China: Uyghur Music

One of the great tragedies of our time is the terrible treatment of the Uyghur people of the province of Xinjiang at the furthest western edge of China, with the government engaging in horrific efforts to suppress their culture and "reeducate" and indoctrinate them into Han Chinese society.  We can only hope that, ultimately, the cultural and social practices of the Uyghur will persevere in the face of such tyrannical actions, including the music.  

This recording from 2011 and released seven years on the incredible Ocora label of Radio France presents a dozen pieces, including the Chong Näghmä and the Dastan Näghmä, multi-movement works, and a Mäshräp vocal based on a Sufi poem.  Given the long history of these Muslim people, the musical ties extend throughout central and eastern Asia, including to Persia, Tajikistan, Turkey and Uzbekistan and other areas.

Vocals by men and women and instrumentation on frame drums and percussion, lutes and fiddles reflect a long tradition of complex and compelling music that is truly intoxicating to hear.  Hearing this music is a direct experience of how the famed Silk Road from Persia to China manifested its influences, just as music from India and the Middle East traveled, through the lute instruments from the sitar to the guitar, southwest through the northern portions of Africa to Spain via the incredibly rapid Muslim spread and then made the leap to the New World.

The muqam. or system of melodies based on arrangements of pitches, uses scales on which improvisation is developed and refers to these motifs during pieces that can often be quite lengthy.  So, on this October 2011 recording, the Chong Näghmä takes up well over a half hour and the Dastan Näghmä is just more than 23 minutes in length.  The mäshräp is a specifically male performance for social occasions typically one of significance for bonding Uyghur men.

Sadly, the repression of the Muslim Uyghurs threatens all aspects of their society, including their music, though one hopes that resilience will keep this remarkable tradition going in the face of oppression.