1.
Isfahan (city)
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Isfahan, historically also rendered in English as Ispahan, Sepahan, Esfahan or Hispahan, is the capital of Isfahan Province in Iran, located about 340 kilometres south of Tehran. The Greater Isfahan Region had a population of 3,793,104 in the 2011 Census, the counties of Isfahan, Borkhar, Najafabad, Khomeynishahr, Shahinshahr, Mobarakeh, Falavarjan, Tiran o Karvan, Lenjan and Jay all constitute the metropolitan city of Isfahan. Isfahan is located on the main north–south and east–west routes crossing Iran and it flourished from 1050 to 1722, particularly in the 16th and 17th centuries under the Safavid dynasty, when it became the capital of Persia for the second time in its history. Even today, the city retains much of its past glory and it is famous for its Persian–Islamic architecture, with many beautiful boulevards, covered bridges, palaces, mosques, and minarets. This led to the Persian proverb Esfahān nesf-e- jahān ast, the Naghsh-e Jahan Square in Isfahan is one of the largest city squares in the world. It has been designated by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site, the city also has a wide variety of historic monuments and is known for the paintings, history and architecture. Isfahan City Center is also the 5th largest shopping mall in the world, see also, Names of Isfahan The name of the region derives from Middle Persian Spahān. Spahān is attested in various Middle Persian seals and inscriptions, including that of Zoroastrian Magi Kartir, the present-day name is the Arabicized form of Ispahan. The region appears with the abbreviation GD on Sasanian numismatics, in Ptolemys Geographia it appears as Aspadana, translating to place of gathering for the army. It is believed that Spahān derives from spādānām the armies, Old Persian plural of spāda, the history of Isfahan can be traced back to the Palaeolithic period. In recent discoveries, archaeologists have found artifacts dating back to the Palaeolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic, Bronze and Iron ages. It is said that after Cyrus the Great freed the Jews from Babylon some Jews returned to Jerusalem whereas some others decided to live in Persia, but, actually this happened later in the Sasanid period when a Jewish colony was made in the vicinity of the Sasanid. They did not settle anywhere or in any city without examining the water. They did all along until they reached the city of Isfahan, there they rested, examined the water and soil and found that both resembled Jerusalem. Upon they settled there, cultivated the soil, raised children and grandchildren, under the Parthians, Arsacid governors administered a large province from Isfahan, and the citys urban development accelerated to accommodate the needs of a capital city. The next empire to rule Persia, the Sassanids, presided over changes in their realm, instituting sweeping agricultural reform and reviving Iranian culture. The city was called by the name and the region by the name Aspahan or Spahan. The city was governed by Espoohrans or the members of seven noble Iranian families who had important royal positions, extant foundations of some Sassanid-era bridges in Isfahan suggest that the kings were also fond of ambitious urban planning projects
2.
String instrument
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String instruments, stringed instruments, or chordophones are musical instruments that produce sound from vibrating strings when the performer plays or sounds the strings in some manner. Musicians play some string instruments by plucking the strings with their fingers or a plectrum—and others by hitting the strings with a wooden hammer or by rubbing the strings with a bow. In some keyboard instruments, such as the harpsichord or piano, with bowed instruments, the player rubs the strings with a horsehair bow, causing them to vibrate. With a hurdy-gurdy, the musician operates a wheel that rubs the strings. Bowed instruments include the string instruments of the Classical music orchestra. All of the string instruments can also be plucked with the fingers. Some types of string instrument are mainly plucked, such as the harp, in the Hornbostel-Sachs scheme of musical instrument classification, used in organology, string instruments are called chordophones. Other examples include the sitar, rebab, banjo, mandolin, ukulele, in most string instruments, the vibrations are transmitted to the body of the instrument, which often incorporates some sort of hollow or enclosed area. The body of the instrument also vibrates, along with the air inside it, the vibration of the body of the instrument and the enclosed hollow or chamber make the vibration of the string more audible to the performer and audience. The body of most string instruments is hollow, some, however—such as electric guitar and other instruments that rely on electronic amplification—may have a solid wood body. Archaeological digs have identified some of the earliest stringed instruments in Ancient Mesopotamian sites, like the lyres of Ur, the development of lyre instruments required the technology to create a tuning mechanism to tighten and loosen the string tension. During the medieval era, instrument development varied from country to country, Middle Eastern rebecs represented breakthroughs in terms of shape and strings, with a half a pear shape using three strings. Early versions of the violin and fiddle, by comparison, emerged in Europe through instruments such as the gittern, a four stringed precursor to the guitar and these instruments typically used catgut and other materials, including silk, for their strings. String instrument design refined during the Renaissance and into the Baroque period of musical history, violins and guitars became more consistent in design, and were roughly similar to what we use in the 2000s. At the same time, the 19th century guitar became more associated with six string models. In big bands of the 1920s, the guitar played backing chords. The development of guitar amplifiers, which contained a power amplifier, the development of the electric guitar provided guitarists with an instrument that was built to connect to guitar amplifiers. Electric guitars have magnetic pickups, volume control knobs and an output jack, in the 1960s, larger, more powerful guitar amplifiers were developed, called stacks
3.
Range (music)
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In music, the range of a musical instrument is the distance from the lowest to the highest pitch it can play. For a singing voice, the equivalent is vocal range, the range of a musical part is the distance between its lowest and highest note. The terms sounding range, written range, designated range, duration range, a piccolo, for example, typically has a sounding range one octave higher than its written range. The designated range is the set of notes the player should or can achieve while playing, all instruments have a designated range, and all pitched instruments have a playing range. Timbre, dynamics, and duration ranges are interrelated and one may achieve registral range at the expense of timbre, the designated range is thus the range in which a player is expected to have comfortable control of all aspects. The duration range is the difference between the shortest and longest rhythm used, dynamic range is the difference between the quietest and loudest volume of an instrument, part or piece of music. Although woodwind instruments and string instruments have no upper limit to their range. Brass instruments, on the hand, can play beyond their designated ranges. Notes lower than the brass instruments designated range are called pedal tones, the playing range of a brass instrument depends on both the technical limitations of the instrument and the skill of the player. Classical arrangements seldom make woodwind or brass instruments play beyond their designed range, string musicians play the bottom of their ranges very frequently, but the top of a string instruments range is rather fuzzy, and it is unusual for a string player to exceed the designated range. It is quite rare for wind musicians to play the extremes of their instruments, the most common exception is that in many 20th century works, pedal tones are called for in bass trombones. This chart uses standard numberings for octaves where middle C corresponds to C4, in the MIDI language middle C is referred to as MIDI note number 60. The lowest note that an organ can sound is C−1. However, if acoustic combination counts, the lowest note is C−2, *This chart only displays down to C0, though some pipe organs, such as the Boardwalk Hall Auditorium Organ, extend down to C−1. Also, the frequency of the subcontrabass tuba is B♭−1
4.
Musical instrument
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A musical instrument is an instrument created or adapted to make musical sounds. In principle, any object that produces sound can be a musical instrument—it is through purpose that the object becomes a musical instrument, the history of musical instruments dates to the beginnings of human culture. Early musical instruments may have used for ritual, such as a trumpet to signal success on the hunt. Cultures eventually developed composition and performance of melodies for entertainment, Musical instruments evolved in step with changing applications. The date and origin of the first device considered an instrument is disputed. The oldest object that some refer to as a musical instrument. Some consensus dates early flutes to about 37,000 years ago, many early musical instruments were made from animal skins, bone, wood, and other non-durable materials. Musical instruments developed independently in many populated regions of the world, however, contact among civilizations caused rapid spread and adaptation of most instruments in places far from their origin. By the Middle Ages, instruments from Mesopotamia were in maritime Southeast Asia, development in the Americas occurred at a slower pace, but cultures of North, Central, and South America shared musical instruments. By 1400, musical instrument development slowed in areas and was dominated by the Occident. Musical instrument classification is a discipline in its own right, Instruments can be classified by their effective range, their material composition, their size, etc. However, the most common method, Hornbostel-Sachs, uses the means by which they produce sound. The academic study of instruments is called organology. Once humans moved from making sounds with their bodies—for example, by using objects to create music from sounds. Primitive instruments were designed to emulate natural sounds, and their purpose was ritual rather than entertainment. The concept of melody and the pursuit of musical composition were unknown to early players of musical instruments. A player sounding a flute to signal the start of a hunt does so without thought of the notion of making music. Musical instruments are constructed in an array of styles and shapes
5.
Ghaychak
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Ghaychak, Gheychak or ghijak is the name of several bowed instruments of Asia. A double-chambered bowl lute with 4 or more strings and a short fretless neck. It is used by Iranians and Baloch people, and is similar to Sarinda, the soundbox is carved out of a single piece of wood. The upper orifice is partly covered in the middle by the handle, a spike lute, either with a bowl soundbox, or with a box soundbox often made from a tin can, with three or four metal strings. It is used by Afghans, Uzbeks, Uyghurs, Tajiks, Turkmens, archived from the original on 2006-12-06. Ghaychak Afghan gaychak Tajik ghijak (box lute
6.
