Tracing Armenian Links to Persian Classical Music
03/19/2006 02:59AM
Contributed by: WMC_News_Dept.
Los Angeles (California), USA -
On
Endless Vision, Armenian duduk virtuoso
Jivan
Gasparyan and Iranian instrumentalist
Hossein Alizadeh have recorded a
once-in-a-lifetime experience. Within Iran, this album has already caused a
commotion amongst certain social conservatives. While the live concerts that led
to
Endless Vision were allowed
by Tehran's department of public programs, initial attempts to issue the
recording in Iran ran aground of the nation's Ministry of Culture, which must
approve all audio recordings to be released in the country.
In the case of
Endless Vision, permission to release the album in Iran was delayed two years
because a female singer, the sweet-voiced Afsaneh Rasaei (a longtime pupil of
Alizadeh), performed alongside a male ensemble-a situation still
controversial in Iran. That decision has only recently been reversed, finally
giving a wider Iranian public access to this magical event. (Alizadeh's
concerts are anxiously awaited amongst his countrymen; before a recent series of
massively popular Masters of Persian Music concerts, fans were sleeping outside
ticket offices in Tehran.)
Endless Vision was recorded live during a series of concerts the virtuosos gave
in the gardens of Tehran's Niavaran Palace in September 2003. "The gardens are
located in the northern outskirts of Tehran," says
Alizadeh. "There, in the
foothills of the Alborz mountains, the air is cool and fresh; it has a lushness
and peacefulness far removed from the noise, traffic and pollution of the city."
The palace's tranquil environment was the perfect ground for a summit meeting
between two standard-bearers. In these concerts, performed for crowds of
thousands, the soloists' masterful playing was elegantly framed by Mr.
Alizadeh's Hamavayan Ensemble, a group featuring female and male vocalists,
strings and percussion performing the Persian classical tradition, and two
Armenian duduk players.
"The music of Iran and Armenia is a language shared between the two nations,"
says
Alizadeh. "It's a mirror reflecting history in each phrase." This is
music at the crossroads of three traditions, and three peoples: Armenian, Azeri,
and Persian." This concept is entirely organic, especially given the presence of
a large and vibrant ethnic Armenian community within Iran whose presence reaches
back to the early 16th century. With that in mind, Mr.
Alizadeh adds, "we
dedicate this project to Iranians and to Armenians, and especially to
Iranian-Armenians."
The opening selection, "Birds," is a composition by
Alizadeh which sets
verse by Iranian poet M. Azad (b. 1933): "Birds/soar high into the air/looking
after the winds..." the poem says. "Earth remains uncovered/and gardens full of
illusions/Back to me comes your graciousness/more generous than the sun."
The second track, "Armenian Romances," is an evocative
improvisation by
Gasparyan. The following "Sari Galin (Yellow Bride)" is a
beloved traditional Armenian song that nearly all Iranians know. As such, it's a
microcosmic look at the cultural interplay that underpins
Endless Vision. "Iran
has a large Armenian community," observes
Gasparyan, "who live side-by-side
with other ethnicities. There is an instinctual closeness between Armenia and
Iran."
An instrumental written by
Alizadeh returns to the avian theme: titled "Call of
the Birds," the piece shows off the Persian musicians' virtuosity, accompanied
by vibrant percussion. "Mama," whose lyrics and music were composed by
Gasparyan, is a song full of tenderness; his vocals on this
track are full of love and a nostalgic evocation of times gone.
For
Endless Vision,
Alizadeh uses a new instrument, a six-stringed plucked
lute called the shurangiz, which combines aspects of three other Iranian lutes
(the plucked, six-stringed tar, the four-stringed setar, and the Kurdish tanbur
instrument). Although the shurangiz was first created about 50 years ago,
Alizadeh has experimented with the lute and modified it to the point of making
it his own. The unique sound of this new instrument-at once delicate and richly
voiced-comes to the fore in "Shurangiz Improvisation."
The album's final track,
"Tasnif Parvaneh Sho..." makes use of poetry penned by Sufi mystic Rumi.
Buy the CD:
World Music Central
http://www.worldmusiccentral.org/article.php/20060312125945779