Madeleine Heppermann | Legacy Co-Editor-in-Chief
Posted March 14, 2014; 2:30 p.m.
The power of music lies in its ability to unite its listeners and transport them through melody and rhythm.
A scholar in tune to this fact, Jeffrey Werbock, has dedicated his life to the study and communication of the ancient musical art of Mugham.
A variant of eastern art music, Mugham is a meter-free, microtonal and highly improvised style of music meant to alter the conscious of its practitioners and listeners.
Werbock will be presenting the art of Mugham to the Lindenwood community for the second time April 15 at 7 p.m. in the Dunseth Auditorium in Harmon Hall in a speech titled “The History, Musicology, and Contemporary Cultural and Political Significance of the Mugham music tradition of Azerbaijan.”
Chairman of the Board of the Mugham Society of America, Werbock has studied the music of Azerbaijan, known as Mugham, since 1972 and educated others about its history and transcendental qualities ever since.
“My mission is to introduce first time listeners, or those who may be somewhat familiar with the genre, by explaining and demonstrating how mugham works and what purpose it serves,” said Werbock.
Invited back by Dr. Ray Scupin, retired Lindenwood professor of ethnomusicology, this presentation is a reprise from a speech given one year ago and is being put on as part of the Center for International and Global Studies speaker series.
The event is free and open to the public as well as Lindenwood students and faculty. For more information about the art of Mugham, visit mugham.net.
