Ardeshir Kamkar
Ardeshir Kamkar is a Kurdish musician from Iran. He started his music training under the supervision of his father, he came to Tehran in 1980 and continued studying traditional arrangements under Mohammad Reza Lotfi and his brother Pashang. Ardeshir has always been keen to explore the range and capabilities of the kamancheh, for which he has written a number of pieces and books. Kamkar has played with several famous ensembles such as, Dastan and Sheyda. In the album of Dastan he accompanied the improvisation of M. R. Shajarian, he has worked with the talented vocalist, Homayoun Shajarian. He has international collaboration. One well received album of, titled "From Pontos to Persia" which according to some sources "is a unique CD which combines the music of Pontos and that of Persia. Matthaios Tsahouridis plays the Pontic Lyra accompanied by Ardeshir Kamkar on the Iranian Kamancheh and Hussein Zahawy on the daf. Songs include Pontic Lyra Improvisation, Horizons, The Meeting, Solo Daf and Iranian Kamancheh Improvisation."
Kamkar The Kamkars Kurdish music Music of Iran Demonstration with Mathaios Tsahouridis
Persian traditional music
Persian traditional music or Iranian traditional music known as Persian classical music or Iranian classical music, refers to the classical music of Iran. It consists of characteristics developed through the country's classical and contemporary eras. Due to the exchange of musical science throughout history, many of Iran's classical melodies and modes are related to those of its neighboring cultures. Iran's classical art music continues to function as a spiritual tool, as it has throughout history, much less of a recreational activity, it belongs for the most part to the social elite, as opposed to the folkloric and popular music, in which the society as a whole participates. However, the parameters of Iran's classical music have been incorporated into folk and pop music compositions; the history of musical development in Iran dates back thousands of years. Archaeological records attributed to "pre-Iranian" civilizations, such as those of Elam in the southwest and of Oxus in the northeast, demonstrate musical traditions in the prehistoric times.
Little is known about the music of the classical Iranian empires of the Medes, the Achaemenids, the Parthians. However, an elaborate musical scene is revealed through various fragmentary documents, including those that were observed at the court and in public theaters and those that accompanied religious rituals and battle preparations. Jamshid, a king in Iranian mythology, is credited with the "invention" of music; the history of Sasanian music is better documented than the earlier periods, the names of various instruments and court musicians from the reign of the Sasanians have been attested. Under the Sasanian rule, modal music was developed by a highy-celebrated poet-musician of the court named Barbad, remembered in many documents, he may have invented the lute and the musical tradition, to transform into the forms of dastgah and maqam. He has been credited to have organized a musical system consisting of seven "royal modes", 30 derived modes, 360 melodies. Iran's academic classical music, in addition to preserving melody types attributed to Sasanian musicians, is based on the theories of sonic aesthetics as expounded by the likes of Iranian musical theorists in the early centuries of after the Muslim conquest of the Sasanian Empire, most notably Avicenna, Qotb-ed-Din Shirazi, Safi-ed-Din Urmawi.
It is linked directly to the music of the 16th–18th-century Safavid Empire. Under the reign of the 19th-century Qajar dynasty, the classical melody types were developed, alongside the introduction of modern technologies and principles from the West. Mirza Abdollah, a prominent tar and setar master and one of the most respected musicians of the court of the late Qajar period, is considered a major influence on the teaching of classical Iranian music in Iran's contemporary conservatories and universities. Radif, the repertoire that he developed in the 19th century, is the oldest documented version of the seven dastgah system, is regarded as a rearrangement of the older 12 maqam system. During the late Qajar and the early Pahlavi periods, numerous musical compositions were produced within the parameters of classical Iranian modes, many involved western musical harmonies; the introduction and popularity of western musical influences in the early contemporary era was criticized by traditionalists, who felt that traditional music was becoming endangered.
It was prior to the 1950s. In 1968, Dariush Safvat and Nur-Ali Borumand helped form an institution called the Center for Preservation and Propagation of Iranian Music, with the help of Reza Ghotbi, director of the National Iranian Radio and Television, an act, credited with saving traditional music in the 1970s; the "Radif of Iranian music" was inscribed on the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2009, described as "the traditional repertoire of the classical music of Iran". Iran's classical art music relies on both improvisation and composition, is based on a series of modal scales and tunes. Compositions can vary immensely from start to finish alternating between low, contemplative pieces and athletic displays of musicianship called tahrir; the common repertoire consists of more than 200 short melodic motions, which are classified into seven modes. Two of these modes have secondary modes branching from them; this whole body is called radif, of which there are several versions, each in accordance to the teachings of a particular master.
