Rachel Harris, Giovanni De Zorzi, Mukaddas Mijit
This strand aims at “unbordering” Central Asian maqām repertoires across the former Soviet-Chinese divide. It focuses on repertoires canonised in the twentieth century as the separate Uzbek and Tajik Shashmaqām, and the Uyghur Twelve Muqam, and also less recognised regional maqām traditions from Khorezm, Ferghana and Turpan. Since the mid-twentieth century these repertoires have been extensively nationalised, and the overwhelming thrust of scholarship, training and performance serves to harden the borders between them. And yet, histories reveal a dynamic and fluid regional musical culture, linked to the movement of elite musicians between courts and the dissemination of Sufi practices in which the maqām traditions are embedded.
Tags: Central Asia maqam, Ferghana, Khorezm, Maqām Beyond Nation, Project Strands, Shashmaqām, Soviet-Chinese, Sufi practices, Tajik, Uyghur Twelve Muqam, Uzbek