A sazanda or sazandar ( az, sazəndə / سازنده; hy, սազանդար; fa, سازنده; ka, საზანდარი; alternative spellings in English: sazende, sazandeh) is one of the three musicians in the traditional ensemble of instrumentalists performing along with a singer (

khananda A khananda ( az, xanəndə ; fa, خواننده; alternative spellings in English: khanende, khanande, khanandeh) is a name generally given to singers of mugham, an Azeri folk music genre. The word is of Persian origin and means "singer". ...

, in the case of an

Azeri Azerbaijanis (; az, Azərbaycanlılar, ), Azeris ( az, Azərilər, ), or Azerbaijani Turks ( az, Azərbaycan Türkləri, ) are a Turkic people living mainly in northwestern Iran and the Republic of Azerbaijan. They are the second-most numer ...

mugham Mugham ( az, Muğam) or Mughamat ( az, Muğamat) is one of the many classical compositions from Azerbaijan, contrasting with tasnif and ashik. It is a highly complex art form that weds classical poetry and musical improvisation in specific ...

performance) in the

South Caucasus The South Caucasus, also known as Transcaucasia or the Transcaucasus, is a geographical region on the border of Eastern Europe and Western Asia, straddling the southern Caucasus Mountains. The South Caucasus roughly corresponds to modern Arme ...

. The word means "builder" in Persian. The trio consists of a tarist, a kamanchist and a

daf Daf ( fa, دف) also known as Dâyere and Riq is a Middle Eastern (mainly Iranian) frame drum musical instrument, used in popular and classical music in South and Central Asia. It is also used in Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Tajikistan, Iran ...

player. Historically the word sazanda(r) was applied to any instrumentalist from

Anatolia Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The r ...

, the

Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, mainly comprising Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia (country), Georgia, and parts of Southern Russia. The Caucasus Mountains, including the Greater Caucasus range ...

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkm ...

, who played a folk instrument.

History and development

The tradition of a musical trio of sazandas playing the aforementioned instruments did not originate until the beginning of the 20th century. According to Jabbar Garyagdioglu, the mugham ensembles of the early 19th century consisted of three musicians playing the tar, the kamancheh and the

balaban Balaban may refer to: Places Azerbaijan * Balaxanı, Azerbaijan, formerly Balaban Iran * Balaban, Khoy (Persian: , ''Balabān'') * Balaban, Piranshahr (Persian: , ''Bālābān'') Syria * Balaban ( ar, بلابان, Bālābān) is a village ...

. In the late 19th-century, the latter was replaced by gosha-naghara.Khananda
. ''Axtar.az'' Nowadays the traditional variety of tambourine called daf is used and is often played by the singers themselves. Similar to the ensembles, the instruments have gone through changes in structure as well. Kamancheh has gone from having 2

string String or strings may refer to: *String (structure), a long flexible structure made from threads twisted together, which is used to tie, bind, or hang other objects Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Strings'' (1991 film), a Canadian anim ...

s to having 3, 4 or even 5. Prominent

sazanda

Sadigjan Mirza Sadig ( az, Sadıqcan), more commonly known as Sadigjan is an Azerbaijani folk musician, tar player, and the creator of the Azerbaijani tar (also known as upgraded tar). Sadigjan is one of the famous Azerbaijani tar players. By improving t ...

developed a new version of tar (nowadays known as the Azeri tar or the Caucasus tar) by adding one more string to this once 6-string instrument and improving it with a number of new features.Atlas of Plucked Instruments - Middle East
/ref> After Sadigjan, the tar has been played nestled to the chest rather than held vertically during mugham performances. The prominence of sazandas was seen by the physical appearance of their instruments. Some would decorate them with

precious metals Precious metals are rare, naturally occurring metallic chemical elements of high economic value. Chemically, the precious metals tend to be less reactive than most elements (see noble metal). They are usually ductile and have a high lustr ...

and

gems Gems, or gemstones, are polished, cut stones or minerals. Gems or GEMS may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * ''Gems'' (Aerosmith album), 1988 * ''Gems'' (Patti LaBelle album), 1994 * ''Gems'' (Michael Bolton album), 2011 *Gems TV, a ...

. Sadigjan himself was reported of having decorated his tar with

gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile ...

and nacre.

References

{{reflist Azerbaijani music Armenian music Music of Georgia (country)

History and development

See also

References