Genres of Secular Art Music: al-Maqam al-’Iraqi

Excerpt from Touma, Habib Hassan. The Music of the Arabs. Amadeus Press, 1996.The maqam al-’Iraqi is considered the most noble and perfect form of the maqam. As the name implies, it is native to Iraq; it has been known for approximately four hundred years in Baghdad, Mosul, and Kirkuk. The maqam al-’Iraqi has been passed on orally through the Iraqi masters of the maqam, who cultivate the form