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Bukharian Music History
Bukharian Jewish Music
By Aron Katayev
Introduction
Music is a vital part of any culture, acting as a means of achieving
some sense of group identity and demonstrating the ethos of the culture to others.
Music is one of the most effective means of portraying to outsiders what a specific
group thinks and feels about itself and the world around it. This can be reflected
in the musical styles employed, the practices of performers, and the structure
of the melodies, rhythms, and lyrical content. The music (of Central Asian
people) is usually more uniform and traditional, with an emphasis on
established patterns handed down through the years. This traditional orientation
can be observed in Central Asian music, and indeed in all music of the Islamic
world, since Muslims tend to lay much emphasis on the family and the community
(whether it is a village or an entire ethnic group).
Today, many, especially young people, are becoming attracted to music which sounds more "modern." But we are doing all what is in our power to save the sound of our ancient music which has been around for hundreds of years and pass it on to our future generations.
The similarities between the music of all the Central Asian peoples
are great enough that we will begin our examination by looking
at Central Asian music in general, whatever is said of about Central Asian music
can be also said of about Bukharian as well as Uzbek music, except where differences
are noted.
The music of any culture is a complex combination of several different factors. The first of these is the original, indigenous music of the area, which had developed before significant contacts were made with other cultures. Among the Bukharians and indeed many other Central Asian peoples, this level of musical development is very difficult to discern, since there has been so much prolonged interaction with so many other cultures such as the Uzbek culture. Several distinct features of Central Asia music include the absence of percussion and dances, and the presence of polyphony (the harmonic co-occurrence of multiple melodic lines), which has been less influenced by external sources than the music of the other Central Asian peoples.
The second element involved in the formation of a musical culture is that of the borrowing of certain musical traits from other cultures as a result of casual contact through trade or migration. Since Central Asia has been at the crossroads of the various surrounding major cultural areas for centuries, there has been a constant exchange of cultural ideas between the East and the West that has taken place in this area. That has strongly affected the development of the Central Asian musical culture, especially the Arabs-Uzbeks and Persians/Bukharians. The third and final aspect of a given musical culture is the process of acculturation. This involves the close, continual contact of two cultures (e.g. as a result of one group invading another), and can often result in the mutual influence of both cultures involved. This process occurs through four distinct means: adaptation, acceptance, enculturation, and assimilation. Adaptation involves "fitting foreign traits and complexes into the pattern of the indigenous culture, so that the traits and complexes remain as clearly discernible foreign elements. Acceptance involves "the taking over of foreign traits and complexes without change, the indigenous music usually continuing to exist side by side with the new foreign music."(10) Enculturation occurs when "the foreign musical culture is acquired in schools and through hearing recordings and radio broadcasts."(11) Finally, assimilation involves the "replacement of the indigenous culture by the foreign culture,"(12) so that the former is supplanted by the latter and hence is essentially lost. All of those processes have been at play in Central Asian music as a result of contact with the two major cultural forces that have shaped the area: Islam and Communism.
The music of the area has a number of distinct styles and characteristics
that reflect the specific culture of the area and set it apart from the music
of other people of Uzbekistan. Another very interesting aspect of Central Asian
music, specifically Bukharian and Uzabek music which is true throughout the
middle East is the existence of two distinct classes of music: folk music and
the classical "art" music, built largely around the maqam, a common feature
of Islamic music (to be explained below).
Yet another Middle Eastern component of Central Asian music has to do with the actual performance of the music. Until recently, this was done either individually or in small ensembles, but the Soviets, as part of their "cultural engineering," have "collectivized" the Central Asians' music as well as their agriculture, resulting in the institution of the more "socialistic" forms of large orchestras and choruses, elements which are foreign to traditional Middle Eastern music.
