Büzürk

Büzürg means "great" in Persian; it is also written büzürk or büzrük. Known for at least eight centuries, it is one of the oldest makams of Turkish music and is among the twelve devirs. In its present definition its resting tone is the rast pitch; its strongest dominant is hüseynî, followed by nevâ and dügâh. Like the compound makams, it descends from above. There are some twenty-five works in the repertoire; among them are pieces by Selim III and Kantemiroğlu.

The account attributed to Safiyyüddin calls Büzürg "the mode of cowardice"; in the list attributed to Fârâbî, too, its effect is fear. Şuûrî says the opposite: Büzürg purifies the mind, sets thought straight, and dispels whispering doubts, fear and worry. Perhaps the two sayings look to the same place: the awe felt before greatness silences small fears. Şirvânî assigns it to the gathering of those far from home, and in the list of times he attributes to Ibn Sînâ, to the night prayer; Şuûrî reports that some masters found it fitting from the night prayer until the hour before dawn, and links it to the sign of Leo.

Sources: Name, history, scale, works: Alâeddin Yavaşça, "Büzürg", TDV İA, VI, 522 (1992). Twelve devirs: Özkan, "Makam", TDV İA. Cowardice, gathering of those far from home, night prayer: Akdoğan, AÜİFD XLVIII/1, 80-81. Fear: Kalender, AÜİFD XXIX, 362. Purifying the mind, time, sign: Şuûrî, Turabi edition, 163-166.