Circassian music

Circassians

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Circassians are people from Caucasia, Russia, and when it comes to their music, it demonstrates their traditions and habits.
The Circassian Flag is all green with twelve stars and three arrows, each star represents a curia of the Adyghe for example(bjadugh,shapsugh, etc..)

Circassian Instruments

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Nowadays, many Circassians (Cherkess) live in Jordan,Syria and other countries, and mainly they all have three main instruments which are:
Pshina: Which is an Accordion which is played in a specific way to produce Circassian tunes
Pxachach: Which is a 2 sets of 'Wood Blocks' each set contains about six pieces of wood held by hand, when a player strikes them together they produce a pure sound of wood to indicate the beat "Rhythm" of the song.
Baraban: Which is known as 'Dhol', is a more likely to be a Tabla than a Tom, except it is closed from both sides to produce strong low and high pitch sounds.

Circassian Music Theory

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In 'Circassian Music' there are four different kinds of pieces: Kafa, Widj, Tlaperij, Zefaqu and another one which is Chechen but this one taken from the Chechen Republic.
Taking each style separately:
Kafa: is a piece with (4:4) time signature, and usually this piece demonstrates the relationship between the Challa (Male) and the Pshasha (Female), this relationship which is built out of love, cooperation and strength.
Usually 'Kafa' is the main piece to be played in a 'Djagu' (a Circassian wedding or any Circassian gathering) and there are more than 100 Kafa's written by different Circassian artists.
Widj: is a piece with (8:4) time signature, and usually this piece is played before Challa's are going to war, but nowadays it is played at the end of the Djagu and usually it follows this rhythm <1 & 2 & 3 & 4 & 5 & 6 & 7 & 8> each 8 time intervals a new musical phrase is introduced, and this piece may be repeated several times since more than 10 different Widj's are available.
Tlaperij: is a piece with (4:4) time signature, and the word "Tlaperij" means "On Tip of Toes" and usually this piece is faster than Kafa and Widj, almost equal in tempo to Chechen but different in style and follows this rhythm (1&...2&...3&...4&) and this rhythm is produced by Pshina & Pxachach.
Zefaqu: is a piece with (4:4) time signature, and very similar to Kafa, the word "Zefaqu" means (Forward & Backward) and it defines how it is danced by going 4 steps forward and another 4 backward exactly as the Kafa but with different musical taste.
Chechen: is a fast piece with (4:4) time signature, this particular piece is played differently by pulling the Bellows of the Pshina in and out rapidly to create an Off Beat Rhythm which produces a Rhythm two times faster than its time signature, and the word "Chechen" is taken from the Chechen Republic, and usually it is played as the ending part of the Djagu and different in style than the original Chechen music.

Circassian Artists

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The Adyghe Anathem was originally composed by Iskhak Shumafovich Mashbash & Umar Khatsitsovich Tkhabisimov, but after the Diaspora almost all Circassians immigrated to different countries such as Jordan, Syria, Turkey and many more.
Depending on the country different artists were notable, and they are divided as follows:
Turkey :
Thazpel Mustafa <Player>
Oğuz Altay <Player>
Semih Canbolat <Player>

Syria:
Tambi Djemouk <Player>

Germany:
Murat Kansat <Player>

Jordan:
Rakan Qojas <Player>
Blan Jalouqa <Player>
Muhannad Nasip <Player>

Composers of Circassian Music

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Back in the Kavkas, there are many Pshinawas (Pshina - Player) who produce Circassian music such as:
Hapcha Zaodin
Hasan Sokov
Aslan Leiv
Aslan Tlebzo
Also in other countries like Syria and Jordan there are also some Composers not just for Circassian music but also for different musical genres, some of them are:
Samer Sami
Ahmad Aiy
Saeed Bazouqa