Rebab
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The bowed variety often has a spike at the bottom to rest on the ground, and is thus called a spike fiddle in certain areas, but plucked versions like the kabuli rebab also exist. Besides the spike fiddle variant, there exists a variant with a pear-shaped body, quite similar to the Byzantine lyra. This latter variant travelled to western Europe in the 11th century, there is a long thin neck with a pegbox at the end and there are one, two or three strings. The instrument is held upright, either resting on the lap or on the floor, the bow is usually more curved than that of the violin. The rebab, though valued for its tone, has a very limited range. The Iraqi version of the instrument has four strings, the rebab is used in a wide variety of musical ensembles and genres, corresponding with its wide distribution, and is built and played somewhat differently in different areas. The body varies from being carved, as in Java. They may have a made of half a coconut shell, while the more sophisticated versions have a metal soundbox, and the front may be half-covered with beaten copper. The rebab was heavily used, and continues to be used, in Arabic Bedouin music as well traditional Iraqi music under the name joza, there is also a bowed instrument in Persian music named Kamanche which has similar shape and structure. The Rebab is also played in Afghanistan and Pakistan, however they are unrelated in terms of origin, for a famous Iranian singer and rebab player see Hassaan Egzaar Chenani. These are generally used in playing traditional folk tunes, but have become popular in arrangements of contemporary music, including such genres as classical, jazz. In the Indonesian gamelan the rebab is an essential elaborating instrument, a two-string bowed lute consisting of a wooden body, traditionally though now rarely a single coconut shell, covered with very fine stretched skin. Two brass strings are tuned a fifth apart and the hair bow is tied loosely with the proper tension controlled by the players bow hand. There are typically two per ensemble, one for pelog and one for slendro, never played together. The rebab does not have to exactly to the scale of the other gamelan instruments and can be played in relatively free time. The rebab also frequently plays the buka when it is part of the ensemble, in the eastern Malaysian states of Kelantan and Terengganu, the Rebab is used in a healing ritual called Main Puteri. The musician healer is sometimes taken to hospitals in cases where doctors are unable to heal ailing patients, margaret J. Kartomi, On Concepts and Classifications of Musical Instruments. liuteriaetnica. it FERNWOOD, an American music group that uses a Rebab
7.
Kayhan Kalhor
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Kayhan Kalhor is an Iranian Kamancheh player, composer and master of classical Kurdish and Iranian traditional music. Kayhan Kalhor was born in Kermanshah to Kurdish family and grew up in Tehran and he began studying music at age seven. By age thirteen he was playing in the National Orchestra of Radio, at a musical conservatory in Tehran around age 20 Kalhor worked under the directorship of Mohammad-Reza Lotfi who is from the north-east of Iran. Kalhor also travelled in the provinces of Iran. He later moved to Rome and Ottawa to study European classical music and he is a graduate of the music program at Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada. Kayhan Kalhor has a range of musical influences, uses several musical instruments, and crosses cultural borders with his work. In his playing Kalhor often pins Iranian classical music structures to the rich folk modes and melodies of the Kurdish tradition of Iran, Kalhor has composed works for and played alongside the famous Iranian vocalists Mohammad Reza Shajarian and Shahram Nazeri. He has also composed and performed with the Indian sitar player Shujaat Husain Khan and Indian tabla player Swapan Chaudhuri in the group Ghazal, kalhors 2004 album In the mirror of the Sky was a joint venture with the Kurdish Iranian lute player Ali Akbar Moradi. His 2006 album The Wind is a collaboration with the Turkish baglama virtuoso Erdal Erzincan, at other times Kalhor has collaborated with Yo-Yo Mas Silk Road Project Ensemble in the USA and the Kronos Quartet. Kalhor now resides in USA and has been successful in USA over the past decade. Two of his works were nominated for Grammy Awards in 2004, in 2010 Kalhor composed I was there, which was based on a melody attributed to Ziryab, a ninth-century Persian Kurdish musician, for a Maya Beiser concert. This piece was performed by Kalhor alongside Maya Beiser, the renowned cellist Bassam Saba, an oud player, and two percussionists, Glen Velez and Matt Kilmer
8.
Mehdi Bagheri
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Mehdi Bagheri, is an Iranian kamancheh player and composer. Mehdi was born in Kermanshah in 1980 and he began his musical endeavors by learning to play the Tonbak instructed by Ramin Tafazoli. He then started learning other instruments in order to familiarize himself even further with Iranian music and these included the Setar and Kamancheh, he finally chose Kamancheh as his main instrument. He learned to play the Kamancheh by Maestro Ardeshir Kamkar, simultaneously, he studied Drama at Azad University and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in 2003. In Iran and abroad, Mehdi has been pursuing his work in different fields such as music in film, eclectic music. He has also published a variety of works with a great number of singers. Amongst all, his most important works include recording and publishing the radif by Maestro Ali-Akbar Shahnazi, solo and group pieces for Kamanche, and more
9.
Persian language
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Persian, also known by its endonym Farsi, is one of the Western Iranian languages within the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European language family. It is primarily spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, and Tajikistan and it is mostly written in the Persian alphabet, a modified variant of the Arabic script. Its grammar is similar to that of many contemporary European languages, Persian gets its name from its origin at the capital of the Achaemenid Empire, Persis, hence the name Persian. A Persian-speaking person may be referred to as Persophone, there are approximately 110 million Persian speakers worldwide, with the language holding official status in Iran, Afghanistan, and Tajikistan. For centuries, Persian has also been a cultural language in other regions of Western Asia, Central Asia. It also exerted influence on Arabic, particularly Bahrani Arabic. Persian is one of the Western Iranian languages within the Indo-European family, other Western Iranian languages are the Kurdish languages, Gilaki, Mazanderani, Talysh, and Balochi. Persian is classified as a member of the Southwestern subgroup within Western Iranian along with Lari, Kumzari, in Persian, the language is known by several names, Western Persian, Parsi or Farsi has been the name used by all native speakers until the 20th century. Since the latter decades of the 20th century, for reasons, in English. Tajiki is the variety of Persian spoken in Tajikistan and Uzbekistan by the Tajiks, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, the term Persian as a language name is first attested in English in the mid-16th century. Native Iranian Persian speakers call it Fārsi, Farsi is the Arabicized form of Pārsi, subsequent to Muslim conquest of Persia, due to a lack of the phoneme /p/ in Standard Arabic. The origin of the name Farsi and the place of origin of the language which is Fars Province is the Arabicized form of Pārs, in English, this language has historically been known as Persian, though Farsi has also gained some currency. Farsi is encountered in some literature as a name for the language. In modern English the word Farsi refers to the language while Parsi describes Zoroastrians, some Persian language scholars such as Ehsan Yarshater, editor of Encyclopædia Iranica, and University of Arizona professor Kamran Talattof, have also rejected the usage of Farsi in their articles. The international language-encoding standard ISO 639-1 uses the code fa, as its system is mostly based on the local names. The more detailed standard ISO 639-3 uses the name Persian for the dialect continuum spoken across Iran and Afghanistan and this consists of the individual languages Dari and Iranian Persian. Currently, Voice of America, BBC World Service, Deutsche Welle, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty also includes a Tajik service and an Afghan service. This is also the case for the American Association of Teachers of Persian, The Centre for Promotion of Persian Language and Literature, Persian is an Iranian language belonging to the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European family of languages
10.
