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{{Music of Azerbaijan}}

'''Azerbaijani music''' ([[Azerbaijani language|Azerbaijani]]: Azərbaycan musiqisi) is the musical tradition of the [[Azerbaijani people]] from the [[Azerbaijan Republic]]. Azerbaijani music has evolved under the badge of [[monody]], producing rhythmically diverse melodies.<ref name="EMD">Энциклопедический музыкальный словарь, 2-е изд., Москва, 1966 (''Encyclopedical Music Dictionary'' (1966-1967), 2nd ed., Moscow)</ref> Music from Azerbaijan has a branch [[Musical mode|mode]] system, where [[Chromaticism|chromatisation]] of [[major and minor]] [[Musical scale|scales]] is of great importance.<ref name="EMD"/> 
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== Classical music ==
{{Main|Azerbaijani classical music}}
In 1920, Azerbaijani classical music had undergone a renaissance and the [[Baku Academy of Music]] was founded to give classical musicians the same support as folk musicians. Modern-day advocates of Western classical music in Azerbaijani include [[Farhad Badalbeyli]], [[Fidan Gasimova]] and [[Franghiz Alizadeh]].

===Opera and Ballet===
{{Main|Azerbaijani opera|Azerbaijani ballet}}
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The emergence of opera and ballet in Azerbaijan is associated with the [[Russian Empire|Imperial Russian]] and [[Azerbaijan SSR|Soviet eras]] of Azerbaijani history, when Azerbaijani musicians became exposed to European music traditions first-hand. The very first documented performance of an opera in [[Baku]] took place in May 1889 when [[Alexey Verstovsky]]'s opera ''[[Askold's Grave (opera)|Askold's grave]]'' was staged at a circus arena in Baku (on the site of the current [[Azerbaijan Carpet Museum]] building), accompanied by the folk choir of Dmitry Agrenev-Slavyanski. Beginning in 1900, opera troupes toured Baku on a yearly basis (except 1901 and 1913), featuring prominent singers of the time such as [[Natalia Ermolenko-Yuzhina]] and [[Antonina Nezhdanova]].

Prominent Azerbaijani opera singers such as [[Bulbul (singer)|Bulbul]], [[Shovkat Mammadova]], [[Fatma Mukhtarova]], [[Huseyngulu Sarabski]], [[Hagigat Rzayeva]], [[Rashid Behbudov]], [[Rauf Atakishiyev]], [[Muslim Magomayev (musician)|Muslim Magomayev]], [[Lutfiyar Imanov]], [[Fidan Gasimova|Fidan]] and [[Khuraman Gasimova]]s, [[Rubaba Muradova]], [[Zeynab Khanlarova]] and many other singers gained world fame.<ref>{{Cite news| title=Звезды азербайджанской оперы| url=http://azcongress.info/stati-2013/159-vypusk-2-298-25-yanvarya-2013-goda/8454-zvezdy-azerbajdzhanskoj-opery| publisher=Всероссийский Азербайджанский Конгресс| url-status=dead| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140903063647/http://azcongress.info/stati-2013/159-vypusk-2-298-25-yanvarya-2013-goda/8454-zvezdy-azerbajdzhanskoj-opery| archive-date=2014-09-03}}</ref>

== Folk music ==
{{Main|Azerbaijani folk music}}
[[File:The Soviet Union 1990 CPA 6249 stamp (Azerbaijani balaban, nagara, tar, saz and zurna).jpg|thumb|Azerbaijani instruments: [[Balaban (instrument)|balaban]], [[Nagara (drum)|nagara]], [[Tar (string instrument)|tar]], [[Bağlama|saz]], [[zurna]].]]
Most songs recount stories of real-life events and [[Azerbaijani folklore]], or have developed through song contests between troubadour poets.<ref>Broughton, Simon and Sultanova, Razia. "Bards of the Golden Road". 2000.  In Broughton, Simon and Ellingham, Mark with McConnachie, James and Duane, Orla (Ed.), ''World Music, Vol. 2: Latin & North America, Caribbean, India, Asia and Pacific'', pp 24–31. Rough Guides Ltd, Penguin Books. {{ISBN|978-1-85828-636-5}}</ref> Corresponding to their origins, folk songs are usually played at weddings, funerals, and special festivals.