A final characteristic of Central Asian music until recent times
was the absence of a written musical notation system. Originally, music was
passed down form father to son, or from teacher to pupil (students), using a
complex oral system of notation consisting of hundreds of terms and patterns
describing all aspects of the specific musical piece, including the meter (or
time signature), mode (or type of musical scale), melodic pattern, and even
the type of sound required. Obviously, a good memory was required along with
much rote repetition, in order to retain all this information. However, written
notation has been introduced to Central Asian music in recent years. This was
begun by Njaz Mitzabashi Kamil, who invented the so-called Khorezm notation
in the nineteenth century. This system was based on the eighteen frets (spacings
on the fingerboard) of the tanbur, a popular Central Asian instrument,
but the idea never gained great popularity. However, the Soviets have established
the Western musical notation system as part of their organized system of "socializing"
Central Asian music, along with the altering of the structure of the traditional
Central Asian instruments so that they can play music based on Western scales
which can then be written with Western notation (this process will be discussed
below).
There are a number of unique and distinctive aspects of Central Asian music, chiefly in the area of performance practices. Some of these are the inclusion in songs of whistling, shouts, spasmodic inhaling, sustained vibrato notes, singing which resembles a flute and so on. Many of the above techniques are used on stringed instruments. In addition, instruments may also echo the voice or provide short "fills" between the vocal lines.
Narrowing the focus, there are few distinct musical subcultures in Central Asia, some of which include the Kirghiz and Kazakhs, the Tajiks and Uzbeks, and the Turkmen. Thus, there is a marked/big similarity between Uzbek and Tajik (Bukharian) music, despite the fact that they come from two distinct ethno-linguistic backgrounds. Furthermore, within Uzbekistan, there are four distinct local musical styles, those of the regions of Surkhandarya-Kashkadarya, Bukhara-Samarkand, Khorezm, and Ferghana-Tashkent. The differences in musical styles and practices in each region reflect the differences in the lifestyles of the inhabitants of these areas.
In the Bukhara-Samarkand region, however, the population is more sedentary and urbanized, thus allowing for the development of highly sophisticated "art" music. Performers tend to be more professional in this area. The urban lifestyle provides opportunities for regular social gatherings to listen to music and poetry.
These are sung a cappella in a highly emotional atmosphere.
Two or three singers create special acoustic effects through the manipulation
of a tray or dish held in front of the mouth. At times, they may alternate in
their singing or even compete with one another, although the last verse is sung
in unison. (13)
It should be noted here that the influence of Uzbek music is not merely restricted to Uzbekistan. In Afghanistan, it is one of the three most popular types of "art" music, along with northern Indian and Iranian music. A mixture of Uzbek and Tajik music was also popular in the teahouses of northern Afghanistan prior to late nineteen seventies. (14)
This overview should serve to show that Central Asian music in general (and more specifically, Bukharian music) is very complex and sophisticated, something which will become even more apparent as you will read further in more detail in the remainder of this manuscript. This is due in part to the constant import and export of musical ideas from the surrounding cultural blocs which have made contact with the Central Asian peoples, as has been mentioned above. Another reason for the advanced development of Uzbek/Bukharian music is the fact that Samarkand, Bukhara, and Khiva were, for several centuries, amongst the "Ivy League" of the Muslim world and the feudal courts of the various dynasties which ruled in the area attracted many influential musicians who helped to fashion the distinctive "art" music of the entire Middle Eastern cultural basin during the medieval Islamic period. A final reason for the high level of musical development is the fact that the Uzbeks early on gave up a nomadic lifestyle to adopt a more settled, urbanized way of life, thus facilitating the rise of professional music and musicians.
Instrumentarium
The indigenous instruments of the Bukharians and Uzbeks are,
in most cases very similar, if not identical, to those of the other Central
Asians and, in fact, are variants of musical instruments found throughout the
Middle East. However, the Bukharians have a greater variety of instruments than
the other Central Asian peoples. Representatives can be found from all three
of the major instrumental groups: stringed instruments, wind instruments, and
percussion instruments. The stringed instruments include both spike fiddles
and lutes. In the former class are the qobuz and ghijjak, both
which are played with a bow. Among the lutes are the two-stringed dutar;
the three-stringed tanbur; the two-stringed dombira; the rabab,
a two-stringed lute played with a plectrum (pick); and the setar, a three-stringed
lute with additional sympathetic strings, which is played with a bow (sympathetic
strings are resonating, drone-like strings). One could also include in this
stringed group the chang, a 48-string dulcimer, played with a plectrum.