Azerbaijani language
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The language has official status in Azerbaijan and Dagestan but it does not have official status in Iranian Azerbaijan, where the majority of Azerbaijanis live. It is also spoken to varying degrees in Azerbaijani communities of Georgia and Turkey and by diaspora communities, primarily in Europe. Azerbaijani is a member of the Oghuz branch of the Turkic languages, modern literature in Azerbaijan is based on the Shirvani dialect mainly, while in Iranian Azerbaijan region it is based on the Tabrizi one. Azerbaijani evolved from the Eastern branch of Oghuz Turkic which spread to the Caucasus, in Eastern Europe, Persian and Arabic influenced the language, but Arabic words were mainly transmitted through the intermediary of literary Persian. By the beginning of the 16th century, it had become the dominant language of the region, the historical development of Azerbaijani can be divided into two major periods, early and modern. Early Azerbaijani differs from its descendant in that it contained a larger number of Persian. Early writings in Azerbaijani also demonstrate linguistic interchangeability between Oghuz and Kypchak elements in many aspects, despite major differences, they all aimed primarily at making it easy for semi-literate masses to read and understand literature. They all criticized the overuse of Persian, Arabic, and European elements in both colloquial and literary language and called for a simpler and more popular style. Despite the wide use of Azerbaijani in the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic, after independence, Azerbaijan republic decided to switch back to the Latin script. The first examples of Azerbaijani literature date to the late 1200s following the Mongol conquest and were written in Arabic script, in the 1300s Kadi Burhan al-Din, Hesenoghlu, and Imadaddin Nasimi helped to establish Azerbaiijani as a language through poetry and other literary works. In 1875 Akinchi became the first Azerbaijani newspaper to be published in the Russian Empire and it was started by Hasan bey Zardabi, a journalist and education advocate. Following the rule of the Qajar dynasty Iran was ruled by Reza Shah who banned the publication of texts in Azerbaijani, modern literature in the Republic of Azerbaijan is based on the Shirvani dialect mainly, while in Iranian Azerbaijan it is based on the Tabrizi dialect. Mohammad-Hossein Shahriar is an important figure in Azerbaijani poetry and his most important work is Heydar Babaya Salam and it is considered to be a pinnacle of Azerbaijani literature and gained popularity in the Turkic-speaking world. It was translated more than 30 languages. In the mid-19th century Azerbaijani literature was taught at schools in Baku, Ganja, Shaki, Tbilisi, since 1845, it has also been taught in the Saint Petersburg State University in Russia. Per the 1829 Caucasus School Statute, Azerbaijani was to be taught in all schools of Ganja, Shusha, Nukha, Shamakhi, Quba, Baku, Derbent, Yerevan, Nakhchivan, Akhaltsikhe. Beginning in 1834, it was introduced as a language of study in Kutaisi instead of Armenian, in 1853, Azerbaijani became a compulsory language for students of all backgrounds in all of Transcaucasia with the exception of the Tiflis Governorate. Azerbaijani is one of the Oghuz languages within the Turkic language family, the International Organization for Standardization encodes North Azerbaijani and South Azerbaijani as distinct languages
11.
Iranian music
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Music of Iran or Music of Persia, as evidenced by the archaeological records of the Fertile Crescent civilization of Elam, the most ancient culture in southwestern Iran, dates back thousands of years. In ancient Iran musicians held socially respectable positions and we know that the Elamites and the Achaemenid Empire certainly made use of musicians but we do not know what that music was like. During the Parthian era, troubadours or Gosans were highly sought after as entertainers, there are theories in Academia that perhaps the early Dari Poets of Eastern Iran like Roudaki were in fact Gosans. The history of performance in Sassanid Iran is however better documented than earlier periods. This is especially evident in the context of Zoroastrian ritual. By the time of Khosrau II the Sassanid royal court was the host of prominent musicians such as Ramtin, Bamshad, Nakisa, Azad, Sarkash, among these survived names, Barbad is remembered in much documents and has been named as remarkably high skilled. He has been credited to have given an organization of musical system consisting of seven Royal modes named Xosrovani, thirty derived modes named lahn and these numbers are in accordance with Sassanids calendar of number of days in a week, month, and year. The theories these modal systems were based on are not known, there are also some of a descriptive nature like roshan cheragh. The relief depicts two boats and the picture shows these boats at two successive moments within the same panel. Barbad may have invented the lute and the tradition that was to transform into the Maqam tradition. Even after Islam, Persian musicians did not disappear, Zaryab is often credited with being the greatest influence over Andalusian, Farabi and Avicenna were not only musical theorists but adept at the lute and the Ney, respectively. The position of a work of music often depends on the music genre. The academic Authentic Persian Music is strongly based on the theories of aesthetics as expounded by the likes of Farabi. It also preserves melodic formula that are attributed to the musicians of the Persian imperial court of Khosroe Parviz in the Sassanid Period. However, the influence of Dastgah cannot be underestimated as it is seen as the reservoir of authenticity that other forms of musical genres derive melodic and performance ideas, Persian classical music goes back a long way. Musicians like Barbad were legendary in the empire of the Sassanid era, until the early 20th century, musiqi-e assil was heard almost entirely at the royal courts of the monarchy. The renaissance brought popularity to the genre, Women were banned from singing as soloists for male audiences, though they were allowed to perform as soloists for female audiences, as instrumentalists and in choirs. For this reason some female singers, including Maryam Akhondy, left the Islamic Republic to work in exile, most notable living Iranian classical vocalists are, Sodeyf, Shajarian, Shahram Nazeri
12.
Armenian music
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The music of Armenia has its origins in the Armenian Highlands, where people traditionally sang popular folk songs. Armenia has a musical tradition that was primarily collected and developed by Komitas. Traditional Armenian folk music as well as Armenian church music is not based on the European tonal system but on a system of Tetrachords. The last note of one tetrachord also serves as the first note of the next tetrachord – which makes a lot of Armenian folk music more or less based on a theoretically endless scale, Armenians have had a long tradition of folk music from the antiquity. Under Soviet domination, Armenian folk music was taught in state-sponsored conservatoires, instruments played include qamancha, kanun, dhol, oud, duduk, zurna, blul, shvi and to a lesser degree saz. Other instruments are used such as violin and clarinet. Earlier in Armenian history, instruments like the kamancha were played by popular, sayat Nova, an 18th-century Ashough, is revered in Armenia. Another oud player, John Berberian, is noted in particular for his fusions of music with jazz. From Lebanon and Syria, George Tutunjian, Karnig Sarkissian and others performed Armenian Revolutionary Songs which quickly became popular among the Armenian Diaspora, in Tehran Iran the folk music of the Armenian community is characterized by the work of Nikol Galanderian and the Goghtan choir. There are several folk ensembles from Armenia, the Shoghaken Folk Ensemble, founded in 1995 in Yerevan, has worldwide popularity, and others such as the Arev Armenian Folk Ensemble. Arto Tunçboyacıyan is a well known Turkish musician of Armenian descent, who is famous in Turkey and worldwide and he was the founder of the Armenian Navy Band. Ruben Hakobyan is a well recognized Armenian ethnographic and patriotic folk singer who has achieved national recognition due to his devotion to Armenian folk music. Armenian classical composers include Kemani Tatyos Ekserciyan, one of the composers of Ottoman classical music. Alexander Spendiarov, Armen Tigranian, and Haro Stepanian are best known for their Armenian operas, sargis Barkhudaryan and Caro Zakarian are representative composers of the pre- and early Soviet Armenian era. The most famous, however, was Aram Khatchaturian, internationally well known especially for his music for various ballets, gevorg Armenian, Anahit Tsitsikian, Arno Babadjanyan, Barseg Kanatchian, Edward Mirzoyan, Boris Parsadanian, Ashot Zohrabyan, and Aram Satian represent other Soviet era Armenian composers. Iosif Andriasovs music and ethics made him recognized as one of the most important figures in contemporary culture. Alexander Arutiunian is best known for his Trumpet Concerto in A-flat major, alexander Dolukhanian composed/arranged numerous Armenian songs including the well-known Swallow. Alexander Adgemian, Ashot Satian and Vagarshak Kotoyan are known for their contributions to Armenian choral and vocal music, eduard Abramian wrote songs on the poetry of Armenian poets Hovhannes Tumanyan and Avetik Isahakian which are now part of the standard repertoire
13.
Azerbaijani Music
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Azerbaijani music is the musical tradition of the Azeri people, from Azerbaijan and Iranian Azerbaijan. It builds on folk traditions that reach back nearly 1,000 years, for centuries, Azer music has evolved under the badge of monody, producing rhythmically diverse melodies. Music from Azerbaijan has a branch system, where chromatisation of major and minor scales is of great importance. In 1920, Azerbaijani classical music had undergone a renaissance and Baku Academy of Music was founded to give classical musicians the same support as folk musicians, modern day advocates of Western classical music in Azerbaijani include Farhad Badalbeyli, Fidan Gasimova and Franghiz Alizadeh. Beginning in 1900, opera troupes toured Baku on a yearly basis, most songs recount stories of real life events and Azerbaijani folklore, or have developed through song contests between troubadour poets. Corresponding to their origins, folk songs are played at weddings, funerals. Regional folk music generally accompanies folk dances, which vary significantly across regions, the regional mood also affects the subject of the folk songs, e. g. folk songs from the Caspian Sea are lively in general and express the customs of the region. Songs about betrayal have an air of defiance about them instead of sadness, as this genre is viewed as a music of the people, musicians in socialist movements began to adapt folk music with contemporary sounds and arrangements in the form of protest music. Other instruments include the garmon, tutek, and daf, due to the cultural crossbreeding prevalent during the Ottoman Empire, the tutek has influenced various cultures in the Caucasus region, e. g. the duduks. The zurna and naghara duo is also popular in rural areas, Ashiqs are traveling bards who sing and play the saz, a form of lute. Their songs are semi-improvised around a common base and this art is one of the symbols of Azerbaijani culture and considered an emblem of national identity and the guardian of Azerbaijani language, literature and music. Since 2009 the art of Azerbaijani Ashiqs has been inscribed on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, meykhana is a distinctive Azerbaijani literary and folk rap tradition, consisting of an unaccompanied song performed by one or more people improvising on a particular subject. Meykhana is distinct from spoken word poetry in that it is performed in time to a beat, performers also incorporate synthesizers, drum machines, and live bands. Meykhana masters may write, memorize, or improvise their lyrics, Mugham is one of the many folk musical compositions from Azerbaijan, contrast with Tasnif, Ashugs. It is a complex art form that weds classical poetry. Unlike Western modes, mugham modes are associated not only with scales but with an orally transmitted collection of melodies, Mugham is a compound composition of many parts. The choice of a particular mugham and a style of performance fits a specific event, the dramatic unfolding in performance is typically associated with increasing intensity and rising pitches, and a form of poetic-musical communication between performers and initiated listeners. Three major schools of mugham performance existed from the late 19th and early 20th centuries - the region of Garabagh, Shirvan, the town of Shusha of Karabakh was particularly renowned for this art
14.
