Saba

Saba is not one of the twelve cycles. It appears among the compound modes in Seydî's work al-Matla'; Shirvani, too, counts it among the branches. Today it is a compound makam: it comes to rest on dügâh with the flavor of saba, its dominant is çârgâh on the third degree, and its whole melodic path turns around this note. That it seems a simple makam is deceptive. It is also used often in sacred works, such as the Mevlevi ayin of Hamâmîzâde İsmâil Dede and the hymn of Zekâi Dede.

In the list attributed to al-Farabi, Saba gives valor. Shirvani, for his part, likens Saba's effect to that of Büzürg, Rehâvî and Zirefkend: a measure of ease, sorrow and stillness. These two sayings need not contradict each other: Saba's sorrow is not a collapse; it is taking the load onto one's shoulders. The strength of a heart that can bear the weight. In the old sources we found no time or gathering tied to Saba.

Sources: History, scale, works: Özkan, "Sabâ", TDV İA, XXXV, 328-330 (2008). Valor: Kalender, AÜİFD XXIX, 362. Branch and sorrow-stillness: Akdoğan, AÜİFD XLVIII/1, 79-80. List of the twelve cycles: Özkan, "Makam", TDV İA.