The Symphonic Mugam - and what is a G[y]ulistan when it's at home

[guest2]

I saw recently a description of the composer Fikrette Amiroff's having "invented the symphonic mugram." All well and good, but what exactly is a mugram we wondered. There is no entry under that name in the Grove Dictionary. . . . Ah, but when one consults the entry for Amiroff one finds this:

"Amiroff's best orchestral works are the first two symphonic mugam [indicating that the plural of 'mugam' must be 'mugam'], which won him a State Prize in 1949. In them he created a new symphonic genre based structurally on the folk mugam form; the majority of the traditional divisions are retained, as is the principle of alternating episodes of a quasi-improvisational type with rhythmically strict passages in song or dance style (for these Amiroff used carefully selected folk melodies). The free development inherent in the traditional mugam combines naturally with the variational and polyphonic treatment. In 1970 Amiroff produced a further symphonic mugam showing his mastery of the form, Gyulistan - Bayatï shirazi."

Gyulistan - I am probably completely wrong here, but is that not something to do with jolly old Sorabji? Ah yes, we see it is: solo piano-forte, 1940. We wonder what that is all about and whether it is the same idea.

And did Brahms ever use "folk music" in a serious composition? (Hope not.)

[Reiner Torheit]

All well and good, but what exactly is a mugram we wondered. There is no entry under that name in the Grove Dictionary. . . . Ah, but when one consults the entry for Amiroff one finds this:

Errr, maybe you didn't find it because you've added an extraneous "r" into "mugam"?  It is also to be found as "mugham" (reflecting the Persian speech-pattern in the name).

Mugham (WikiPedia) is Central Asian art-form, found on both sides of the Caspian - in Azerbaijan (formerly Persia), Tajikistan, Uzbekistan etc.  Spellings differ both from regional pronunciation, and differences of opinion about transliterating the names into latin script.. The original concept of mugham is classical poetry set to partially-improvised "riffs" in different modes.

Gyulistan - I am probably completely wrong here, but is that not something to do with jolly old Sorabji? Ah yes, we see it is: solo piano-forte, 1940. We wonder what that is all about and whether it is the same idea.

I believe the "Gyulistan" referenced in that title is the small and picturesque place in Nakhichivan Province (present-day Azerbaijan - or the Azeri Soviet Socialist Republic as it would have been in 1940 when the piece was written.   It's not the identically-named place in Pakistan.

The pre-war USSR (they entered WW2 only in 1941) had cash to throw at culture which hymned (or went through the motions of hymning) the ethnic traditions and cultures of its constituent regional entities.  Part of this was genuine (if perhaps wrongheaded) respect for the wealth of these cultures - part of it was mere political correctness - and probably another part was a cynical attempt to buy popularity for the soviet ideal for cash.  Rostropovich had quite a few amusingly spicy aphorisms on his own opinion of this kind of thing.  "Positive discrimination" went on for the non-Russian populations of the USSR until the Soviet Union itself imploded - there were budgetary allocations made for the promotion of worthy if obscure things like the publication of Evenk literature or Tuvan dance.  Even today institutions like Moscow University maintains a quota of stipendiary-supported places for students from disadvantaged communities ("Peoples Of The North", Tuvans, Khakhassian, Tungus etc).

We might squirm a bit at the idea of "symphonic" mugham today - but it's probably no different to Copland, Britten or Canteloube making "classical" arrangements of "non-classical" music.  Of course there was also a soviet-specific political imperative to put the "People's Art" into concert-halls alongside the mainstream repertoire of Bach, Beethoven and Tchaik - for what that "said" about such music.  Although of course Beethoven set Scottish folktunes himself.

I ought to admit that I only knew this stuff about Mugham because I did a commercial translation job last year for the Cultural Section of the Azerbaijan Embassy in Moscow.  They're understandably proud of their epic Mugham poetry - but it's a genre that has to leap several fences to impress foreigners to a similar extent, I fear.

[guest2]

Thanks for all that information Mr. T. So - let me get this clear - you're saying that Sorabji's effort refers in some way to a place in Pakistan (or British India as it was in 1940).

It sounds like a job for Mr. H. doesn't it - I'll try and attract his attention; perhaps he might know something about the history.

[Reiner Torheit]

Thanks for all that information Mr. T. So - let me get this clear - you're saying that Sorabji's effort refers in some way to a place in Pakistan (or British India as it was in 1940).

Errr, not in so many words ;)  I enjoy listening to Sorabji's music, but my knowledge of it doesn't extend beyond turning the pages now and then for Mr Powell's performances of it in Moscow.  I'm afraid I know little of its background, inspirations and so forth.

All I'm suggesting is that Amiroff's Mugham is - with a high degree of certainty - inspired by a place name Gulustan (or Gulistan, or other variant transliterations) in his own native Azeri homeland :)  I haven't been further than Baku,  but locals wax lyrical about the beauties of Nakhichivan - famous for charming landscapes, and for a thriving tradition of carpet-weaving.  It seems likely as an inspiration for a Mugham :)

Mrs Torheit is due to sing TOSCA for the Baku Opera in the autumn (concert perf at the Philharmonia - the opera theatre is closed for a 2-year rebuild) - perhaps we might have a chance to get into the countryside between rehearsals,  if the weather holds up?  ;)