The wind instruments are primarily woodwinds, although there
is one brass instrument. Among the woodwinds are the nay, a transverse
flute which is played to the side; the quray, a longitudinal flute (played
frontally); the qoshnay and the balabam, both clarinets; and the
surnay, an oboe. The single brass instrument is the karnay, a six and
a half to eight foot long brass trumpet. It should be noted that several of
these instruments, especially the surnay and the spike fiddles, produce very
plaintive, nasal and at times, whining sounds, qualities often matched by Central
Asian singers.
There are a number of percussion instruments also, including
the dol, a drum; the naghara, which are kettle drums played in
pairs; the doira , a large drum fitted with snares; the qayraq,
which are stone castanets; and finally, the safail , which are short
metal rods with circling metal jingles. Drums play a major role in Central Asian
music and are rarely absent from a song, especially a folk song. One other instrument
is found in the area which does not seem to fit into any of the above categories:
the changqobuz, a type of jaw's harp (or "Jew's harp," as we would call
it).
The instruments were traditionally made of a variety of materials,
mostly wood, but also gourd or coconut covered with animal skin (the body of
the ghijjak), cane or reed (the qoshnay and the sibizgha),
and copper or brass (the karnay). Strings could be made of either animal
gut or metal and bows of horsehair.
The instruments may be played either solo or in ensembles. Solo
instruments vary according to the geographical region and the musical style.
Among the Uzbeks and Bukharians the damburachi (skilled dombira
players) used to play in the chaykhanas (teahouses) on market days and
religious holidays to the exclusively male clientele of the market. Sometimes
they were accompanied by one or two singers to form a small "band." The doira
is also a popular solo instrument and a skilled player can play complex rhythmical
patterns in various permutations and combinations, so that audiences may sit
and listen for literally hours. The doira is often used to play dance
rhythms and a variety of sounds can be obtained by hitting different parts of
the drum, so that one gets the effect of several drums.
The instrumental ensembles were originally of two basic types:
the classical ensemble and the military ensemble. The classical ensemble consisted
of professional musicians who played "art music." Among the Uzbeks and Tajiks,
these ensembles usually consisted of a nay, a tanbur, and a doira
, but other instruments could be added to play the shashmaqam (a Central
Asian musical suite, to be explained below).
Bukharian folk music basically falls into two categories: vocal and instrumental. There is a broad diversity of folk song genres that have developed over the years, many drawing on everyday life experiences. Thus, there are work songs, wedding songs, funeral laments, love songs, lullabies, children's songs, songs of social protest, historical narrative songs, epic songs and magical and medicinal songs.
Central Asia is renowned for its lengthy epic narrative songs. The epic narrative is a combination of historical and legendary material. Basically, religious songs most certainly exist; it plays a significant role in our prayers as well as many Jewish holidays.
Before moving on to discuss the musical aspects of Bukharian folk songs, something should be said about the literary structure of the lyrics. Two common features employed are rhyme and parallelism. Most songs are strophic, the stanzas sometimes being couplets, sometimes quatrains, and sometimes more complex groupings (e.g. five or six lines). Sometimes there is a refrain and sometimes a short phrase (e.g. "yor-yor" or "orzu") is repeated at intervals throughout the songs.
The melodies of these songs are basically of two types: ascending/descending or descending. These can occur together in the same song or separately. The rhythms are often syncopated and may involve several different alternating time signatures, including such irregular meters as 5/4, 5/8, and 7/8, in addition to the more common 2/4, 3/4, 4/4, 3/8, and 6/8. The scales used may be major-like, minor-like, pentatonic (based on five tones), or chromaticized.
In addition to folk songs, there is an abundance of instrumental
folk music as well. This category includes raqs, dance tunes played most
often on the surnay, frequently accompanied by rhythmical hand clapping
or a drum, such as the doira or naghara. These dances are commonly
performed on public holidays and festive occasions. Dance tunes are also employed
at social events such as weddings or the birth of a child.
The Maqam and Shashmaqam
The maqam and shashmaqam form the basis of Uzbek
classical "art music" (in contrast to folk music). Thus, they are the forms
studied and performed by the professional classical musician. The maqam
(plural, maqamat ) is, "in Islamic music, a set of pitches and of characteristic
melodic elements or motives, and traditional patterns of their use forming a
system for the melodic and tonal construction of performances."29 It is essentially
a system of musical modes used throughout the Islamic world.
