Iraqi Maqam () is a
genre
Genre () is any style or form of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other fo ...
of
Arabic maqam music found in
Iraq
Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...
. The roots of modern
Iraqi maqam can be traced as far back as the
Abbasid Caliphate
The Abbasid Caliphate or Abbasid Empire (; ) was the third caliphate to succeed the Islamic prophet Muhammad. It was founded by a dynasty descended from Muhammad's uncle, Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib (566–653 CE), from whom the dynasty takes ...
(8th–13th centuries AD), when that large empire was controlled from
Baghdad
Baghdad ( or ; , ) is the capital and List of largest cities of Iraq, largest city of Iraq, located along the Tigris in the central part of the country. With a population exceeding 7 million, it ranks among the List of largest cities in the A ...
. The ensemble of instruments used in this genre, called ''Al Chalghi al Baghdadi'', includes a ''qari' ''(singer), ''
santur'',
goblet drum, joza, ''cello,'' and sometimes ''
oud'' and
naqqarat. The focus is on the poem sung in classical Arabic or an Iraqi dialect (then called ''zuhayri''). A complete maqam concert is known as ''fasl'' (plural ''fusul'') and is named after the first maqam:
Bayat, Hijaz,
Rast, Nawa, or Husayni.
A typical performance includes the following sections:
*''tahrir'', sometimes ''badwah''
*''taslum''
*''finalis''
Maqama texts are often derived from classical
Arabic poetry
Arabic poetry ( ''ash-shi‘r al-‘arabīyy'') is one of the earliest forms of Arabic literature. Pre-Islamic Arabic poetry contains the bulk of the oldest poetic material in Arabic, but Old Arabic inscriptions reveal the art of poetry existe ...
, such as by
al-Mutanabbi and
Abu Nuwas. Some performers used traditional sources translated into the dialect of Baghdad, and still others use Arabic, Persian, Turkish, Armenian, Hebrew, Turkmen, Aramaic lyrics. Due to Iraq's diversity, different ethnic groups use this genre in their own language.
Famous maqam singers
There are many Iraqi maqam singers including:
*
Ahmed al-Zaidan
*
Rashid al-Qundarchi
*
Muhammad al-Qubanchi
* Hussein al-A'dhami
* Najm al-Shaykhli
* Hassan Khaiwka
* Hashim al-Rejab
*
Yousuf Omar
*
Farida Mohammad Ali
*
Abd al-Rahman Khader
*
Hamed al-Sa‘di
*
Nazem Al-Ghazali
*
Filfel Gourgy
*
Affifa Iskandar
* Mulla Hasan al-Babujachi
* Rahmat Allah Shiltagh
* Khalil Rabbaz
* Rahmain Niftar
* Rubin Rajwan
* Mulla Uthman al-Mawsili
* Jamil al-Baghdadi
* Salman Moshe
* Yusuf Huresh
* Abbas Kambir
* Farida al-A‘dhami
*
Maeda Nazhat
See also
*
Music of Iraq
External links
Famous Iraqi Maqam SingersIraqi Maqam
References
{{UNESCO Oral and Intangible music
Music of Iraq
Arabic music
Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity
Maqam-based music tradition