Segah (or Sigah;

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 ...

: سه‌گاه) is the name of a

Dastgah Dastgāh ( fa, دستگاه) is the standard musical system in Persian art music, standardised in the 19th century following the transition of Persian music from the Maqam modal system. A consists of a collection of musical melodies, . In a son ...

(musical mode) in

and related systems of music. ''Segah'' (From

''se-gāh'', سه + گاه = سه‌گاه "third place") is named because the maqam starts on the third degree in relation to the "basic" "Magham" scale found in Rast. Sigah features a half-flat tonic and a half-flat fifth scale degree; as such, it has an unstable sound that tends to favor its own third degree, found on a whole tone. Middle eastern Sephardic Jews make heavy use of this in their liturgy. For the prayers during Parashas Bo, Beha'alotecha, and Eqeb, parashas that are the "third" in their respective books, maqam Sigah is used. It is also applied on holidays. This maqam is linked to the holiday of

Purim Purim (; , ; see Name below) is a Jewish holiday which commemorates the saving of the Jewish people from Haman, an official of the Achaemenid Empire who was planning to have all of Persia's Jewish subjects killed, as recounted in the Book ...

due to the abundance of

pizmonim ''Pizmonim'' (Hebrew פזמונים, singular ''pizmon'') are traditional Jewish songs and melodies sung with the intention of praising God as well as learning certain aspects of traditional religious teachings. They are sung throughout religious ...

related to the holiday in this maqam (no doubt because the maqam is of Persian origin, and the events of the book of Esther take place in Persia). This maqam is also of importance because it is the maqam that is always used for the cantillation of the Torah.Sephardic Pizmonim Project
Gabriel Shrem Related maqamat are Huzam and Iraq.

References

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External links

Sikah page
from Maqam World Modes (music)

See also

References

External links