Turkish music
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Much of its modern popular music can trace its roots to the emergence in the early 1930s drive for Westernization. With the assimilation of immigrants from various regions the diversity of musical genres, Turkey has also seen documented folk music and recorded popular music produced in the ethnic styles of Greek, Armenian, Albanian, Polish, Azeri and Jewish communities, among others. Many Turkish cities and towns have vibrant local music scenes which, in turn, despite this however, western-style pop music lost popularity to arabesque in the late 70s and 80s, with even its greatest proponents Ajda Pekkan and Sezen Aksu falling in status. It became popular again by the beginning of the 1990s, as a result of an opening economy, with the support of Aksu, the resurging popularity of pop music gave rise to several international Turkish pop stars such as Tarkan and Sertab Erener. Ottoman court music has a large and varied system of modes or scales known as makams, a number of notation systems were used for transcribing classical music, the most dominant being the Hamparsum notation in use until the gradual introduction of western notation. Turkish classical music is taught in conservatories and social clubs, the most respected of which is Istanbuls Üsküdar Musiki Cemiyeti, a full fasıl concert would include four different instrumental forms and three vocal forms, including a light classical song, şarkı. A strictly classical fasıl remains is the same throughout, from the introductory taksim. Composers and Performers Other famous proponents of this genre include Sufi Dede Efendi, Prince Cantemir, Baba Hamparsum, Kemani Tatyos Efendi, Sultan Selim III, the most popular modern Turkish classical singer is Münir Nurettin Selçuk, who was the first to establish a lead singer position. Other performers include Bülent Ersoy, Zeki Müren, Müzeyyen Senar, from the makams of the royal courts to the melodies of the royal harems, a type of dance music emerged that was different from the oyun havası of fasıl music. In the Ottoman Empire, the harem was that part of a house set apart for the women of the family and it was a place in which non-family males were not allowed. Eunuchs guarded the sultans harems, which were large, including several hundred women who were wives and concubines. There, female dancers and musicians entertained the women living in the harem, belly dance was performed by women for women. This female dancer, known as a rakkase, hardly ever appeared in public and this type of harem music was taken out of the sultans private living quarters and to the public by male street entertainers and hired dancers of the Ottoman Empire, the male rakkas. These dancers performed publicly for wedding celebrations, feasts, festivals, modern oriental dance in Turkey is derived from this tradition of the Ottoman rakkas. However, Çiftetelli is now a form of music, with names of songs that describe their local origins. Dancers are also known for their use of finger cymbals as instruments. Romani are known throughout Turkey for their musicianship and their urban music brought echoes of classical Turkish music to the public via the meyhane or taverna. This type of music with food and alcoholic beverages is often associated with the underclass of Turkish society
15.
Kurdish Music
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Kurdish music refers to music performed in Kurdish language. Traditionally, there are three types of Kurdish Classical performers - storytellers, minstrels and bards, there was no specific music related to the Kurdish princely courts, and instead, music performed in night gatherings is considered classical. Several musical forms are found in this genre, many songs are epic in nature, such as the popular Lawiks which are heroic ballads recounting the tales of Kurdish heroes such as Saladin. Heyrans are love ballads usually expressing the melancholy of separation and unfulfilled love, lawje is a form of religious music and Payizoks are songs performed specifically in autumn. Love songs, dance music, wedding and other songs, erotic poetry. Another style of singing that originated as practice to recite hymns in both Zoroastrian and Islamic Sufi faiths is Siya Cheman and this style is practiced mostly in the mountainous subregion of Hewraman in the Hewrami dialect. However, some artists, have adopted the style and blended it with other Kurdish music. Siya Cheman can also be classified as çîrokbêj because it is used to for storytelling. Musical instruments include the tembûr, biziq, qernête and bilûr in northern and western Kurdistan, şimşal, cûzele, kemençe and def in the south, zirne and dahol are found in all parts of Kurdistan. The most frequently used song form has two verses with ten syllable lines, Kurdish songs are characterized by their simple melodies, with a range of only four or five notes. The sufi music of the Yarsanî sect with its 72 meqams is thought to be one of the most authentic, the Kamkars from the city of Sanandaj is a leading ensemble in Kurdish music today. They are internationally renowned for their performance of Kurdish folk music and with great dynamism, some members of the group, including Arsalan and Hooshang Kamkar, have also worked individually and produced successful works. Nasir Razazî, who now resides in Sweden, performs Kurdish music from all genres, ali Akbar Moradi is the greatest master of the religious tembûr music of the Yarsan sect to which he belongs. Aras Ibrahim, the violinist, built martyr Karzan music group in 1981 which was the group who could record revolutionary songs in the mountain in the PUK released areas of Kurdistan. The group recorded 5 cassettes and published them, in 1990, the group participated in the First festival of Halabja & Nawroz in Saqz-Iran with the famous coral of Halabja which was about the chemical weapon used against the Kurds there. Despite the lack of any musical educational infrastructure, several famous Kurdish musicians arose from Syria, gerabêtê Xaço was a great classical stranbêj, Muradê Kinê was another great stranbêj and kemençe player. Seîd Yûsif is acclaimed for his virtuosity on the biziq and his authentic teqsîms. Mihemed Şêxo was a master of symbolic nationalistic lyrics who was imprisoned several times for expressing his opinion through his songs
16.
Byzantine lyra
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The Byzantine lyra or lira was a medieval bowed string musical instrument in the Byzantine Empire. In its popular form the lyra was an instrument with three to five strings, held upright and played by stopping the strings from the side with fingernails. Remains of two examples of Byzantine lyras from the Middle ages have been found in excavations at Novgorod. The first known depiction of the instrument is on a Byzantine ivory casket, a notable example is the Italian lira da braccio, a 15th-century bowed string instrument which is considered by many as the predecessor of the contemporary violin. The Byzantine lyra had rear tuning pegs set in a flat peg similarly to the fiddle and unlike the rabāb. However, the strings were touched by the nails laterally and not pressed from above with the flesh of the such as in the violin. The lyra depicted on the Byzantine ivory casket of Museo Nazionale, the soundboard is depicted without soundholes and as a distinct and attached piece, however this might be due to stylistic abstraction. The lyras of Novgorod are closer morphologically to the present bowed lyras, they were pear-shaped and 40 cm long, they had semi-circular soundholes, the lyra of the Byzantine empire survives in many post-Byzantine regions until the present day even closely to its archetype form. The gudok, a historical Russian instrument that survived until the 19th century, is also a variant of the Byzantine lyra, the slightly rounded body of the lyra is prolonged by a neck ending on the top in a block which is also pear-shaped or spherical. In that, are set the pegs facing and extending forward, the soundboard is also carved with a shallower arch and has two small semi-circular, D-shaped soundholes. The Cretan lyra is probably the most widely used surviving form of the Byzantine lyra, currently, numerous models tend to integrate the shape of the scroll, the finger board and other morphology of some secondary characteristics of the violin. On Concepts and Classifications of Musical Instruments, University of Chicago Press, ISBN 0-226-42548-7 Grillet, Laurent, Les ancetres du violon v.1, Paris
17.
Violin
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The violin is a wooden string instrument in the violin family. It is the smallest and highest-pitched instrument in the family in regular use, smaller violin-type instruments are known, including the violino piccolo and the kit violin, but these are virtually unused in the 2010s. The violin typically has four strings tuned in fifths, and is most commonly played by drawing a bow across its strings. Violins are important instruments in a variety of musical genres. They are most prominent in the Western classical tradition and in varieties of folk music. They are also used in genres of folk including country music and bluegrass music. Electric violins are used in forms of rock music, further. The violin is sometimes called a fiddle, particularly in Irish traditional music and bluegrass. The violin was first known in 16th-century Italy, with further modifications occurring in the 18th and 19th centuries. In Europe it served as the basis for stringed instruments used in classical music, the viola. According to their reputation, the quality of their sound has defied attempts to explain or equal it, many of these trade instruments were formerly sold by Sears, Roebuck and Co. and other mass merchandisers. A person who makes or repairs violins is called a luthier or violinmaker, the parts of a violin are usually made from different types of wood and on the use of a pickup and an amplifier and speaker). Violins can be strung with gut, Perlon or other synthetic, the earliest stringed instruments were mostly plucked. Similar and variant types were probably disseminated along East-West trading routes from Asia into the Middle East, the first makers of violins probably borrowed from various developments of the Byzantine lira. These included the rebec, the Arabic rebab, the vielle, the earliest pictures of violins, albeit with three strings, are seen in northern Italy around 1530, at around the same time as the words violino and vyollon are seen in Italian and French documents. One of the earliest explicit descriptions of the instrument, including its tuning, is from the Epitome musical by Jambe de Fer, by this time, the violin had already begun to spread throughout Europe. The violin proved very popular, both among street musicians and the nobility, the French king Charles IX ordered Andrea Amati to construct 24 violins for him in 1560, one of these noble instruments, the Charles IX, is the oldest surviving violin. The Messiah or Le Messie made by Antonio Stradivari in 1716 remains pristine and it is now located in the Ashmolean Museum of Oxford
18.