=== Folk instruments ===
[[File:Balaban Azerbaijani.JPG|thumb|right|150px|The [[Balaban (instrument)|Balaban]] is considered Azerbaijan's national instrument.]]
{{See also|Azerbaijani musical instruments|Tar (Azerbaijani instrument)}}
Instruments used in Azerbaijani music include the stringed instruments ''[[Tar (Azerbaijani instrument)|tar]]'' (skin faced lute), the ''[[kamancha]]'' (skin faced spike fiddle), the ''[[oud]]'', originally ''barbat'', and the ''[[baglama|saz]]'' (long-necked lute); the double-reed wind instrument ''[[Balaban (instrument)|balaban]]'', the [[frame drum]] ''[[ghaval]]'', the cylindrical double faced drum ''[[nagara (drum)|nagara]]'' (''[[davul]]''), and the ''[[naqareh|gosha nagara]]'' (pair of small kettle drums). Other instruments include the ''[[garmon]]'' (small accordion), ''[[Dilli kaval|tutek]]'' (whistle flute), and ''[[daf]]'' (frame drum).

Due to the cultural exchange prevalent during the rule of the Ottoman Empire, the tutek has influenced various cultures in the Caucasus region, e.g. the [[duduk]]s. The [[zurna]] and naghara duo is also popular in rural areas, and played at [[wedding]]s and other local celebrations.<ref>{{cite web|script-title=ru:Азербайджанская свадьба|url=https://www.prosvadbu116.ru/forum/59/137/|website=prosvadbu116.ru|access-date=26 June 2014|language=ru}}</ref>

===Ashiqs===
{{main|Ashiqs of Azerbaijan}}

[[Ashiq]]s are traveling bards who sing and play the [[baglama|saz]], a form of [[lute]]. Their songs are semi-[[improvisation|improvised]] around a common base. This art is one of the symbols of [[Culture of Azerbaijan|Azerbaijani culture]] and considered an emblem of national identity and the guardian of [[Azerbaijani language]], [[Azerbaijani literature|literature]] and music.

Since 2009 the art of Azerbaijani Ashiqs has been inscribed on the [[Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity]].

===Meykhana===
{{main|Meykhana}}

Meykhana is a distinctive [[Azerbaijani people|Azerbaijani]] literary and [[folklore|folk]] rap tradition, consisting of an unaccompanied song performed by one or more people improvising on a particular subject.<ref>{{cite book |title=Encyclopaedia of the Muslim World |last=Bahl |first=Taru |author2=Syed, M. H. |publisher=Anmol Publications PVT |isbn= 9788126114191 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MJTdr3JI46wC&pg=PA25 |page=25 }}</ref><ref>{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20131014173823/http://azeri.ru/papers/news-azerbaijan/25849/ Мейхана - это не «хулиганский жанр», а часть азербайджанского фольклора - режиссер Абдуль Махмудов]}} {{in lang|ru}}</ref> Meykhana is distinct from [[spoken word poetry]] in that it is performed in time to a beat.

Meykhana is often compared to [[hip hop music]], also known as ''national rap'' among Azerbaijani residents, as it also includes performers that is spoken lyrically, in rhyme and verse, generally to an instrumental or synthesized [[beat (music)|beat]].<ref>{{cite web|last=Aghayev|first=Shamil|title=МЕЙХАНА - ОНА И В ИЗРАИЛЕ МЕЙХАНА|url=http://gorskie.ru/kultura/trad10.htm|publisher=gorskie.ru|access-date=23 December 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100830232934/http://gorskie.ru/kultura/trad10.htm|archive-date=30 August 2010}}</ref> Performers also incorporate synthesizers, drum machines, and live bands. Meykhana masters may write, memorize, or improvise their lyrics and perform their works [[a cappella]] or to a beat.<ref>{{cite book|last=Kajar|first=Chingiz|title=Старый Баку|year=2007}}</ref>

===Mugham===
{{main|Mugam|Khananda}}

Mugham is one of the many folk musical compositions from [[Azerbaijan]], in contrast with ''[[Tasnif]]'', ''[[Ashugs]]''.<ref>[http://www.unesco.org/culture/ich/index.php?RL=04 Intangible Cultural Heritage - The Azerbaijani Mugham]</ref> Mugam draws on [[Arabic maqam]].<ref>Music encyclopedias, e.g. [[The New Grove]]'s entry on Azerbaijan.</ref>