By the end of the Safavid Empire, more complex musical movements in 10, 14, 16 beats stopped being performed. In the early Qajar era, the rhythmic cycles were replaced by a meter based on the qazal, the maqam system of classification was reconstructed into the radif system. Today, rhythmic pieces are performed with some exceptions; the reng are always in a 6/8 time frame. A typical Iranian classical performance consists of five parts, namely pišdarāmad, čahārmezrāb, āvāz, reng. A performance forms a sort of suite. Unconventionally, these parts may be omitted. Iran's classical art music is vocal based, the vocalist plays a crucial role, as he or she decides what mood to express and which dastgah relates to that mood. In many cases, the vocalist is responsible for choosing the lyrics. If the performance requires a singer, the singer is accompanied by at least one wind or string instrument, at least one type
Tonbak
The tompak tombak, dombak or zarb in Afghanistan zer baghali, is a goblet drum from Persia. It is considered the principal percussion instrument of Persian music; the tonbak is positioned diagonally across the torso while the player uses one or more fingers and/or the palm of the hand on the drumhead near the drumhead's edge. Sometimes tonbak players wear metal finger rings for an extra-percussive "click" on the drum's shell. Tonbak virtuosi perform solos lasting ten minutes or more; the tompak had been used to create a goblet drum. The tombak is a single-headed goblet drum about 43 cm in height with a 28 cm diameter head, its shell is carved from a single block of wood, maybe with a carved design or geometric pattern. At the bottom the shell is somewhat thicker than at the top for strength; the shell's wall thickness is 2 cm. The throat connects the top cavity to the hollow base. A sheepskin or goatskin head is secured with glue, tacks or both; the wide top opening permits full bass tone as well as various treble tones.
Tonbaks with adjustable tuning have been produced experimentally but the head tension is fixed prior to performance with careful attention to the temperature and humidity. The player may dampen or dry the membrane to reach a desired fundamental pitch; the pitch can be raised somewhat during a performance by applying finger pressure but a variety of tapping and clicking timbres reduce overall focus on the drum's pitch. Two or three contrasting timbres are played in an antiphonal style. Goblet-shaped drums are played in different regions of Eastern Europe and Africa. Although similarities exist among all goblet drums, the techniques for playing the tonbak are different from most other goblet drums; the modern tonbak described in this page is most associated with the music of Iran. The tonbak was not considered a virtuoso solo instrument until the pioneering work of Hossein Tehrani in the 1950s, as well as innovations of Nasser Farhangfar and others. Modern tonbak players are exponentially expanding the techniques used in playing the instrument.
The Tonbak was not considered a solo instrument until the pioneering work of Hossein Tehrani in the 1950s. His pupils included Mohammad Esmaili, Jahangir Malek, Jamshid Chemirani, Amir Nasser Eftetah, renowned teacher whose disciple Bahman Rajabi, develop modern technology. Farhangfar Nasser revolutionized the principles of accompaniment away much of the melody without interfering, he drew on many styles of play of Zarb-e zourkhâné that accompanies Varzesh-e Pahlavani, traditional martial gymnastics practiced in Zurkhaneh and motrebs, his knowledge of poetry and a clear and powerful voice make an improviser and an outstanding accompanist, always anticipating phrases soloist. Few players assimilate his art. Modern players open new perspectives amount to the game of Tombak, as Madjid Khaladj, Jamshid Mohebbi, Morteza Aayan, Mohammad Akhavan, Dariush Zargari, Navid Afghah, Farbod Yadollahi, Dariush Es'haghi, Ahmad Mostanbet, Sahab Torbati, Khâvarzamini Pedram, Siamak Barghi, Pezhham Akhavass, Pejman Haddadi.