Maqamat are found throughout the Middle Eastern cultural
basin and are fairly uniform throughout the Arab world, so that Central Asian
maqamat differ little from others; differing primarily in the musical
intervals that they employ and hence in the mood and atmosphere that they convey.
Each maqam is governed by certain rules related to the range of the notes,
the direction of the melody (ascending or descending), the type of melody, the
rhythmic forms used, and the tempo. Even such things as the beginning and ending
notes and the embellishments (e.g. trills) permitted are predetermined and fixed.
The maqam seems to be a musical expression of ancient origin. Among Persian
speakers, like the neighboring Tajiks, it is called a dastgah.
Each musical performance is based on a specific maqam
which is announced at the beginning of the performance, so the audience knows
exactly what to expect. Thus the general musical form is predictable and familiar
to the listeners, yet there is enough allowance for rearrangement, elaborations,
and "variations on a theme" to make each performance unique and interesting.
Each maqam is basically divided into two parts. The first
is called mushkulat (meaning "difficulty") and is entirely instrumental,
while the second is called nasr (meaning "prose") and is both vocal and
instrumental. The mushkulat is further subdivided into five movements.
The first is tasnif, meaning "composition" or "melody."
Between each section, a short instrumental piece is played to
introduce the next section. Each maqam retains essentially the same musical
form, but the text may vary from performance to performance. Of course, different
maqamat vary from each other, so the different components will vary from
maqam to maqam.
The word shashmaqam is a suite of six maqamat,
which is what the name means. Unlike the maqam, the shashmaqam
is peculiar to Central Asian music. It originated in Bukhara between the sixteenth
and eighteenth centuries, but the musical traditions that it evolved out of
are much older. It forms the basis of the Tajik and Uzbek classical "art music."
The original Bukharan grouping of six distinct maqamat was comprised
of buzrak ("great mode"), rast ("true mode"), nawa ("melodic
mode"), dugah ("Second mode"), segah ("third mode"), and iraq
("from Iraq"). However, other shashmaqamat were developed in other parts
of Turkistan, notably the Khorezm region and the area of Tashkent and Ferghana.
The latter grouping is actually called a charmaqam, since it only consists
of four maqamat. It is considerably freer in style, allowing more melodic
and rhythmic variation. An additional element of the shashmaqam is the
fact that modulation occurs within each maqam, so that a "branch maqam
" (called a shuba ) results. As can be seen, the shashmaqam, with
all its divisions and subdivisions, can be very time consuming, taking hours
to perform.
Musical performers in Central Asia perform a variety of functions.
Among them are the damburachi, a skilled dombira player; the sha'ir,
a musical poet who performs the epic songs; the hafiz, a professional
singer.
Central Asian music has experienced many significant changes since the inception of Communist rule. This is all part of the overall policy of the Soviets to "socialize" the ethnic minorities of the USSR. However, it is difficult for an outsider to get an accurate picture of what the real state of ethnic music in the Soviet Union is.
In conclusion, using instruments such as synthesizers, electronic drum machines, and electric guitars, as well as more traditional instruments, pop groups in Uzbekistan play music that is distinctively modern and yet undeniably Central Asian.
WORKS CITED
Beliaev, Viktor M. Central Asian Music. Wesleyan University Press,
1975.
Karamatov, Faizullah. "On the Regional Styles of Uzbek Music." Trans.
Mark Slobin. Asian Music 4.1 (1972): 48-53. "Maqam." Encyclopaedia
Britannica.
Karamatov, Faizullah. "Uzbek Instrumental Music." Trans.
Tom Djijiak, Theodore Levin and Mark Slobin. Asian Music 15.1 (1984):
11-53.
Zeranska-Kominek, Slavomira, Beniamin Kostrubiec and Joanna Wierzejewska.
"Universal Symbols in the Bukharan Shashmaqam ." Asian Music 14.1 (1983):
74-93.
Spector, Johanna. "Musical Tradition and Innovation." Central Asia:
A Century of Russian Rule. Ed. Edward Allworth. New York: Columbia University
Press, 1967. 434-84.
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