Hijaz - حجاز

Hijaz refers to Saudi Arabia, which in Arabic is still known as the Hijaz. This maqam, which originated in Saudi Arabia, is linked with death, and is used to mark sad occasions that occur on the calendar, as well as sad occasions that occur in a given perasha. We use this maqam on the following Shabbats: Hayye Sarah mentions the death of Sarah and the death of Abraham later in the perasha. Vayehi mentions the death of Jacob and the death of Joseph later on. Ki Tissa discusses the tragedy of the Golden Calf. Aharei Mot mentions the deaths of Aaron's children, Nadab and Abihu. Shelah Lekha mentions the spies, and the punishments that followed. Debarim has no sad event within the perasha, however, Hijaz is used because it falls out on the Shabbat before Tisha B'Av, the saddest day on the Jewish calendar. According to the Jews of Damascus, the only Shabbat of the year that Hijaz is used is Parashat Debarim. According to Gabriel Shrem, Hijaz in its purest form should only be used for Parashat Debarim, and for the rest of the weeks,  Hijaz should be mixed with Bayat. The Jews of Damascus only use Hijaz for Shabbat Debarim. Other maqamot in the Hijaz family are: Shahnaz, Suzidil, or Zanjaran.

Hijaz tetrachord: starting on D