Azerbaijani mugham

Mugham is a musical form built on particular modes and melodic rules and largely improvised. There are seven main mughams — Rast, Shur, Segah, Chahargah, Bayati-Shiraz, Shushtar and Humayun — each with its own mood and "colour".

The classical performance is the mugham trio: the khanende sings with a gaval, accompanied by tar and kamancha. The largest form, the mugham dastgah, can last up to an hour, alternating with metred pieces called tasnif and rang. The words often come from ghazals by classical poets such as Fuzuli, Nasimi and Vagif.

In 2003 UNESCO proclaimed Azerbaijani mugham a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity, inscribing it on the list in 2008 — the year Baku's International Mugham Centre opened. Mugham also underlies the work of Azerbaijani composers from Uzeyir Hajibeyli to Fikrat Amirov.