Goblet drum Ashiko Djembe Hossein Téhérâni, Méthode de zarb, Institut Mâhour. DVD of Tombak / Madjid Khaladj - Coproduction: Le Salon de Musique & École de Tombak | Langues: français, espagnol | Livret de 80 pages | EDV 937 CV. CD Infinit Breath / Madjid Khaladj, NAFAS / Bâ Music Records
Masters of Persian Music
Masters of Persian Music is a Persian classical music ensemble founded in 2000 by four internationally recognized ustāds of the genre: vocalist Mohammad-Reza Shajarian. The ensemble formed with a view to North America. Although not all of the four had collaborated M. R. Shajarian had worked with Kalhor and Alizâdeh. In 1998 he sang for a studio album called Night, Desert, which Kalhor produced, he sang the score that Alizâdeh composed for Ali Hatami's historical drama Del Shodegan. Both albums were published on Delawaz Records, a label Shajarian started for the preservation of Persian classical singing. Kalhor saw the group as cultural ambassadors, they adopted the name Masters of Persian Music for touring abroad. The first European tour began in 2000, followed by a voyage to North America in early 2001. However, due to visa difficulties, Alizâdeh missed the first nine of the 18 performances in North America, the other members had to play without him; the success of the tour led to another in 2002, a third in 2005.
During this period, they released three live albums: Zemestan ast in 2001, Bi to be sar nemishavad in 2002, the double album Faryad in 2003. It's Winter is a recording of the ensemble's first concert in California in 2001; the second album, Without You, was a nominee for the Grammy Award for Best Traditional World Music Album in the 46th Annual Grammy Awards. Faryad, recorded on a tour, was nominated in 2005. 2005 saw the release of Hamnava ba Bam, a DVD video of the ensemble's 2003 memorial and benefit concert in Tehran, which raised relief funds for survivors of the 2003 Bam earthquake. In 2007, Delawaz Records published the ensemble's two final live albums: Saz-e-khamoush and Soroode-e-mehr. Between the concert tours, the members continued to perform and record with other artists. Hossein Alizâdeh and Kayhan Kalhor toured Europe and North America again in 2010. In Europe they were accompanied by tonbak player Majid Khalaj, but for the North American tour they enlisted the support of five younger musicians.
This expanded ensemble included Hamid Reza Nourbakhsh, Fariborz Azizi, Siamak Jahangiry, Pezhham Akhavass, Rouzbeh Rahimi. Kalhor saw a need to reach out to younger Iranian musicians, since the Iranian Revolution of 1979 created a "generational divide" by barring music practice and performance—thus driving many musicians of the older generation out of the country, but the original lineup is multi-generational: In 2005, M. R. Shajarian was age 62, Alizadeh 52, Kalhor 40, H. Shajarian 28. Kalhor says; the ensemble has visited at least 18 cities in the United States and Canada: Music of Iran List of Iranian musicians Masters of Persian Music at AllMusic Masters of Persian Music discography at Discogs Masters of Persian Music at Last.fm Masters of Persian Music at Philpedia Works by or about Masters of Persian Music in libraries Klaser, Rajna. "World Music Review: Master of Persian Classical Music". San Francisco Classical Voice. Retrieved 21 January 2015. Denis, Par Jacques. "En Iran, voyage dans la machine à remonter le temps".
Le Monde. Retrieved 21 January 2015
Tehran
Tehran is the capital of Iran and Tehran Province. With a population of around 8.7 million in the city and 15 million in the larger metropolitan area of Greater Tehran, Tehran is the most populous city in Iran and Western Asia, has the second-largest metropolitan area in the Middle East. It is ranked 24th in the world by the population of its metropolitan area. In the Classical era, part of the territory of present-day Tehran was occupied by Rhages, a prominent Median city, it was subject to destruction through the medieval Arab and Mongol invasions. Its modern-day inheritor remains as an urban area absorbed into the metropolitan area of Greater Tehran. Tehran was first chosen as the capital of Iran by Agha Mohammad Khan of the Qajar dynasty in 1796, in order to remain within close reach of Iran's territories in the Caucasus, before being separated from Iran as a result of the Russo-Iranian Wars, to avoid the vying factions of the ruling Iranian dynasties; the capital has been moved several times throughout the history, Tehran is the 32nd national capital of Iran.
