How it began
The tar is a long-necked plucked lute played across Iran and the Caucasus. In Shusha, in the second half of the 19th century, the tar player Mirza Sadig, known as Sadigjan (1846 to 1902), rebuilt the instrument. He raised the number of strings from five, first to as many as 18 and then settling on 11, changed the body, and reworked the frets on the neck, cutting them from 27 or 28 to 22. The result is known as the Azerbaijani tar, and Sadigjan is called its creator.
Before it existed
The earlier five-string tar had a large, deep body that could not be lifted to the chest. It was played resting on the knees, sometimes with a footstool. Its size limited playing technique, and its sound was soft and quiet. Sadigjan's rebuilt instrument could be raised to the chest, and he sometimes lifted it over his head as he played.
How it works
UNESCO describes the making of the tar in Azerbaijan. The maker carves a hollow body shaped like a figure eight from mulberry wood and covers it with the thin pericardium of an ox. A fretted neck of nut wood is fixed to it, with tuning pegs of pear wood and metal strings, and the body is inlaid with mother-of-pearl. Sadigjan's strings include melody courses, bass strings and resonating strings. The player holds the tar horizontally against the chest and plucks with a plectrum.
How it spread
Sadigjan's version spread among players in the Caucasus and became known in neighboring countries as the Azerbaijani tar. In the 1890s he led an ensemble in Shusha that included well-known singers and musicians, and his students carried the instrument on. New mugham forms in Azerbaijani music are linked to his work on the instrument.
Where it stands today
The tar is played alone and in ensembles at weddings, gatherings and concerts across Azerbaijan, and many regard it as the country's leading instrument. Makers pass their skills to apprentices, often within the family. In 2012 UNESCO inscribed the craftsmanship and performance art of the tar on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity for Azerbaijan.
