Tajik Music of Badakhshan

The traditional homelands of the Tajik people cover parts of modern-day Tajikistan, Afghanistan, and Uzbekistan. The Tajiks of the Badakhshân region of northeast Afghanistan and southwestern Tajikistan are Ismaili Muslims, and their particular religious faith has helped preserve their highly original musical forms. The large setârlute, the rebâb, and the tanbur feature prominently in Tajik Badakhshân music, and the musical pacing is generally slower and more meditative than that of the surrounding region. Other distinctive features include intricate rhythmic patterns as well as the use of the chromatic scale, which is rarely heard in Eastern music. The recordings on this album, made by ethnomusicologist Jean During, showcase a variety of song styles typical of the region, performed by master Tajik musicians.

Track Listing

101	Suite of songs from the Heydari and Setâyesh maqâm	The troupe of the Cultural Centre of Khârog	06:49
102	A song (robâyât-i khalqi, popular quatrains)	The Rôshân troupe	07:48
103	A series of lullabies: dardilik, lala'ik, dodo'ik and robâ'i	M. Tavalaev	07:26
104	Falak song on the setâyesh rhythm	The troupe of Kh. Berdov (Khârog)	06:18
105	Instrumental suite in three movements: Navâzesh, Sedâyi del, ancient air	The troupe of the Cultural Centre of Khârog	07:04
106	Navâzesh-i Falak in three movements: falak, heydari, setâyesh	K. Karakhânov (Khârog)	03:29
107	Bâd-i-Rôshân, a song in the Rôshân dialect	Manjigol Khojat and the male voice choir of the M. Minakov group	02:50
108	Falak-i talqin	M. Tavalaev	03:00
109	Mystic songs: Ode to Imam 'Ali (end of the poem) followed by another poem by Jâmi	T. Soltân-Qâlebov, S. Tavarov	06:09
110	Monâjât, maqâm-i setâyesh, falak "khod sefid", lala'ik, dardilik	Kaladar Rahmatbekov (Khârog)	08:36
111	Wedding air and dance, maqâm-I rapo'i dance	Mamad Aziz, Samin (Tashkorgan)	02:29
112	Songs by the troupe of Ge wu tuan	The troupe of Ge wu tuan from Tashkorgan, Teyqun, Bâ namak	02:53
113	Volvolakik, Tombak suz, Oynasin	Kanchi Bek, his wife and daughter	04:54
114	Uyman tartur, Oyimcha, Takanja dandun nars	Kanchi Bek	02:43
115	Shingan Gul, Oynasin, Tilumijun, Gulbate	Chupân Bey	06:01