Bow (music)
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In music, a bow is a tensioned stick with hair affixed to it which is moved across some part of a musical instrument causing vibration, which the instrument emits as sound. The vast majority of bows are used with string instruments, such as the violin, although some bows are used with musical saws and other bowed idiophones. A bow consists of a specially shaped stick with other material forming a ribbon stretched between its ends, which is used to stroke the string and create sound, different musical cultures have adopted various designs for the bow. For instance, in some bows a single cord is stretched between the ends of the stick, in the Western tradition of bow making—bows for the instruments of the violin and viol families—a hank of horsehair is normally employed. The manufacture of bows is considered a craft, and well-made bows command high prices. Part of the bow makers skill is the ability to high quality material for the stick. Historically, Western bows have been made of wood from Brazil. Carbon fiber bows have become popular, and some of the better carbon fiber bows are now comparable to fine pernambuco sticks. For the frog, which holds and adjusts the near end of the horsehair, ebony is most often used, but other materials, often decorative, were used as well, such as ivory and tortoiseshell. Materials such as mother of pearl or abalone shell are used on the slide which covers the mortise. Sometimes Parisian eyes are used, with the circle of shell surrounded by a metal ring, near the frog is the grip, which is made of a wire, silk, or whalebone wrap and a thumb cushion made of leather or snakeskin. The tip plate of the bow may be made of bone, ivory, mammoth ivory, or metal, a bow maker or archetier typically uses between 150 and 200 hairs from the tail of a horse for a violin bow. Bows for other members of the family typically have a wider ribbon. There is a widely held belief among string players, neither proven nor disproven scientifically, lower quality bows often use nylon or synthetic hair. Rosin, or colophony, a hard, sticky substance made from resin, is applied to the bow hair to increase friction. In making a bow, the greater part of the woodworking is done on a straight stick. According to James McKean, the bow maker graduates the stick in precise gradations so that it is evenly flexible throughout and these gradations were originally calculated by François Tourte, discussed below. In order to shape the curve or camber of the bow stick, the maker carefully heats the stick in an alcohol flame, a metal or wooden template is used to get the models exact curve and shape while heating
19.
Sayat-Nova
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Sayat-Nova was an Armenian poet, musician and ashik, who had compositions in a number of languages. His songs are in Armenian, Georgian, Azerbaijani, and Persian, the name Sayat-Nova means King of Songs in Persian. Sayat-Novas mother, Sara, was born in Tiflis, and his father, Karapet, Sayat Nova was skilled in writing poetry, singing, and playing the kamancheh, Chonguri, Tambur. He lost his position at the court when he fell in love with the kings sister Ana. In 1759 he was ordained as a priest in the Armenian Apostolic Church and his wife Marmar died in 1768, leaving behind four children. He served in locations including Tiflis and Haghpat Monastery, in 1795 he was killed in Haghpat Monastery by the invading army of Mohammad Khan Qajar, the Shah of Iran. Khan demanded that Sayat Nova convert from Christianity to Islam, which he refused to do, considering it tantamount to turning Turk, hence he was promptly executed and beheaded. He is buried at the Cathedral of Saint George, Tbilisi, in Armenia, Sayat Nova is considered a great poet who made a considerable contribution to the Armenian poetry and music of his century. Although he lived his life in a deeply religious society, his works are mostly secular. About 220 songs have been attributed to Sayat-Nova, although he may have written thousands more and he wrote his songs in Armenian, Georgian, Persian, however, most of his extant songs are in Azeri Turkish. Sayat Nova had also some poems moving between all four. Sayat Nova Dance Company of Boston is named after him, the 1969 Armenian film Sayat Nova directed by Sergei Parajanov follows the poets path from his childhood wool-dyeing days to his role as a courtier and finally his life as a monk. It was released in the United States under the title The Color of Pomegranates and it is not a biography of Sayat Nova, but a series of tableaux vivants of Armenian costume, embroidery and religious rituals depicting scenes and verses from the poets life. A book on his life and work by Charles Dowsett was published in 1997 titled Sayat-nova, An 18th-century Troubadour, a Biographical and Literary Study. There is a street and a school named after him in Yerevan, Armenia, an Armenian-American dance ensemble in the United States. A brand of Armenian Cognac is named after him
20.
Safavid dynasty
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The Safavid dynasty was one of the most significant ruling dynasties of Iran, often considered the beginning of modern Iranian history. The Safavid shahs ruled over one of the so-called gunpowder empires, the Safavid dynasty had its origin in the Safaviyya Sufi order, which was established in the city of Ardabil in the Azerbaijan region. The Safavids have also left their mark down to the present era by spreading Shia Islam in Iran, as well as parts of the Caucasus, Anatolia. The Safavid Kings themselves claimed to be Seyyeds, family descendants of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, There seems now to be a consensus among scholars that the Safavid family hailed from Persian Kurdistan, and later moved to Azerbaijan, finally settling in the 11th century CE at Ardabil. Traditional pre-1501 Safavid manuscripts trace the lineage of the Safavids to the Kurdish dignitary, a massive migration of Oghuz Turks in the 11th and 12th centuries not only Turkified Azerbaijan but also Anatolia. The Azeri Turks are Shiʿites and were founders of the Safavid dynasty, by the time of the establishment of the Safavid empire, the members of the family were native Turkish-speaking and Turkicized, and some of the Shahs composed poems in their native Turkish language. Furthermore, the dynasty was from the very start thoroughly intermarried with both Pontic Greek as well as Georgian lines, Safavid history begins with the establishment of the Safaviyya by its eponymous founder Safi-ad-din Ardabili. In 700/1301, Safi al-Din assumed the leadership of the Zahediyeh, due to the great spiritual charisma of Safi al-Din, the order was later known as the Safaviyya. The Safavid order soon gained great influence in the city of Ardabil, after Safī al-Dīn, the leadership of the Safaviyya passed to Sadr al-Dīn Mūsā. The leadership of the order passed from Sadr ud-Dīn Mūsā to his son Khwādja Ali, when Shaykh Junayd, the son of Ibrāhim, assumed the leadership of the Safaviyya in 1447, the history of the Safavid movement was radically changed. Savory, Sheikh Junayd was not content with spiritual authority and he sought material power, Junayd sought refuge with the rival of Kara Koyunlu Jahan Shah, the Aq Qoyunlu Khan Uzun Hassan, and cemented his relationship by marrying Uzun Hassans sister, Khadija Begum. Junayd was killed during an incursion into the territories of the Shirvanshah and was succeeded by his son Haydar Safavi, Haydar married Martha Alamshah Begom, Uzun Hassans daughter, who gave birth to Ismail I, founder of the Safavid dynasty. Marthas mother Theodora—better known as Despina Khatun—was a Pontic Greek princess and she had been married to Uzun Hassan in exchange for protection of the Grand Komnenos from the Ottomans. After Uzun Hassans death, his son Yaqub felt threatened by the growing Safavid religious influence, Yaqub allied himself with the Shirvanshah and killed Haydar in 1488. By this time, the bulk of the Safaviyya were nomadic Oghuz Turkic-speaking clans from Asia Minor, the Qizilbash were warriors, spiritual followers of Haydar, and a source of the Safavid military and political power. After the death of Haydar, the Safaviyya gathered around his son Ali Mirza Safavi, according to official Safavid history, before passing away, Ali had designated his young brother Ismail as the spiritual leader of the Safaviyya. After the decline of the Timurid Empire, Persia was politically splintered, the demise of Tamerlanes political authority created a space in which several religious communities, particularly Shi’i ones, could come to the fore and gain prominence. Among these were a number of Sufi brotherhoods, the Hurufis, Nuqtawis, of these various movements, the Safavid Qizilbash was the most politically resilient, and due to its success Shah Isma’il I gained political prominence in 1501
21.