It is an art form that weds classical poetry and musical improvisation in specific local modes. Mugham is a modal system.<ref>{{cite web|title=Weaving chords of beauty in Baku|url=http://www.euronews.com/2013/03/18/weaving-chords-of-beauty-in-baku/|website=www.euronews.com|publisher=[[Euronews]]|access-date=26 June 2014}}</ref> Unlike Western modes, "mugham" modes are associated not only with scales but with an orally transmitted collection of melodies and melodic fragments that performers use in the course of improvisation.<ref name=kent>{{cite web|last1=Hunt|first1=Ken|title=Alim Qasimov and the domino principle|url=http://kenhunt.doruzka.com/index.php/alim-qasimov-and-the-domino-principle/|website=kenhunt.doruzka.com|access-date=26 June 2014}}</ref> Mugham is a compound composition of many parts. The choice of a particular mugham and a style of performance fits a specific event.<ref name=kent /> The dramatic unfolding in performance is typically associated with increasing intensity and rising pitches, and a form of poetic-musical communication between performers and initiated listeners.<ref name=kent />

Three major schools of mugham performance existed from the late 19th and early 20th centuries - the region of Garabagh, Shirvan, and Baku. The town of [[Shusha]] of [[Karabakh]] was particularly renowned for this art.

The short selection of Azerbaijani mugham played in [[balaban (instrument)|balaban]], national wind instrument was included on the [[Voyager Golden Record]], attached to the [[Voyager program|Voyager]] spacecraft as representing world music, included among many cultural achievements of humanity.<ref>[http://azer.com/aiweb/categories/magazine/22_folder/22_articles/22_extraterrestrial.html Azerbaijani Music Selected for Voyager Spacecraft]</ref><ref>[http://en.apa.az/news.php?id=102653 Azerbaijani mugham sent out to outer space 32 years ago]</ref><ref>{{cite web|url = http://voyager.jpl.nasa.gov/spacecraft/sounds.html|title = Voyager - Spacecraft - Golden Record - Sounds of Earth|access-date = 2009-05-25|publisher = [[NASA]]}}</ref>

In 2003, [[UNESCO]] proclaimed mugham as a Masterpiece of Oral and Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.<ref>[http://www.unesco.org/culture/ich/RL/00039 UNESCO: The Azerbaijani Mugham]</ref>

== Popular music ==
Popular music is distinguished from the traditional genres as those styles that entered the Azerbaijani musicality after the fall of the [[Soviet Union]], either due to attempts of national modernization from 1918 onwards, the opening of the republic to Western musical influences or modern fusions and innovations from artists themselves.<ref>{{cite web|title=Musiqi tarixi|url=http://www.azerbaijans.com/content_281_az.html|website=www.azerbaijans.com|access-date=26 June 2014|language=az}}</ref>

=== Mainstream pop ===
{{Main|Azerbaijani pop music}}

[[File:Nigar Camal 2012.jpg|thumb|135px|[[Nigar Jamal|Nikki Jamal]] became one of the most successful pop artists of the 2010s.]]
Azerbaijani pop music had its humble beginnings in the late 1950s with Azerbaijani cover versions of a wide range of imported popular styles, including [[rock and roll]], [[tango music|tango]], and [[jazz]]. As more styles emerged, they were also adopted, such as [[hip hop music|hip hop]], [[heavy metal music|heavy metal]], and [[reggae]].

Azerbaijani pop music reached a new level after the country made its debut appearance at the 2008 [[Eurovision Song Contest 2008|Eurovision Song Contest]]. The country's [[Azerbaijan in the Eurovision Song Contest 2009|entry]] gained the third place in 2009 and fifth the following year.<ref>{{cite news| last = Augstein| first = Frank| title = Azerbaijan duo upset favorites Ireland for first-time win at 2011 Eurovision Song Contest| agency = Associated Press| publisher = Daily Journal| url = http://www.dailyjournal.net/view/story/1cc717e21a72424295751f5782da538b/EU--Eurovision-Song-Contest/| access-date = May 14, 2011}}{{dead link|date=February 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> [[Eldar & Nigar|Ell and Nikki]] won the first place at the [[Eurovision Song Contest 2011]] with the song "[[Running Scared (Ell & Nikki song)|Running Scared]]", entitling Azerbaijan to host the contest in [[Eurovision Song Contest 2012|2012]], in Baku.<ref>{{cite news| title= Azerbaijan wins the Eurovision Song Contest| publisher= BBC| date= May 14, 2011| url= https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-13387886| access-date= May 14, 2011| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110514035914/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-13387886| archive-date= 14 May 2011| url-status= live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Lusher|first=Adam|title=Azerbaijan wins Eurovision Song Contest|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/eurovision/8514539/Azerbaijan-wins-Eurovision-Song-Contest.html|work=The Telegraph|access-date=May 15, 2011|location=London|date=May 15, 2011}}</ref>

