What if a tradition could go back in time, with the help of modernist creativity, instead of having to flow with the current, passed down from generation to generation? Let\u2019s take a look at the case of Uzbek-Tajik Shashmaqom, designated as a tradition at various times in its history in order to construct a bright future for heritage, and reclaimed by the musicians of today.<\/p>\n
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A classical form of music from Central Asia that emerged during the 17th century, Shashmaqom is built on a modal system (the \u201cmaqom\u201d), which covers, with variations, a huge area stretching from the Maghreb to Xinjiang. Before the Soviet revolution, during the Khan period then the Tsarist colonisation, Shashmaqom from Bukhara was performed in small numbers at the rulers\u2019 court and transmitted orally.<\/p>\n
With the revolution of 1917, Shashmaqom found itself caught up in the political and ideological turmoil. In the 1920s, the great reformer of Bukhara, Abdurauf Fitrat (1886-1938), who aligned himself with the Soviets, had Shashmaqom transcribed to put it on an equal footing with Western classical music. But during this period of nation building, the Tajik lyrics could not be published in Uzbekistan. Shashmaqom, a tradition shared on both sides of the borders, then began its career as a marker of Uzbek national identity. It was, however, decried by the authorities in Moscow as \u201cfeudal music\u201d in the early 1950s, only to be rehabilitated after the death of Stalin; it was not taught at the Tashkent Conservatory until 1971.<\/p>\n
During the Soviet era, Shashmaqom underwent modifications imposed by the aesthetic canons of the time: it was performed by large ensembles and the instruments were altered to suit the equal temperament, the tuning system used in Western classical music. At the same time, composers used the melodies, rhythms and structure of Shashmaqom to compose what would become the \u201cSoviet music\u201d of Central Asia, a symbiosis of local traditions and Western music.<\/p>\n
Ziyadullo Shakhidi (1914-1985), Symphonie des Maqom, 1977<\/strong><\/p>\n