Qajar dynasty
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The Qajar dynasty was an Iranian royal dynasty of Turkic origin, specifically from the Qajar tribe, which ruled Persia from 1785 to 1925. The state ruled by the dynasty was known as the Sublime State of Iran. The Qajar family took control of Iran in 1794, deposing Lotf Ali Khan, the last of the Zand dynasty. In the Caucasus, the Qajar dynasty permanently lost many of Irans integral areas to the Russians over the course of the 19th century, comprising modern-day Georgia, Dagestan, Azerbaijan, and Armenia. The Qajar rulers were members of the Karagöz or Black-Eye sect of the Qajars, Qajars first settled during the Mongol period in the vicinity of Armenia and were among the seven Qizilbash tribes that supported the Safavids. The Safavids left Arran to local Turkic khans, and, in 1554 Ganja was governed by Shahverdi Soltan Ziyadoglu Qajar, Qajars filled a number of diplomatic missions and governorships in the 16–17th centuries for the Safavids. The Qajars were resettled by Shah Abbas I throughout Iran, the great number of them also settled in Astarabad near the south-eastern corner of the Caspian Sea, and it would be this branch of Qajars that would rise to power. The immediate ancestor of the Qajar dynasty, Shah Qoli Khan of the Quvanlu of Ganja and his son, Fath Ali Khan was a renowned military commander during the rule of the Safavid shahs Sultan Husayn and Tahmasp II. He was killed on the orders of Shah Nader Shah in 1726, Fath Ali Khans son Mohammad Hasan Khan Qajar was the father of Mohammad Khan Qajar and Hossein Qoli Khan, father of Baba Khan, the future Fath-Ali Shah Qajar. Mohammad Hasan Khan was killed on the orders of Karim Khan of the Zand dynasty, like virtually every dynasty that ruled Persia since the 11th century, the Qajars came to power with the backing of Turkic tribal forces, while using educated Persians in their bureaucracy. In 1779 following the death of Karim Khan of the Zand dynasty, Mohammad Khan Qajar, Mohammad Khan was known as one of the cruelest kings, even by the standards of 18th century Iran. In his quest for power, he razed cities, massacred entire populations, the Qajar armies at that time were mostly composed of Turkomans and Georgian slaves. By 1794, Mohammad Khan had eliminated all his rivals, including Lotf Ali Khan and he reestablished Persian control over the territories in the entire Caucasus. Agha Mohammad established his capital at Tehran, a village near the ruins of the ancient city of Rayy, in 1796, he was formally crowned as shah. In 1797, Mohammad Khan Qajar was assassinated in Shusha, the capital of Karabakh Khanate, between 1747 and 1795, Erekle was, therefore, by the turn of events in Iran following the ongoing turmoil there, able to maintain Georgias autonomy through the Zand period. In 1783, Heraclius placed his kingdom under the protection of the Russian Empire in the Treaty of Georgievsk. In the last few decades of the 18th century, Georgia had become an important element in Russo-Iranian relations than some provinces in northern mainland Persia. On top of that, having another port on the Georgian coast of the Black Sea would be ideal, the consequences of these events came a few years later, when a new Iranian dynasty under the Qajars, emerged victorious in the protracted power struggle in Persia
22.
Abbas II of Persia
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Sultan Muhammad Mirza, better known by his dynastic name of Shah Abbas II, was the seventh Safavid king of Iran, ruling from 1642 to 1666. Abbas II was born in Qazvin with the name of Sultan Muhammad Mirza and he was the son of Shah Safi I and a Circassian, Anna Khanum. He was the oldest of five brothers, not much is known about Muhammad Mirzas youth, except that he spent his youth in the Safavid harem, and was tutored by his mentor Rajab Ali Tabrizi. He also learned how to maintain order over a state and other matters by two other nobles named Muhammad-Ali Beg and Jani Khan Shamlu. On 15 May 1642, at Kashan, Muhammad Mirza was crowned as shah of Iran, Anna Khanum and Saru Taqi worked closely together, and under them Iran was in secure hands. The French traveller Jean Chardin noted their close working relationship, saying, After one year had passed, during the same year, the powerful general Rustam Khan, refused to obey Safavid orders, and marched towards Isfahan to depose Abbas II. However, Saru Taqi managed to have him killed at Mashhad, in 1644, some Bakhtiari tribes rebelled against Abbas II. The rebellion, however, was suppressed by Saru Taqi. Saru Taqi led a drive against corruption and, as a result, on 11 October 1645 he was assassinated by a group of army officers. Abbas II then appointed Khalifa Sultan as his grand vizier on October 14, Khalifa Sultan had at first declined the offer, but quickly alter accepted. Unlike his father, Abbas II took an active interest in government, Abbas II then appointed the Georgian ghulam Mihrab Khan as the governor of the city. The Mughals attempted to retake the city in 1651 but the arrival of winter forced them to suspend the siege, the Mughal ruler Shah Jahan then sent his son Aurangzeb with an army of 50,000 soldiers to recapture Kandahar. Although Aurangzeb defeated Abbas II outside the city, he was unable to take it and his artillery train proved not up to the task. Aurangzeb attempted to take the city again in 1652. In the meantime, Abdul Aziz, the Uzbek ruler of Bukhara, had entered into an alliance with Abbas II, and in May 1652, he dispatched 10,000 troops to Kabul to harass the Mughal supply lines. Though not strong enough to lift the siege, the Uzbek threatened a Mughal convoy of 2,000 troops who were escorting one, after two months of fighting Safavid resistance, along with the growing activities of the Uzbeks, Aurangzeb was forced to abandon the campaign. In 1653, the Mughals tried to take it once again, the city would subsequently remain in Safavid hands until its fall in 1736. The Safavid influence prior to the war extended to the tenure of the Kumyks in Dagestan
23.
Turkestan
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Turkestan, also spelled Turkistan, literally means Land of the Turks in Persian. It refers to an area in Central Asia between Siberia to the north and Tibet, India and Afghanistan to the south, the Caspian Sea to the west, of Persian origin, the term Turkestan has never referred to a single national state. Muslim geographers first used the word to describe the place of Turkic peoples, Turkestan was used to describe any place where Turkic peoples lived. Anatolia during Ottoman rule was referred to as Turkestan by Ottoman writers, on their way southward during the conquest of Central Asia in the course of the 19th century, the Russians took the city of Turkestan in 1864. Mistaking its name for that of the region, they adopted the name of Turkestan for their new territory. It includes present-day Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Xinjiang. Often, the history of Turkestan dates back to at least the third millennium BC. Many artifacts were produced in that period, and much trade was conducted, the region was a focal point for cultural diffusion, as the Silk Road traversed it. Turkestan covers the area of Central Asia and acquired its Turkic character from the 4th to 6th centuries AD with the incipient Turkic expansion, Huns conquered the area after they conquered Kashgaria in the early 2nd century BC. With the dissolution of the Huns empire, Chinese rulers took over Eastern Turkestan, arab forces captured it in the 8th century. The Persian Samanid dynasty subsequently conquered it and the area experienced economic success, the entire territory was held at various times by Turkic forces, such as the Göktürks until the conquest by Genghis Khan and the Mongols in 1220. Genghis Khan gave the territory to his son, Chagatai and the became the Chagatai Khanate. Timur took over the portion of Turkestan in 1369 and the area became part of the Timurid Empire. Eastern portion of Turkestan was also called Mogulistan, and continued to be ruled by descendants of Genghis Khan, known as Turan to the Persians, western Turkestan has also been known historically as Sogdiana, Ma waraun-nahr, and Transoxiana by Western travellers. Tajiks and Russians form sizable non-Turkic minorities and it is subdivided into Afghan Turkestan and Russian Turkestan in the West, and Xinjiang in the East. Aladdin, an Arabic Islamic story which is set in China, the title Malik al-Mashriq wal-Ṣīn was bestowed by the Abbāsid Caliph upon the Tamghaj Khan, the Samarqand Khaqan Yūsuf b. Western Liaos rule over Muslim Central Asia reinforced these Muslims view that Central Asia was a Chinese territory. For example, Turkestan and Chīn were identified with each other by Fakhr al-Dīn Mubārak Shāh, with China being identified as the country where the cities of Balāsāghūn, the Liao Chinese traditions and the Qara Khitais clinging helped the Qara Khitai avoid Islamization and conversion to Islam. The Qara Khitai used Chinese and Central Asian features in their administrative system, although in modern Urdu Chin means China, Chin referred to Central Asia in Muhammad Iqbals time, which is why Iqbal wrote that Chin is ours in his song Tarana-e-Milli
24.
