In the Shrine of the Heart

The musical world of Central Asia’s sedentary artists comprises a vast repertoire of songs and instrumental pieces that encompass the entire spectrum of civic life, from devotion and prayer to festivity and celebration. In the great cities of Samarqand, Bukhara, and Khiva, connoisseurs of traditional music and poetry have created a cult of song centered around great performers of what can be called popular classic music. Singer-songwriters who composed this music set melodies to Sufi-inspired Persian and Turkic-language poetry in classical forms of ghazal and rubâ’iyât, performed both a cappella and with instrumental accompaniment in a variety of regional styles and genres.