Issues of mugham preservation discussed in Baku

Scientific symposium is underway within the 6th International World of Mugham Music Festival.

The symposium gathers experts from Azerbaijan, USA, Great Britain, France, India, Israel, Canada, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkiye and Japan,

The main aim of the symposium is to create a favorable environment for productive discussions on new research directions, modernization, popularization and preservation of magham-based music.

Scientists from Turkiye, Great Britain, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan took part in the session on "Issues of collection, preservation, archiving and distribution of Mugham", Azernews reports.

During the day, sessions were held on the topics "Text and music", "Mugham, dastgah and singing voice", "Problems of collection, preservation, archiving and distribution of mugham", "Spiritual and physical manifestations of Maqam music" and "Maqam music in the light of scientific sources".

Associate professor of the Western Caspian University, Doctor of Science in Art studies Alla Bayramova provided insight into the topic "Mugham in the materials of the South Caucasus expeditions in the 1920s".

She drew attention to the fact that in the 1920s, under the influence of the new Soviet ideology, a certain negative attitude towards the art of mugham performance appeared, but as a result of the efforts of progressive mugham performers, the art of mugham was able to maintain its importance in both musical culture and the life of the people.

Speaking on the topic "Mugham in world collections: preservation and protection of cultural heritage", Doctor of Philosophy in Art Studies of the Kazakh National University of Arts, associate professor Fatima Nurlibayeva said that mugham is the main genre of classical folk music of Eastern countries. She noted that all forms of mugham that exist in Azerbaijani music Among them, dastgah is the largest in terms of its scale and artistic idea. The mugham performance culture was formed from the creative achievements of many generations of brilliant musicians, singers and musicians famous throughout the Caucasus and Iran.

In their remarks, the speakers mentioned that Azerbaijani mughams, ashiq art, folk music and performance traditions, play a key role in integrating these great art pearls, making the national culture known worldwide.

As it is known, the mugham masters who raise a generation of young talents, contribute to the preservation of mugham art by passing it to the next generation.

Mugham performance, which has been developed since ancient times and has been subjected to various changes, additions and reductions, is becoming popular in modern times as a genre that has already adopted a number of innovations, performed in synthesis with various genres and improvised. However, the Azerbaijani professional mugham, is transmitted to pupils and students according to the master-student tradition based on the centuries-old tradition, i.e. from language to language, from performance to performance.

Speakers pointed out that mugham is one of the main genres of professional music, whose roots go back to the most ancient times in the oral tradition of Azerbaijani Turks.

Despite the fact that great importance is attached to the popularization and development of mugham art in Azerbaijan, both in the country and abroad, musicologists are still facing issues in scientific study of the ancient and medieval periods of mugham music.