How the Twelve Muqam is built

1Three parts

Every suite has three parts. The first opens with a long introduction in free rhythm, then moves through pieces with set rhythms that gradually speed up. Next come songs taken from romantic narrative poems, and last come lively dance songs.

The last part is called مەشرەپ. The same word also names a gathering where people sing and dance together. The songs of this part were first linked to the rituals of Sufi dervish musicians.

2Songs and poems

Muqam ناخشا are sung solo and by groups, with varied rhyme and metre. The lyrics include folk ballads and also poems by classical Uyghur poets.

3Who collected and recorded it

Amannisa Khan, of the 16th-century Yarkent Khanate, is credited with collecting and so preserving the Twelve Muqam. The only known source that names her, however, is a manuscript of 1854, the History of Musicians.

Today’s Twelve Muqam comes from recordings of traditional performers made in the 1950s and then edited into a system. The first album came out in 1960. Ensembles now perform it as fixed compositions.

4Four regional styles

UNESCO proclaimed the Uyghur Muqam of Xinjiang in 2005 and inscribed it on its Representative List of intangible heritage in 2008. It names four main regional styles: the Twelve Muqam, Dolan Muqam, Turpan Muqam and Hami Muqam. UNESCO also notes that the gatherings where everyone joins in the muqam are now held less often.