The biggest pop stars in Azerbaijan are arguably [[Roya (singer)|Roya]], [[Aygun Kazimova]] and [[Brilliant Dadashova]].<ref>{{cite web|script-title=ru:Эстрадная музыка|url=http://azerbaijans.com/content_274_ru.html|website=azerbaijans.com|access-date=26 June 2014|language=ru}}</ref>

=== Azerbaijani jazz ===
{{Main|Azerbaijani jazz}}

The Azerbaijani jazz is a popular variety of [[jazz]], widespread in [[Azerbaijan]]. It covers a broad range of styles (traditional, post-bop, [[Fusion (music)|fusion]], free flexion)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mct.gov.az/?/en/culturehistory/2686/203|title= Music|publisher = Ministry of Culture and Tourism of Azerbaijan|access-date=2010-01-25}}</ref> and often features a blend with traditional Azerbaijani music. Among modern famed Azeri jazz musicians are [[Aziza Mustafazadeh]], who was influenced by [[Bill Evans]] and [[Keith Jarrett]],<ref>William Minor. ''Unzipped souls: a jazz journey through the Soviet Union'', Temple University Press, 1995, p. 83-84</ref> [[Isfar Sarabski]], [[Salman Gambarov]] and [[Rain Sultanov]].

=== Azerbaijani hip hop ===
{{Main|Azerbaijani hip hop}}

The first Azerbaijani hip-hop song "Yesterday is Past", created in 1983 by [[Chingiz Mustafayev (journalist)|Chingiz Mustafayev]], who would later become Azerbaijan's national hero for unrelated reasons.<ref>[http://azeri.org/Azeri/az_latin/latin_articles/latin_text/latin_73/eng_73/73_chingiz.html Documenting the Horrors of Karabakh]</ref>
The pioneer of Azerbaijani rap often associated with name of [[Anar Nagilbaz]] in 1992, which also included elements of [[disco]] but the popularity of the rap genre came with the rise of [[Dayirman]], which included primarily patriotic elements.<ref name=tarix>{{cite web|title=Rep musiqisi|url=http://azerbaijans.com/content_288_az.html|work=Azerbaijanis.com|access-date=29 December 2011|language=az}}</ref>

=== Azerbaijani rock ===
{{Main|Azerbaijani rock}}

The Azerbaijani rock scene began in the mid-to-late 1960s, when popular [[United States]] and [[United Kingdom]] bands became well known. Soon, a distinctively Azerbaijani fusion of rock and folk emerged; this was called Azerbaijani rock, a term which nowadays may be generically ascribed to most of the Azerbaijani rock.<ref>{{cite web|title=History of Azerbaijani Rock|url=http://azerbaijans.com/content_289_en.html|website=azerbaijans.com|access-date=25 June 2014}}</ref> [[Coldünya]] and [[Yuxu]] are the best known group of older classical Azerbaijani rock music.

=== Electronic dance music ===
There are many clubs across Azerbaijan, especially across its Baku region.<ref name="echo.az">{{cite web|script-title=ru:Битва "электроников"|url=http://echo.az/article.php?aid=1228|website=echo.az|access-date=26 June 2014|language=ru|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303223449/http://echo.az/article.php?aid=1228|archive-date=2016-03-03|url-status=dead}}</ref> The alternative music scene, however, is derived mostly from Baku's club scene that sees [[DJ]]s merging the past with the present, utilising traditional motifs with new age sounds and electronic music.<ref name="echo.az"/>

==See also==
{{Portal|Azerbaijan|Music}}
* [[List of Azerbaijani musicians]]
* [[Azerbaijani hip hop]] 
* [[Azerbaijani rock]]
* [[Innaby]]
* [[Şən Azərbaycan]]
*[[Mugham triads]]

== References ==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==External links==
*  [https://www.facebook.com/TraditionalMusicAzerbaijan A collection of rare recordings of traditional Azeri music from the early 20th century.] Created July 7, 2012
* [http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b008xgtl BBC Radio 3 Audio (60&nbsp;minutes): Ashig troubadours, Mugham and the Kamancha.] Accessed November 25, 2010.
* [http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b008zc3s BBC Radio 3 Audio (60&nbsp;minutes): The Saz and Mugham singer Alin Qasimov.] Accessed November 25, 2010.
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20081219141016/http://mp3.azeri.net/ Azeri Music]
{{Azerbaijan topics}}
{{Caucasian music}}
{{Music of Asia}}
{{Music of Europe}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Music Of Azerbaijan}}
[[Category:Music of Azerbaijan| ]]