to most of Mugham compositions using minor scales and all of them using unusual microtones. This unique form of music continues to take new forms as time moves on, such as fusions with other music genres, and attracts attention worldwide nowadays — all the while it remains the pearl of Azerbaijani art which has its origins in the 10th century.
Even after such a long time we like to keep our ancient musical traditions. It has its origin in prayers and lullabies, passed on from mother to baby that way. There are numerous variations of it, such as songs that sound similar to war chants. Impressive, right?”
(First off: The drum Azerbaijan is holding in the drawing above is the naghara, a folk drum that is played with the bare hands. It’s commonly used in the Caucasus as well Turkey. In Azerbaijan, the naghara is believed to lead to the strengthening of the heart and help people deal with bad mood, physical and intellectual exhaustion, as well as melancholy and low blood pressure.
A mugham cover of Nelly Furtado’s “Say it Right” can be found here. You should definitely go listen to some traditional mugham though, just look it up. Most mugham concert videos you can find are over an hour long, though, just a heads-up. However, here’s an example that’s a little shorter.
Also check out Alim Qasimov, as he is Azerbaijan’s “master of mugham”! He’s the singer in the videos linked above, and has played an important part in the opening ceremony of the 2012 Eurovision Song Contest, as well as the Baku 2015 European Games opening ceremony.
Azerbaijan is also known for its ashiqs. Ashiqs are traveling singers which play the saz, a form of lute, and sing. Similar to Mugham, their songs are semi-improvised around a common base. It's one of the symbols of Azerbaijani culture and considered to be an emblem of national identity, as well as the guardian of Azerbaijani language, music, and literature.
Ashiqs have first been documented in the 7th century, and have become a significant symbol of Azerbaijani identity since the 16th century. Ashiqs are commonly peformed on folk festivals, weddings, and parties.)
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