Like many mountainous areas, Badakhstan, the southeastern area of Tajikistan, dominated by the Pamirs, has its own distinct musical traditions. One of those is the genre represented on this track, called dargilik. A dargilik is a spiritual song based on poetic couplets that express the pain and hope of human destiny. The example performed here is by a vocalist accompanied by a typical ensemble of Badakhshan instruments. (During, Levin 2001)