Strings (music)
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A string is the vibrating element that produces sound in string instruments such as the guitar, harp, piano, and members of the violin family. Strings are lengths of a material that a musical instrument holds under tension so that they can vibrate freely. Wound strings have a core of one material, with an overwinding of other materials and this is to make the string vibrate at the desired pitch, while maintaining a low profile and sufficient flexibility for playability. This enabled stringed instruments to be made with less thick bass strings, on string instruments that the player plucks or bows directly, this enabled instrument makers to use thinner strings for the lowest-pitched strings, which made the lower-pitch strings easier to play. The end of the string that mounts to the tuning mechanism is usually plain. Depending on the instrument, the other, fixed end may have either a plain, loop. When a ball or loop is used with a guitar, this ensures that the string stays fixed in the bridge of the guitar, when a ball or loop is used with a violin-family instrument, this keeps the string end fixed in the tailpiece. Fender Bullet strings have a cylinder for more stable tuning on guitars equipped with synchronized tremolo systems. Strings for some instruments may be wrapped with silk at the ends to protect the string, the color and pattern of the silk often identifies attributes of the string, such as manufacturer, size, intended pitch, etc. There are several varieties of wound strings available, the simplest wound strings are roundwound—with round wire wrapped in a tight spiral around either a round or hexagonal core. Such strings are usually simple to manufacture and the least expensive and they have several drawbacks, however, Roundwound strings have a bumpy surface profile that produce friction on the players fingertips. This causes squeaking sounds when the fingers slide over the strings. Roundwound strings higher friction surface profile may hasten fingerboard and fret wear, when the core is round, the winding is less secure and may rotate freely around the core, especially if the winding is damaged after use. Flatwound strings also have either a round or hex core, however, the winding wire has a rounded square cross-section that has a shallower profile when tightly wound. This makes for more playing, and decreased wear for frets. Squeaking sounds due to fingers sliding along the strings are also decreased significantly, flatwound strings also have a longer playable life because of smaller grooves for dirt and oil to build up in. On the other hand, flatwound strings sound less bright than roundwounds, flatwounds also usually cost more than roundwounds because of less demand, less production, and higher overhead costs. Manufacturing is also difficult, as precise alignment of the flat sides of the winding must be maintained
25.
Tuning peg
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A tuning peg is used to hold a string in the pegbox of a stringed instrument. It may be made of ebony, rosewood, boxwood or other material, some tuning pegs are ornamented with shell, metal, or plastic inlays, beads or rings. Turning the peg tightens or loosens the string, changing the pitch produced when the string is played, a pegbox is the part of certain stringed musical instruments that houses the tuning pegs. Friction pegs are most often used on violin family instruments They are also used on instruments, such as the Bulgarian gadulka. A properly working peg will turn easily and hold reliably, that is, modern pegs for violin and viola have conical shafts, turned to a 1,30 taper, changing in diameter by 1 mm over a distance of 30 mm. The taper allows the peg to turn more easily pulled out slightly. Peg dope is a used to coat the bearing surfaces of the tuning pegs of string instruments. Manufactured varieties are sold in either a small stick, a block. A commonly used home expedient treatment involves soap and chalk, in varying proportion depending on whether the peg tends to slip or stick, Peg dope serves two different purposes. It both lubricates the peg shaft so it easily in the pegbox and provides friction to keep the pegs from slipping with the force of string tension. Tuning pegs that are fitted and properly doped will both turn smoothly throughout an entire rotation and hold firmly wherever the player wishes. Without the proper amount of friction to hold the peg in place, string instruments with pegs that are slipping can be tuned briefly, but will be out of tune within minutes as soon as the peg slips again. With too much friction, adjusting the tuning at all is impossible, if the pegs or their holes are not perfectly round, or if the bearing surfaces of the pegs are indented from wear, peg dope will not remedy the resulting problems. Pegs for double bass and guitar family instruments are usually geared, machine head Peg shapers and pegbox reamers in various tapers
26.
Gourd
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A gourd is a plant of the family Cucurbitaceae, particularly Cucurbita and Lagenaria or the fruit of the two genera of Bignoniaceae calabash tree, Crescentia and Amphitecna. The term refers to a number of species and subspecies, many with hard shells, likely one of the earliest domesticated types of plants, subspecies of the bottle gourd, Lagenaria siceraria, have been discovered in archaeological sites dating from as early as 13,000 BC. Gourds have had numerous uses throughout history, including as tools, musical instruments, objects of art, film, gourd is occasionally used to describe crop plants in the family Cucurbitaceae, like pumpkins, cucumbers, squash, luffa, and melons. More specifically, gourd refers to the fruits of plants in the two Cucurbitaceae genera Lagenaria and Cucurbita, or also to their hollow, dried-out shell, a gourd can also have a hard shell when dehydrated. There are many different gourds worldwide, the main plants referred to as gourds include several species from the Cucurbita genus, Crescentia cujete and Lagenaria siceraria. The bitter melon/balsam apple/balsam pear is also referred to as a gourd. L. siceraria was brought to Europe and the Americas very early in history, being found in Peruvian archaeological sites dating from 13,000 to 11,000 BC and Thailand sites from 11,000 to 6,000 BC. The gourds found in the Americas appear to have come from the Asian subspecies, very early in history, a new study now indicates Africa. The archaeological and DNA records show it likely that the gourd was among the first domesticated species, gourds continued to be used throughout history, in almost every culture throughout the world. European contact in North America found extensive use, including the use of bottle gourds as birdhouses to attract purple martins. Almost every culture had musical instruments made of gourds, including drums, stringed instruments common to Africa and wind instruments and these include Teasle gourd, Spine gourd, Sweet gourd, balsam apple and Momordica sahyadrica. Cultures from arid regions often associated gourds with water, and they appear in creation myths. Since the beginning of their history, they have had a multitude of uses, including food, kitchen tools, toys, musical instruments and decoration. Today, gourds are used for a wide variety of crafts, including jewelry, furniture, dishes, utensils. The Chinese developed a technique of tying a two-part mould around young gourds, or a part of them, so that the gourd grew into the mould, shaped gourds had various decorative uses, especially as boxes, bottles and other containers. The Luffa gourds, Luffa aegyptiaca and Luffa acutangula, have been used throughout recent history as scrubbing sponge and this is prepared by removing the skin and pulp from the gourd, and bleaching the fibers. A güiro is a Latin American percussion instrument made from a gourd, maracas are percussion instruments often made from gourds. A sitar is a stringed instrument, parts of which are made from gourds
27.
Cello
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The cello or violoncello is a bowed or plucked string instrument with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. The strings from low to high are generally tuned to C2, G2, D3 and A3 and it is a member of the violin family of musical instruments, which also includes the violin and viola and the double bass. The cello is used as a musical instrument, as well as in chamber music ensembles, string orchestras, as a member of the string section of symphony orchestras. It is the second-largest and second lowest bowed string instrument in the symphony orchestra. Cello parts are written in the bass clef, but both tenor clef and treble clefs are used for higher-range parts, both in orchestral/chamber music parts and in solo cello works. A person who plays the cello is called a cellist or violoncellist, in a small Classical ensemble, such as a string quartet, the cello typically plays the bass part, the lowest-pitched musical line of the piece. In orchestra, in Baroque era and Classical music period, the cello plays the bass part. In Baroque era music, the cello is used to play the basso continuo bassline, in a Baroque performance, the cello player might be joined by other bass instruments, playing double bass, viol or other low-register instruments. The name cello is a contraction of the Italian violoncello, which means little violone, in modern symphony orchestras, it is the second largest stringed instrument. Thus, the name contained both the augmentative -one and the diminutive -cello. By the turn of the 20th century, it had become common to shorten the name to cello and it is now customary to use cello without apostrophe as the full designation. Viol is derived from the viola, which was derived from Medieval Latin vitula. Cellos are tuned in fifths, starting with C2, followed by G2, D3 and it is tuned in the same intervals as the viola, but an octave lower. Unlike the violin or viola but similar to the double bass, the cello is most closely associated with European classical music, and has been described as the closest sounding instrument to the human voice. The instrument is a part of the orchestra, as part of the string section. A large number of concertos and sonatas have been written for the cello, among the most well-known Baroque works for the cello are Johann Sebastian Bachs six unaccompanied Suites. The Prelude from the First Suite is particularly famous, romantic era repertoire includes the Robert Schumann Concerto, the Antonín Dvořák Concerto as well as the two sonatas and the Double Concerto by Johannes Brahms. The cello is increasingly common in traditional music, especially Scottish fiddle music
28.
Viola
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The viola is a string instrument that is bowed or played with varying techniques. It is slightly larger than a violin and has a lower and deeper sound. Since the 18th century it has been the middle or alto voice of the family, between the violin and the cello. The strings from low to high are generally tuned to C3, G3, D4. In the past, the viola varied in size and style as did its names, the Italians often used the term, viola da braccio meaning literally, of the arm. Brazzo was another Italian word referring to the viola which the Germans adopted in the form, the French had their own names, Cinquiesme was a small viola, Haute Contre was a large viola and Taile meant Tenor. In the modern era, the French use the term Alto, the viola had enjoyed popularity in the heyday of five-part harmony up until the eighteenth century, taking three lines of the harmony and occasionally playing the melody line. Music that is written for the viola differs from that of most other instruments in that it uses the alto clef. Viola music switches to the treble clef when there are sections of music written in a higher register to make the notes easier to read. The viola often plays the voices in string quartets and symphonic writing. The viola occasionally plays a major, soloistic role in orchestral music, examples include Don Quixote by Richard Strauss and Harold en Italie by Hector Berlioz. In the earlier part of the 20th century, more composers began to write for the viola, encouraged by the emergence of specialized soloists such as Lionel Tertis and William Primrose. English composers Arthur Bliss, York Bowen, Benjamin Dale, Frank Bridge, Benjamin Britten and Ralph Vaughan Williams all wrote substantial chamber, many of these pieces were commissioned by, or written for Lionel Tertis. William Walton, Bohuslav Martinů, Toru Takemitsu, Tibor Serly, Alfred Schnittke, Paul Hindemith wrote a substantial amount of music for viola, including the concerto Der Schwanendreher. The concerti by Paul Hindemith, Béla Bartók, and William Walton are the big three of viola repertoire, the viola is similar in material and construction to the violin. A full-size violas body is between 25 mm and 100 mm longer than the body of a violin, with an average length of 41 cm. Small violas typically made for children typically start at 30 cm, for a child who needs a smaller size, a fractional-sized violin is often strung with the strings of a viola. Unlike the violin, the viola does not have a full size. The body of a viola would need to measure about 51 cm long to match the acoustics of a violin, there have been several experiments intended to increase the size of the viola, in the interest of improving the instruments sound
29.
