Twelve Muqam
( 2005-09-13 )

Dastan (narrative songs) -- each Muqam contains several dastan in different rhythms. Again each dastan is followed by an instrumental m?rghul. The lyrics are drawn from sections of folk narrative songs and relate the stories of famous lovers. The melodic range of the dastan is particularly wide.

M?shr?p (gathering) -- several faster sung pieces in 2/4 or sometimes 7/8 rhythms, consisting of folk love poetry. This section of the Muqam is for dancing. Usually the lyrics of the first m?shr?p are attributed to a famous poet.

Each Muqam is distinguished by its dominant melodic patterns and modal characteristics, with some featuring the use of a principal and a secondary mode. Modulation is a major feature of the Twelve Muqam.

The development of melodic material is an attractive feature of the Muqam. Typically a single theme develops over the course of several phrases, tracing an arc moving from low to high to low pitch, then transposing into the secondary mode.

The Twelve Muqam works are found around southern Xinjiang, and also in the Ili valley although only the muq?ddim? and dastan sections are now performed in Ili. The vocal style here has absorbed much of the local flavor, and the preferred instruments are the plucked lutes t?mbür and dutar, the chang hammer dulcimer, and the violin, while the dap-frame drum is rarely used. The other three regional Muqam are distinct from the Twelve Muqam in structure.

The Turpan Muqam, of which nine have been creditably collected, each consist of a suite (set of musical compositions) in six named sections: Each of the Turpan Muqam generally corresponds to one mode, and each is about thirty minutes in length.

Although no information on its historical transmission is currently available, musically there is much to link the Turpan Muqam to the chong n?ghm? of the Twelve Muqam. While the section names differ, there is correspondence in overall structure, rhythmic cycles, and melodic material. The preferred instrument for the Turpan Muqam is the sitar bowed lute, plus the t?mbür, dutar, chang, and dap frame drum accompanying voices. The Turpan Muqam are also played in an instrumental version on the combination.

Although it is common practice now to refer to the Qumul Muqam, the use of term Muqam here is recent. The Qumul Muqam take the form of suites of local folksongs, varying in length between eight and twenty-two songs, with a free rhythm muq?ddim? at their head. Nineteen suites have been collected and published as the Qumul Muqam. Each suite bears an Arab or Persian name, some of which are similar to the Twelve Muqam. Musically, however, there is little to link the Qumul tradition to the Twelve Muqam.

Nevertheless, Qumul folk musicians still use the local names, thus the Qumul Rak Muqam is popularly known as Sayrang Bulbulum (Sing, My Nightingale). The Qumul Muqam has a strong pentatonic (five notes) base. The main instrument for the Qumul Muqam is the Qumul ghij?k accompanied by the Qumul rawap, chang, and dap.