References

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Bereghwn (Baragunov), V. H. and He’wpe, Zh., Narodnaya instrumentalnaya muzika adigov (cherkesov) [National Instrumental Music of the Circassians], Nalchik: El’-Fa, 2005. [600 pieces]
Bereghwn (Baragunov), V. H. and Qardenghwsch’ (Kardangushev), Z. P’. (compilers), Adige Weredxemre Pshinalhexemre, Yape Txilh.
Narodnie pesni i instrumentalnie naigrishi adigov, tom 1 [Circassian Songs and Instrumental Folk-Tunes, Vol. 1], Moscow: All-Union Book Publishing House ‘Soviet Composer’, 1980. Online. Available HTTP: <http://www.circassianlibrary.org/library.php?lang=en&mn=4&sbmn=1> (accessed 11 November 2007). [Edited by E. V. Gippius. This, and the other volumes in the series, are seminal works on Circassian musical lore. Some of the collected songs and chants are very ancient indeed]
— Adige Weredxemre Pshinalhexemre, Yet’wane Txilh. Narodnie pesni i instrumentalnie naigrishi adigov, tom 2 [Circassian Songs and Instrumental Folk-Tunes, Vol. 2], Moscow: All-Union Book Publishing House ‘Soviet Composer’, 1981.
— Adige Weredxemre Pshinalhexemre, Yeschane Txilh. Narodnie pesni i instrumentalnie naigrishi adigov, tom 3 [Circassian Songs and Instrumental Folk-Tunes, Vol. 3, Parts 1 and 2], Moscow: All-Union Book Publishing House ‘Soviet Composer’, 1986, 1990.
Beshkok, M., Adigeiski folklorni tanets [Adigean Folkloric Dances], Maikop, 1990.
Beshkok, M. I. and Nagaitseva, L. G., Adigeiski narodni tanets [Adigean Folk Dances], Maikop: Adigean Branch of the Krasnodar Book Press, 1982.
Jaimoukha, Amjad, The Circassians: A Handbook, London: RoutledgeCurzon (Taylor & Francis); New York: Palgrave and Routledge, 2001.
Jaimoukha, Amjad, Circassian Culture and Folklore: Hospitality Traditions, Cuisine, Festivals & Music (Kabardian, Cherkess, Adigean, Shapsugh & Diaspora), Bennett and Bloom, 2008.
Jaimoukha, Amjad, 'The Circassian Minstrels'. Online. Available HTTP: <http://geocities.com/jaimoukha/Circassian_Minstrels.html> (accessed 20 July 2008).
Sokolova, A. N., ‘Zhanrovaya klassifikatsiya adigskikh narodnikh pesen [Genre-Classification of Circassian National Songs]’, in Kultura i bit adigov [The Culture and Way of Life of the Circassians], The Adigean Science and Research Institute, Maikop, issue 6, 1986.
— ‘Zhanrovaya klassifikatsiya adigskikh narodnikh pesen [Genre-Classification of Circassian National Songs]’, in Kultura i bit adigov [The Culture and Way of Life of the Circassians], The Adigean Science and Research Institute, Maikop, issue 7, 1988.
— Diskografiya adigskoi narodnoi muziki [Discography of Circassian National Music], Maikop, 1998. [Reference book on about 400 gramophone records issued in the period from the beginning of the 20th century to the end of the 1980s]
— ‘Adyghe Traditional Polyphony and Its Transformation in Modern Conditions’. Online. Available HTTP: <http://www.circassianworld.com/pdf/Adyghe_Pholyphony.pdf> (accessed 1 February 2008).
— ‘Music as a Medicine for Adyghs’, in R. Kopiez, A. C. Lehmann, I. Wolther and C. Wolf (eds), Proceedings of the Fifth Triennial European Society for the Cognitive Sciences of Music Conference (ESCOM5), Hanover University of Music and Drama, 8-13 September 2003, pp 160–2. Online. Available HTTP: <http://www.epos.uos.de/music/books/k/klww003/pdfs/010_Sokolova_Proc.pdf> (accessed 9 June 2008).
— ‘The Caucasian-Scottish Relations through the Prism of the Fiddle and Dance Music’, paper presented at North Atlantic Fiddle Convention, The Elphinstone Institute, University of Aberdeen, July 2006.
Thebisim (Tkhabisimov), W., Gwm yi Weredxer [Songs of the Heart], Maikop, 1983.
— Siy Wered–Xekw: Weredxer [My Song–Country: Songs], Maikop, 1989.
Tlekhuch, A. M., ‘Istoki i osobennosti razvitiya adigeiskoi muzikalnoi kulturi [Sources and Features of the Development of the Adigean Music Culture]’, in Kultura i bit adigov [The Culture and Way of Life of the Circassians], The Adigean Science and Research Institute, Maikop, issue 8, 1991.