A khananda ( az, xanəndə ; fa, خواننده; alternative spellings in English: khanende, khanande, khanandeh) is a name generally given to singers of

mugham Mugham ( az, Muğam) or Mughamat ( az, Muğamat) is one of the many classical compositions from Azerbaijan, contrasting with tasnif and ashik. It is a highly complex art form that weds classical poetry and musical improvisation in specific l ...

, an

Azeri Azerbaijanis (; az, Azərbaycanlılar, ), Azeris ( az, Azərilər, ), or Azerbaijani Turks ( az, Azərbaycan Türkləri, ) are a Turkic peoples, Turkic people living mainly in Azerbaijan (Iran), northwestern Iran and the Azerbaijan, Republi ...

folk music Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has b ...

genre. The word is of Persian origin and means "singer". When performing traditional mugham, a khananda is accompanied by a trio of musicians who play the

tar Tar is a dark brown or black viscous liquid of hydrocarbons and free carbon, obtained from a wide variety of organic materials through destructive distillation. Tar can be produced from coal, wood, petroleum, or peat. "a dark brown or black bit ...

, the

kamancheh The kamancheh (also kamānche or kamāncha) ( fa, کمانچه, az, kamança, hy, Քամանչա, ku, کەمانچە ,kemançe) is an Iranian bowed string instrument used in Persian, Azerbaijani, Armenian, Kurdish, Georgian, Turkmen, and ...

and the daf (tambourine). Often the khananda is the daf-player.

Origins and development

The exact origins of the art of khanandas have not been studied thoroughly however it is likely that it emerged during the urbanization in the

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the Post-classical, post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with t ...

epoch. In the growing cities, khanandas would perform at the events organized by the nobility, on weddings and

fair A fair (archaic: faire or fayre) is a gathering of people for a variety of entertainment or commercial activities. Fairs are typically temporary with scheduled times lasting from an afternoon to several weeks. Types Variations of fairs incl ...

s, in

caravanserai A caravanserai (or caravansary; ) was a roadside inn where travelers ( caravaners) could rest and recover from the day's journey. Caravanserais supported the flow of commerce, information and people across the network of trade routes covering ...

s and

tea house A teahouse (mainly Asia) or tearoom (also tea room) is an establishment which primarily serves tea and other light refreshments. A tea room may be a room set aside in a hotel especially for serving afternoon tea, or may be an establishment whic ...

s. With

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

being the main language of the local literature at the time (mugham lyrics were based on Classical

Islamic poetry Islamic poetry is a form of spoken word written & recited by Muslims. Islamic poetry, and notably Sufi poetry, has been written in many languages including Urdu and Turkish. Genres of Islamic poetry include Ginans, devotional hymns recited by I ...

), khanandas used it in their performance and therefore gained popularity mostly among the

aristocracy Aristocracy (, ) is a form of government that places strength in the hands of a small, privileged ruling class, the aristocracy (class), aristocrats. The term derives from the el, αριστοκρατία (), meaning 'rule of the best'. At t ...

. Small town and village-dwellers to whom the Persian language was alien preferred the music of the

ashig An ashik ( az, aşıq, ; tr, âşık; fa, عاشیق) or ashugh ( hy, աշուղ; ka, აშუღი) is traditionally a singer-poet and bard who accompanies his song—be it a dastan (traditional epic story, also known as '' hikay ...

s (traveling bards singing in a

vernacular A vernacular or vernacular language is in contrast with a "standard language". It refers to the language or dialect that is spoken by people that are inhabiting a particular country or region. The vernacular is typically the native language, n ...

language, i.e. Azeri). Classical khanandas followed a specific dress code which included a

chokha A chokha or ; ab, акәымжәы, akʷymzhʷy; ady, цые, tsiya; kbd, цей, tsei; fa, چوقا, chughā; hy, չուխայ, choukha(y); az, çuxa; krc, чепкен, çepken; kum, чепген, çepgen; nog, шепкен, şepken ...

, an

arkhalig An arkhalig ka, ახალუხი, hy, արխալուղ, fa, ارخالق) is part of both male and female traditional dress of the peoples of the Caucasus and Iran. The arkhalig originated from the ''beshmet'', a Turkic outer clothing la ...

, an

astrakhan Astrakhan ( rus, Астрахань, p=ˈastrəxənʲ) is the largest city and administrative centre of Astrakhan Oblast in Southern Russia. The city lies on two banks of the Volga, in the upper part of the Volga Delta, on eleven islands of the ...

cap (papag), rings and a belt decorated with

gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile met ...

. Some would even decorate their musical instruments depending on their status and prominence. Khanandas would traditionally gather in salons known as ''majlis-i khananda''.Khananda
. ''Axtar.az'' The art of khanandas experienced its peak in the 19th and the early 20th century. Starting from this period mughams were also widely sung in Azeri – a practice introduced by

Jabbar Garyagdioglu Jabbar Garyagdioglu or Garyaghdyoglu ( az, Cabbar Qaryağdıoğlu pronounced ) (31 March 1861 – 20 April 1944) was an Azerbaijani folk singer (khananda). He is known as the first khananda to perform mughamats in the Azeri language. He mostly sa ...

. Being home to most of Azerbaijan's renowned classical musicians, the city of

Shusha / hy, Շուշի , settlement_type = City , image_skyline = ShushaCollection2021.jpg , image_caption = Landmarks of Shusha, from top left:Ghazanchetsots Cathedral • Yukhari Govhar ...

became the main cultural centre of Azeri folk music and the arts often referred to as the "conservatory of the

Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, mainly comprising Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and parts of Southern Russia. The Caucasus Mountains, including the Greater Caucasus range, have historically ...

". While traditionally khandadas were trained privately, in the 1870s a Shushavian khananda

Kharrat Gulu Karbalayi Gulu Mahammad oghlu az, Kərbəlayı Qulu Məhəmməd oğlu, 1823–1883) was a musicologist, poet, founder of music school in Shusha. Biography The founder of music school in Shusha, musicologist Karbalayi Gulu was born in 1823. K ...

established the first school of mugham where future singers would undergo professional training. A khananda who was required to have no less than a two-octave

voice range Vocal range is the range of pitches that a human voice can phonate. A common application is within the context of singing, where it is used as a defining characteristic for classifying singing voices into voice types. It is also a topic of stu ...

would be tested on the knowledge of mugham subgenres, including their vocal performance, as well as classical poetry. If a khananda's specialization included playing an instrument he or she would be required to demonstrate proficiency in both solo and accompanied performance. A khananda who successfully passed the exam gained the title of ''ustad'' ("master").The Art of Mugham
by Sanubar Baghirli Starting from the late 1800s khanandas started acting in Azeri theatres incorporating mugham into musical plays. In the past decades a practice of khananda duets has been introduced in Azerbaijan.

References

{{reflist Azerbaijani music

Origins and development

See also

References