The Pan-Eastern Unity of Form and Content in Azerbaijani Mugham Performance

This study examines the philosophical and artistic dimensions of mugham–maqam art as one of the shared cultural expressions of the Near and Middle East. It argues that Azerbaijani mughams, as an integral part of this broader tradition, are shaped by a fundamental coherence between form and content. Despite the passage of centuries, mugham has maintained its artistic vitality and continues to be transmitted as a living tradition. At the same time, in parallel with developments observed in other post-Soviet contexts, the philosophical dimension of mugham in Azerbaijan—particularly its association with esoteric knowledge and its sacral character—has gradually lost its former centrality. The non-linear organization of musical material and the role of poetic text as a vehicle of philosophical and ideological expression therefore call for renewed scholarly attention. In this context, the article suggests that future research should aim at a more nuanced and methodologically grounded understanding of the semantic and conceptual depth of Azerbaijani mughams. Such an approach would also contribute to a more informed and internally coherent contemporary performance practice.