Large scale demolition and rebuilding began in the 1920s, Tehran has been a destination for mass migrations from all over Iran since the 20th century. Tehran is home to many historical collections, including the royal complexes of Golestan, Sa'dabad, Niavaran, where the two last dynasties of the former Imperial State of Iran were seated. Tehran's most famous landmarks include the Azadi Tower, a memorial built under the reign of Mohammad Reza Shah of the Pahlavi dynasty in 1971 to mark the 2,500th year of the foundation of the Imperial State of Iran, the Milad Tower, the world's sixth-tallest self-supporting tower, completed in 2007; the Tabiat Bridge, a newly-built landmark, was completed in 2014. The majority of the population of Tehran are Persian-speaking people, 99% of the population understand and speak Persian, but there are large populations of other ethno-linguistic groups who live in Tehran and speak Persian as a second language. Tehran has an international airport, a domestic airport, a central railway station, the rapid transit system of Tehran Metro, a bus rapid transit system, a large network of highways.
There have been plans to relocate Iran's capital from Tehran to another area, due to air pollution and the city's exposure to earthquakes. To date, no definitive plans have been approved. A 2016 survey of 230 cities by consultant Mercer ranked Tehran 203rd for quality of life. According to the Global Destinations Cities Index in 2016, Tehran is among the top ten fastest growing destinations. October 6 is marked as Tehran Day based on a 2016 decision by members of the City Council, celebrating the day when the city was chosen as the capital of Iran by the Qajar dynasty back in 1907; the origin of the name Tehran is uncertain. Prior to Tehran being the capital of Iran Isfahan was the capital. Isfahan has a significant Armenian Population; the settlement of Tehran dates back over 7,000 years. Tehran is situated within the historical region of Media in northwestern Iran. By the time of the Median Empire, a part of the territory of present-day Tehran was a suburb of the prominent Median city of Rhages.
In the Avesta's Videvdat, Rhages is mentioned as the 12th sacred place created by Ohrmazd. In Old Persian inscriptions, Rhages appears as a province. From Rhages, Darius I sent reinforcements to his father Hystaspes, putting down the rebellion in Parthia. In some Middle Persian texts, Rhages is given as the birthplace of Zoroaster, although modern historians place the birth of Zoroaster in Khorasan. Rhages's modern-day inheritor, Ray, is a city located towards the southern end of Tehran, absorbed into the metropolitan area of Greater Tehran. Mount Damavand, the highest peak of Iran, located near Tehran, is an important location in Ferdowsi's Šāhnāme, the Iranian epic poem, based on the ancient legends of Iran, it appears in the epics as the homeland of the protoplast Keyumars, the birthplace of king Manuchehr, the place where king Freydun binds the dragon fiend Aždahāk, the place where Arash shot his arrow from. During the reign of the Sassanian Empire, in 641, Yazdgerd III issued his last appeal to the nation from Rhages, before fleeing to Khorasan.
Rhages was dominated by the Parthian Mehran family, Siyavakhsh—the son of Mehran the son of Bahram Chobin—who resisted the 7th-century Muslim invasion of Iran. Because of this resistance, when the Arabs captured Rhages, they ordered the town to be destroyed and rebuilt anew by traitor aristocrat Farrukhzad. In the 9th century, Tehran was a well-known village, but less known than the city of Rhages, flourishing nearby. Rhages was described in detail by 10th-century Muslim geographers. Despite the interest that Arabian Baghdad displayed in Rhages, the number of Arabs in the city remained insignificant and the population consisted of Iranians of all classes; the Oghuz Turks invaded Rhages discretely in 1035 and 1042, but the city was recovered under the reigns of the Seljuks and the Khwarezmians. Medieval writer Najm od Din Razi declared the population of Rhages about 500,000 before the Mongol invasion. In the 13th century, the Mongols invaded Rhages, laid the city in ruins, massacred many of its inhabitants.
