Persian Traditional Music
Transcript of Persian Traditional Music
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Persian Traditional Music
Archeological evidence reveals musical instruments thatwere used in Iran during the Elamite era around
800BCE. Not much is known about Persian music in the
ancient world, especially about the music of the
Achaemenid Empire. Alexander the Great is said to
have witnessed many melodies and instruments upon
his invasion, and music played an important role in
religious affairs. Music played an important role in the
courts of Sassanid kings in the much later Sassanid
Empire. Of this period, we know the names of various
court musicians like Barbad and the types of various
instruments that were used like harps, lutes, flutes,
bagpipes and others. Under Sassanid rule, modal music
was developed by a highly significant court musician,
Barbad, called the khosravani. While today's classical
music tradition in Iran bears the same names of some of
the modes of that era it is impossible to know if theysound the same because there is no evidence of
musical notation from the Sassanid period. Today's
traditional Persian music began to develop after the
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advent f I lam in I an, in t e edieval eraand t e
reati n f t day's f rmal, lassi al musi traditi n is
directly linked t t emusicsystems f t e Safavid
Dynasty. ndert e laterQajarDynasty, t eclassical
system asrestructured int its resent f rm.
Aspects
Iranianclassical musicrelies n improvisationand
compositionand is asedonaseriesofmodal scales
and tunes ichmust ememorized. Apprenticesand
masters, ostad, havea traditional relationship hichhas
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A typical
performanceconsistsof the following
elementspshdar mad(arhythmicpreludewhichsets
themood), darmad(rhythmic free
motif), vz(improvisedrhythmic-free
singing), tanf(rhythmicaccompanied ysinging, an
ode), Chahrmerb(rhythmicmusic ut rhythmic-free
ornosinging), reng(closingrhythmiccomposition, adance tune). A performance formsasort ofsuite.
nconventionally, thesepartsmay evariedoromitted.
owards theendof theSafavid Empire(1502-1736),
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more complex movements in 10, 14, and 16 beats
stopped being performed. In fact, in the early stages of
the ajar ynasty, the ul(rhythmic cycles) were
replaced by a meter based on the ghazaland
the maqm system of classification was reconstructed
into the Radifsystem which is used to this day
(see Dast'gh). Today, rhythmic pieces are performed in
beats of 2 to 7 with some exceptions. Rengs are always
in a 6/8 time frame. Many melodies and modes are
related to the maqmt of the Turkish classical
repertoire and Arabic music belonging to various Arab
countries, for example Iraq. This similarity is because of
the exchange of musical science that took place in the
early Islamic world between Persia and her neighboringcountries. uring the meeting ofThe Inter-governmental
Committee forthe Safeguardingofthe Intangible
Heritage of the United Nations, held between 28
September 2 October 2009 in Abu habi, radifs were
officially registered on the UNESCOList of the IntangibleCultural Heritage of Humanity.
The classical music is vocal based. The vocalist plays a
crucial role: she or he decides what mood to express
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and which dastgah relates to that mood. In many cases,
the vocalist is also responsible for choosing the poems
to be sung. If the performance requires a singer, the
singer is accompanied by at least one wind or string
instrument, and at least one type ofpercussion. There
could be an ensemble of instruments, though the
primary vocalist must maintain hers or his role. In
some tanfsongs, the musicians may accompany the
singer by singing along several verses. Traditionally,
music is performed while seated on finely decorated
cushions and rugs. Candles are sometimes lit. The
group of musicians and the vocalist decide on which
dastgahs and which of their gushehs to perform,
depending on the mood of a certain time or situation.
Iranian classical music continues to function as a
spiritual tool as it has throughout its history, and much
less of a recreational activity.Compositions can vary
immensely from start to finish, usually alternating
between low, contemplative pieces and athletic displaysof musicianship called tahrir. The incorporation of
religious texts as lyrics were replaced by lyrics largely
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Instrumentsused in Persianclassical music include the
owedspike-fiddlekamancheh, thegoblet drum tombak,
theend-blown fluteney, the framedrumdaf, the long-
necked lutes tar, setar, tanbur, dotar, and the
dulcimersantur. he Europeanviolin isalsoused, with
analternative tuningpreferredby Persian
musicians. arps, chang[s], wereavery important part
ofmusicupuntil themiddleof the Safavid Empire.
heywereprobablyreplacedbecauseof tuning
problemsorreplacedby the Qanun(zither)and later the
pianowhichwas introducedby the est during the
Safavid Dynastyof Iran. any, ifnot most, of these
instrumentsoriginated in Iran. Perhaps themost loved
string instrument is thetar. arplayersareregurlarly
chosen to functionas theprimarystring instrument ina
performance. hesetar isalso loved for itsdelicacyand
is the favoriteamong ysticmusicians. Some
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instruments like the sorna, neyanban, dohol, naghareh,
and others, are not used in the classical repertoire but
are used in Iranian Folk music. The gha hak
(ghaychak), a type of fiddle, is being re-introduced to the
Classical field after many years of exclusion. The
instruments used in the Classical field are also used in
Iranian Folk Music.
The reference is Ghonyat-al-Monyah an aged old
manuscript translated and published by the Late Prof.
ShahabSarmadi of AMU Aligarh India. This book
describes in detail the history of Persian musical
instruments.
Here is an example of where the links are: Prof.
ShahbSarmad of Aligarh Muslim University, due to his
specific expertise in Persian and Indian Classical Music,
translated a section called Roots and Branches of
Music, which is a part of Volume II. When he was in
Chicago for the 1987 conference he graciously agreed
to stay over for a month and translated this chapter on
music. This translation exposes AmrKhusraus
expertise in music although he seems to attempt to
avoid any credit to himself. The special feature of this
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translation is AmrKhusraus description of a Pardah
System, without mentioning the invention of sitar as an
instrument. In the sitar design there are 12-13 mi rb, a
typical form of plectrum made of steel wire played with a
am ama held in one hand that strikes against mi rb in
a pattern creating a system of music. This system of
music makes unlimited Pardah System by placing the
12-13 plectrums in various positions, thus exposing
numerous potentialities. AmrKhusraus ingenious
definition of the Pardah System described in this section
of Volume II, and equally ingenious effort by Prof.
ShahbSarmad in catching these in his translation
enumerates value of this work. This Pardah System of
music may have been easily transformed into the designof mi rb and am ama in sitar, when played together
creating a Pardah System of music, thus providing a
proof of AmrKhusraus invention of sitar. It is
reasonable to imagine that, because of his
Turkish/Lachin (in the following introduction to Ij -i-Khusrav he calls himself Khusrau-Lachin) heritage,
AmrKhusrau may have been exposed to the Maqam
System of Muslim Music, merging with the Sanstn
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Preservation
The Persian Constitutional Revolution in 1906 allowed
some release from previous religious restrictions withregards to music. As a result, genres such
as pop and rock started to become popular. This
popularity was critici ed by traditionalists who felt that
traditional music was becoming endangered. In
1968, DariushSafvat and Nur-Ali Borumand helped formthe Center for Preservation and Propagation of Iranian
Music with the help of Re a Ghotbi, director of NIRT
(National Iranian Radio-Television), an act credited with
saving traditional music in the 1970s by other
ethnomusicologists, including Nelly Caron, Tran Van
Khe, and Hormo Farhat.
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