Until the 20^th century, the maqam was ubiquitous in the urban centers of modern-day Iraq, its melodies heard in various settings. In religious contexts, maqam melodies were used in the call to prayer, during mawlud rituals (celebrations of the birth of the prophet Mohammed), as well as in Qur’anic recitation. Maqam was also sung in the zurkhanes (athletic houses), to energize the participants performing physical activity. It was even sung by street vendors advertising their products. Tradition often dictated which types of vendors would sing what melodies. Formal maqam concerts took place in private homes during celebrations and in gahawi (coffeehouses), which were the primary venues for maqam performance.

There were several coffeehouses in Baghdad that specialized in maqam. Among these were Gahwat Shaabander, Gahwat al-Qaysariya, and Gahwat ‘Azzawi. These places functioned both as performance spaces as well as institutions wherein the maqam was transmitted. During the day, experts, amateurs, and novices, known collectively as ushshaaq al-maqam, or lovers of the maqam, would sit for hours, philosophizing about the inner meanings of a maqam melody, discussing a particular maqam’s possibilities, debating who was a more skilled singer, or critiquing a recent performance. Every evening in these gahawi, a maqam concert would take place that, when performed in its complete sequence, would last about nine hours.

The main performer was the qari’ (pl. qurra’), or reciter. The word qari’, which is the same word used for a Qur’an reciter, was used, as opposed to mughenni, or singer, to emphasize the spiritual nature of the maqam and to elevate the maqam to a status higher than other, lighter vocal genres, which were not held in such esteem. These qurra’ were usually craftsmen or merchants, coming from the lower strata of Baghdadi society, for whom singing was a not a full-time profession. Most did not have a formal education, and some were even illiterate, yet they were masters of a highly intellectual, complex vocal form, which could be perfected only after years of disciplined, concentrated work. They also possessed an encyclopedic knowledge of Arabic poetry, from which they would choose lines to recite to a maqam. When performing a maqam, the qari’ would enter a state of deep spiritual exaltation, which would spread to the listeners in the room, who would often let out expressions of joy and ecstasy, engaging in an interplay and exchange of emotion with the performers.

In performance, the qari’ was accompanied by a four-piece ensemble, known as a chalghi baghdadi, which consisted of a jowza (a four-stringed spike-fiddle with a coconut shell resonator), a santur (a box-zither with steel strings, played with wooden sticks), a dumbug (goblet-shaped drum), a riqq (tambourine), and naqqarat (two small kettle drums played with sticks).

Elements of the Maqam

Each maqam is a semi-improvised musical recitation of poetry, performed within a formal structure that governs the use of melodies, structure, rhythm, and poetic genre. The following details apply specifically to the maqamat of the Baghdadi repertoire.

Melody The Baghdadi maqam system consists of some 100 melodies, each of which has a unique name, and to which is often ascribed some other attribute: an association with a geographical region, a tribe, a historical event or person, or some other aspect of Iraqi society. These melodies are performed in a rhythmically free and semi-improvised manner, with ample room for interpretation, ornamentation, and variation, such that every performance is unique. Each singer is expected to develop a personal approach to performing these melodies. What must remain in any interpretation is the ruhiyya (spirit or spiritual essence) of each given melody. Totally free improvisation does not exist in maqam performance.

Structure Each melody in a maqam composition functions as one of six structural components that make up the maqam’s form. These components are the tahrir, which is the opening melody/main theme that is repeated throughout the maqam; qita‘ (sing. qita‘a) and awsal (sing. wusla), or secondary melodies, which form the building blocks of the composition; the meyana, or climax, which is usually a qita‘a or a wusla sung in the high register; a small cadence known as a jelsa, which precedes the meyana; a qarar, or a descent into the lower register; and the teslim, which is the final, closing cadence that signals the end of the maqam and the coming pesteh (defined later). Each maqam begins with a tahrir and concludes with a teslim, and contains one or more of the rest of the structural components. Some maqamat follow a predetermined sequence of melodies that each performer is expected to adhere to, whereas others contain a relatively free form.

Poetry Poetic tradition and the maqam are closely intertwined in Baghdadi culture. Most maqam listeners are also avid readers of poetry, and pay as much attention, if not more, to the words of the poem as they do to the musical aspects of a maqam performance. At its essence, maqam singing is a form of poetic recitation.

The rules of performance practice dictate which genre of poetry is sung with each maqam, although the choice of the specific poem is left to the singer. Almost all of the maqamat use one of two genres of poetry. The first, known as the qasida (pl. qasa’id), is an ode written in Classical Arabic and is found throughout the Arab world. The second genre of poetry, called zuheiri, is a native Iraqi form that is sung in Iraqi dialect. It consists of seven lines, arranged according to the rhyme scheme AAA BBB A, where the final word of each line is homophonous, but yields a different meaning in each repetition. Several maqamat were traditionally sung with Turkish or Persian poems, though in recent years, these poems have been replaced by qasa’id.

Rhythm Although maqam singing is rhythmically free, many maqamat contain a rhythm, or iqa‘ (pl. iqa‘at), which is performed by the accompanying instruments. In the Baghdadi maqam repertoire, eight iqa‘at are used (six of which are heard on this recording). Each iqa‘ is performed on the percussion instruments as a pattern of “dums” (sustained, low-pitched strokes) and “teks” (short, high-pitched strokes) and silences that fit into a meter of a fixed number of beats. The iqa‘ and the melodies exist concurrently, converging and diverging spontaneously, creating a polyrhythmic effect.

The Classification of the Iraqi Maqam by Mode

In Baghdad, there are approximately 56 maqamat (this number varies according to different sources). From each maqam can be extracted a seven-note mode, or scale, on which the tahrir and other melodies are based. Maqamat are classified based on their mode, which results in eight families, which are Rast, Bayat, Hijaz, Segah, Nawa, Hussaini, Ajam, and Saba. Almost all maqamat fit into one of these families.

Each family has a primary maqam, which bears the name of the mode, and several secondary maqamat. The primary maqamat tend to have a fixed sequence and long, elaborate structures, whereas the secondary maqamat are often of a lighter and simpler nature, though there are exceptions.

Additional Musical Pieces: Muqaddima and Pesteh

In performance, each maqam is preceded by a rhythmic instrumental piece, known as a muqaddima, and is followed by one or more pestat (sing. pesteh). Pestat are rhythmic songs with repetitive melodies that often contain simple, humorous, texts dealing with day-to-day life and various aspects of society. The light-hearted nature of the pesteh serves to counterbalance the heavy, complex, introspective nature of the maqam. Members of the instrumental ensemble and the audience usually join in singing these songs. Unlike the maqamat, these songs have remained popular in Iraq to the present day.