Following the invasion, many of the city's inhabitants escaped to Tehran. In July 1404, Castilian ambassador Ruy González de Clavijo visited Tehran while on a journey to Samarkand, the capital of Turco-Mongol conqueror Timur, who ruled Iran at the time. In his diary, Tehran was described as an unwalled region. Ital
Milad Tower
Milad Tower known as the Tehran Tower, is a multi-purpose tower in Tehran, Iran. It is the 24th-tallest freestanding structure in the world, it is located between Qarb Town and the district of Gisha, standing at 435 meters from the base to the tip of the antenna. The head consists of a large pod with 12 floors, the roof of, at 315 meters; the tower is a part of the International Trade and Convention Center of Tehran, which includes a five-star hotel, a convention center, a world trade center and an IT park. The Milad Tower was part of the Shahestan Pahlavi project, a vast development for a new government and commercial centre for Tehran, designed in the 1970s but never materialized, except for the Tower. After an international competition, the project was awarded to the Llewely Davies Company, construction was inaugurated on August 19, 1975, with the Shah of Iran and the Mayor of Tehran Dr G. R. Nickpay burying a commemorative gold plaque; the construction of the tower was commenced in 1997. Upon completion of its construction in the mid 2000s, the Milad Tower was considered the fourth-tallest freestanding telecommunication tower in the world.
While the tower opened in 2007, numerous conflicts on the history of the tower still prevail because sections of the tower were open to visitors once the elevators started operating during construction and the tower was still far from finished. The design of the project was headed by Iranian architect Mohammad Reza Hafezi; the general contractor was the company of Boland Payeh, the main client and investor was the company of Yadman Sazeh, a representative of the Municipality of Tehran. The tower was opened on February 20, 2009 by the 55th Mayor of Tehran, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, members of the City Council of Tehran. More than 250 local and foreign journalists were covering the event. Milad Tower is 435 metres tall and is the tallest tower in Iran, the sixth-tallest telecommunication tower in the world, it consists of five main parts, including the foundation, transition structure, head structure and the antenna mast. The lobby structure consists of six floors; the first three floors consist of 63 trade units, 11 food courts, a cafeteria, a commercial products exhibition, supposed to be about 260 square metres.
The first and second underground floors consist of installing a data center. The ground floor is dedicated to the gatehouse; the shaft is a concrete structure about 315 metres high from the ground floor. Six elevators in three different sides of the shaft are used to transfer the visitors to the head of the tower at the speed of 7 metres per second, besides an emergency staircase at the fourth side; the head of the tower is a steel structure consisting of 12 floors. The top floors of the tower include a public art gallery, a cafeteria, a revolving restaurant, a VIP restaurant, telecommunication floors, mechanical floors, fire-immune areas built as a refuge zone, a closed observation deck, an open observation deck, a sky dome; the four-stage antenna mast is about 120 metres high. The lower floor of the mast is for the adjustment of public users' telecommunication antennas, the three upper floors are dedicated to the antenna of the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting; the complex features a parking area of about 27,000 square metres, a large computer and telecommunications unit, a cultural and scientific unit, a commercial transaction center, a temporary showroom for exhibiting products, a specialized library, an exhibition hall, an administrative unit.
The Milad Tower has an octagonal base, symbolizing traditional Iranian architecture. Sixth-tallest freestanding tower in the world 13th-tallest building in Asia 24th-tallest freestanding structure in the world Fernsehturm Stuttgart – prototype List of revolving restaurants List of tallest buildings in Tehran International rankings of Iran
Beyond Any Form
Beyond Any Form is a collaborative studio album by Persian traditional musicians Homayoun Shajarian and Tahmoures Pournazeri, as vocalist and composer respectively. The album was unveiled on March 2014, in a ceremony held in Vahdat Hall. Beyond Any Form includes eight songs in Persian language based on lyrics from renowned Persian classical poet Mowlana Jalaleddin Rumi and contemporary poets Shafiei Kadkani, Simin Behbahani and Hossein Monzavi. Composer Tahmoures Pournazeri describes the album as an "Iranian contemporary music" album, lacking Radif and inspired by classical, Tanbur and Kurdish music; the 5th track, is based on a melody from Paco de Lucía and the 7th track is played improvisationally. The album features American composer David K. Garner, Indian Sitar virtuoso Shujaat Khan, Venezuelan flautist Pedro Eustache and American blues guitarist Jimmy Johnson. Beyond Any Form was among the best-selling albums in Iran. A music video of Why Did You Leave Me? was directed by Baran Kosari for the unveiling ceremony, featuring a number of Iranian actors, including Sahar Dolatshahi, Navid Mohammadzadeh and Mehrdad Sedighian among others.
Credits are adapted from Beyond Any Form liner notes. Beyond Any Form at Amazon.com
