Echoes of the Silk Road: From dutar solos to muqam ensembles

The dutar, meaning "two strings" in Persian, is one of the most iconic plucked instruments in Turkmen traditional music. With its warm, gentle tone, it often accompanies solo storytelling and song, and is performed by musicians who both play and sing. In 2021, dutar music and performance were inscribed on the UNESCO's Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

The Uygur muqam of China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region is a large-scale musical system known for its intricate structure, vast repertoire, and rich instrumental and vocal interplay. Typically performed by ensembles over several hours, muqam is one of the most profound musical traditions along the ancient Silk Road. It was recognized by the UNESCO in 2008.

Though rooted in different lands and expressed through different forms, both dutar and muqam share a common cultural DNA – deeply grounded in the Silk Road heritage. They stand as powerful testaments to the role of music in preserving cultural identity and collective memory, and in connecting civilizations across time and space.