Mugam Radio is the only radio, being broadcast not only to Azerbaijan, but also to the world, 24 hours per day round-the-clock. Here we represent old records of Mugam, performed by masters and also the latest records by young khanendes (singers). Also, one is able to get acquainted with the Azerbaijani musical instruments accompanied in Mugam, and get full historical information about them and learn the history of charming Mugam. On this page we give brief survey to Mugam.

Mugam is a highly complex form of art music (as opposed to folk music) with specific systems and concepts of musical expression that demand of its performers a very high standard of professionalism. It is therefore meta-ethnic, because it is not restricted to one particular region but covers a wide area of the Middle and Far East. The Uighurs in Xingjian (Sinkiang) call this musical development “Mukam” Uzbeks and Tadjiks call it “Makom” (also “Shashmakom”), while Arabs, Persians and Turks call it “Makam.”

In Azerbaijan the word is Mugam. “Mugam” describe a specific type of musical composition and performance, which is hard to grasp with western concepts of music in another respect: for one, Mugam composition is improvised in nature. At the same time it follows exact rules. With respect to the concept of improvisation, Mugam music is often put in relation to jazz, a comparison that is accurate to a certain point only. Although Mugam does allow for a wide margin of interpretation, an equation with jazz is oversimplified, since it fails to account for the different kinds of improvisation for different Mugam modes (lads). Mugam is one of the many musical traditions of Azerbaijan.

National Leader of Azerbaijan Heydar Aliyev: “Mugam is the national wealth of Azerbaijan Republic.”

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