mugham

English

Alternative forms

• mugam

Etymology

From Azerbaijani muğam. Doublet of maqam, muqam, and makam.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /muˈɡɑm/

Noun

mugham (countable and uncountable, plural mughams)

1. A musical composition of Azerbaijan in a complex form that blends classical poetry and musical improvisation.
   • 2009 March 1, Meline Toumani, “For the Love of Layla”, in New York Times‎^[1]:

     But the more complicated issue was that the sections composed for orchestra and chorus, in the style of a 19th-century Italian opera, seemed entirely separate from the mugham sections, long improvisations in which Mr. Qasimov interprets the plight of Majnun using one of the 24 different mughams specified by Hajibeyov.

Derived terms

• jazz mugham

Translations

folk musical composition

• Armenian: մուղամ (hy) (muġam)
• Azerbaijani: muğam
• Georgian: მუღამი (ka) (muɣami)
• Russian: мугам (ru) (mugam)
• Turkish: muğam