Twelve Muqam
( 2005-09-13 )

Since its spread among the Uygurs, the Twelve Muqam has played an inseparable role in the people's lives. They dance to the accompaniment of Twelve Muqam and sing songs and ballads to its melodies.

The Muqam are usually performed by a small ensemble of singers, led by the lead singer (the Muqamchi), accompanied by plucked or bowed lutes and a dap frame drum; they may also be played in instrumental form by kettle drum and shawm bands. Playing the Muqam is not reserved to an exclusive group of professional musicians; historically it was performed in folk contexts as well as in the courts of local kings.

Men and women, beggars and respected religious men may practice this tradition, and the Muqam are often referred to in terms of a spiritual, even physical need. Listening to the Muqam can still serve a religious and meditative function, especially in the context ofXinjiang's great religious festivals.

After the founding of new China in 1949, the local government of Xinjiang made every effort possible to preserve the Twelve Muqam. In 1956, Muqam master Turdi Ahun and musician Wan Tongshu, working with other assistants, took great pains to record most of the vocal melodies and librettos of the Twelve Muqam on tape. They also recorded the music by hand. Their efforts paved the way for the renaissance of this cultural tradition. In 1960, two volumes of Twelve Muqam sung by Turdi Ahun were published. The oral cultural heritage was finally secured in the form of its first publication.

Over the past two decades, local Xinjiang cultural institutions have sponsored seminars, supported research projects, and published a number of books with the Twelve Muqam as the focal theme. Over the past four years, 7,000 performers -- many of them Uygurs -- have participated in the national key publication project. Their concerted efforts have resulted in the release of CDs, VCDs, and DVDs of the Twelve Muqam of Uygur.

Structure of Twelve Muqam

The Twelve Muqam each consist of suites of fixed melodic sequences and order. To sing a complete Muqam takes around two hours. Each of the Twelve Muqam is structured as follows:

Muq?ddim? (introduction) -- sung solo in free meter. Themes dwell on human suffering and religious feeling. The lyrics are attributed the great Central Asian poets.

Chong n?ghm? (great music) -- a suite of named pieces in varying set rhythms. Each sung piece is followed by an instrumental ornamented version, m?rghul. The chong n?ghm? is the longest and most complex section of the Muqam. Of the Muqam performed today only about half possess the full complement of eight pieces in the chong n?ghm? and work is ongoing to restore, or more often re-create, the missing pieces.