Music of Iran
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Music of Iran or Music of Persia, as evidenced by the archaeological records of the Fertile Crescent civilization of Elam, the most ancient culture in southwestern Iran, dates back thousands of years. In ancient Iran musicians held socially respectable positions and we know that the Elamites and the Achaemenid Empire certainly made use of musicians but we do not know what that music was like. During the Parthian era, troubadours or Gosans were highly sought after as entertainers, there are theories in Academia that perhaps the early Dari Poets of Eastern Iran like Roudaki were in fact Gosans. The history of performance in Sassanid Iran is however better documented than earlier periods. This is especially evident in the context of Zoroastrian ritual. By the time of Khosrau II the Sassanid royal court was the host of prominent musicians such as Ramtin, Bamshad, Nakisa, Azad, Sarkash, among these survived names, Barbad is remembered in much documents and has been named as remarkably high skilled. He has been credited to have given an organization of musical system consisting of seven Royal modes named Xosrovani, thirty derived modes named lahn and these numbers are in accordance with Sassanids calendar of number of days in a week, month, and year. The theories these modal systems were based on are not known, there are also some of a descriptive nature like roshan cheragh. The relief depicts two boats and the picture shows these boats at two successive moments within the same panel. Barbad may have invented the lute and the tradition that was to transform into the Maqam tradition. Even after Islam, Persian musicians did not disappear, Zaryab is often credited with being the greatest influence over Andalusian, Farabi and Avicenna were not only musical theorists but adept at the lute and the Ney, respectively. The position of a work of music often depends on the music genre. The academic Authentic Persian Music is strongly based on the theories of aesthetics as expounded by the likes of Farabi. It also preserves melodic formula that are attributed to the musicians of the Persian imperial court of Khosroe Parviz in the Sassanid Period. However, the influence of Dastgah cannot be underestimated as it is seen as the reservoir of authenticity that other forms of musical genres derive melodic and performance ideas, Persian classical music goes back a long way. Musicians like Barbad were legendary in the empire of the Sassanid era, until the early 20th century, musiqi-e assil was heard almost entirely at the royal courts of the monarchy. The renaissance brought popularity to the genre, Women were banned from singing as soloists for male audiences, though they were allowed to perform as soloists for female audiences, as instrumentalists and in choirs. For this reason some female singers, including Maryam Akhondy, left the Islamic Republic to work in exile, most notable living Iranian classical vocalists are, Sodeyf, Shajarian, Shahram Nazeri
30.
Byzantine lira
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The Byzantine lyra or lira was a medieval bowed string musical instrument in the Byzantine Empire. In its popular form the lyra was an instrument with three to five strings, held upright and played by stopping the strings from the side with fingernails. Remains of two examples of Byzantine lyras from the Middle ages have been found in excavations at Novgorod. The first known depiction of the instrument is on a Byzantine ivory casket, a notable example is the Italian lira da braccio, a 15th-century bowed string instrument which is considered by many as the predecessor of the contemporary violin. The Byzantine lyra had rear tuning pegs set in a flat peg similarly to the fiddle and unlike the rabāb. However, the strings were touched by the nails laterally and not pressed from above with the flesh of the such as in the violin. The lyra depicted on the Byzantine ivory casket of Museo Nazionale, the soundboard is depicted without soundholes and as a distinct and attached piece, however this might be due to stylistic abstraction. The lyras of Novgorod are closer morphologically to the present bowed lyras, they were pear-shaped and 40 cm long, they had semi-circular soundholes, the lyra of the Byzantine empire survives in many post-Byzantine regions until the present day even closely to its archetype form. The gudok, a historical Russian instrument that survived until the 19th century, is also a variant of the Byzantine lyra, the slightly rounded body of the lyra is prolonged by a neck ending on the top in a block which is also pear-shaped or spherical. In that, are set the pegs facing and extending forward, the soundboard is also carved with a shallower arch and has two small semi-circular, D-shaped soundholes. The Cretan lyra is probably the most widely used surviving form of the Byzantine lyra, currently, numerous models tend to integrate the shape of the scroll, the finger board and other morphology of some secondary characteristics of the violin. On Concepts and Classifications of Musical Instruments, University of Chicago Press, ISBN 0-226-42548-7 Grillet, Laurent, Les ancetres du violon v.1, Paris
31.
Haegeum
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The haegeum is a traditional Korean string instrument, resembling a fiddle. It is popularly known as kkangkkangi and it has a rodlike neck, a hollow wooden soundbox, and two silk strings, and is held vertically on the knee of the performer and played with a bow. The haegeum is one of the most widely used instruments in Korean music, the haegeum is used in court music as well as madangnori. The haegeums range of expression is various despite having two strings, with sounds ranging from sorrowful and sad to humorous. The haegeum is made using eight materials, gold, rock, thread, bamboo, gourd, soil, leather, and wood, and so it is called paleum. According to several sources, references to the haegeum can be found in hanlimbyeolgok made in the Goryeo dynasty, in the Joseon Dynasty, the haegeum was used in various music, that of royal ancestral rites, parades, festivals, and hyangak. The way the haegeum is played changed dramatically since the Joseon Dynasty, in the past, musicians plucked the string as it was tuned, but since that time they have begun pulling the string while they play it to express sound in many ways. To improve the ability of the haegeum, various modifications have been introduced since the 1960s. In 1965, Park Hun-bong and Kim Bun-gi developed a low-tune Haegeum, erhu Huqin Traditional Korean musical instruments Korean music Haegum photo Traditional Korean Instruments
32.
Silk Road Ensemble
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Silkroad, formerly the Silk Road Project, Inc. In 2009, Silkroad began a pilot program for middle-school students in New York City public schools. The program has continued each year since, in celebration of its 10th anniversary, Silkroad presented performances and programs by the Silk Road Ensemble in North America, Asia and Europe from 2008 to 2010. Its anniversary season began with the Silk Road Ensembles performance with Yo-Yo Ma of the United Nations Day Concert in October 2008, the organization has published a book, Along the Silk Road, and commissioned more than 70 new chamber music compositions. Silkroad has been affiliated with both Harvard University and the Rhode Island School of Design in the USA, where the Silk Road Ensemble engaged with faculty, silkroads partnership with Rhode Island School of Design took place from 2005 through 2010. The Music of Strangers, Yo-Yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble, is a documentary about Silkroad directed by Morgan Neville. The film was released in U. S. theaters starting in June 2016, the Orchard has acquired all worldwide rights to the film with the exception of U. S. domestic television rights, which HBO has acquired. The Silk Road Ensemble is a collective and a part of Silkroad. The ensemble is not a group of musicians, but rather a loose collective of as many as 59 musicians, composers, arrangers, visual artists. They have performed in locations along the historic Silk Road, including Iran, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, India. The Silk Road Ensemble has recorded six CDs, the groups 2009 CD Off the Map was nominated in the Best Classical Crossover Album category at the 53rd Grammy Awards in 2011. Silk Road Chicago was a partnership among Silkroad, the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and the Chicago Office of Tourism, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and The Art Institute of Chicago
33.
World Digital Library
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The World Digital Library is an international digital library operated by UNESCO and the United States Library of Congress. It aims to expand non-English and non-western content on the Internet, the WDL opened with 1,236 items. As of late 2015, it more than 12,000 items from nearly 200 countries. After almost 20 years without participation, the United States re-established its permanent delegation to the United Nations Educational, Scientific, google Inc. became the first partner of this public–private partnership and donated $3 million to support development of the World Digital Library in 2005. Foremost was the belief that the World Digital Library should engage partners in planning the four project areas, technical architecture, selection, governance. The participants formed working groups to address the challenges of each of the four project areas. The working groups presented their findings to the larger WDL group in July 2007, findings from this planning process were presented at the thirty-fourth session of the UNESCO General Conference in October 2007 in Paris, France. In early September 2008, the Organization of American States agreed to join with the Library of Congress in developing the World Digital Library, secretary General José Miguel Insulza signed the Contributor Agreement with Librarian of Congress, Dr. James Billington, at an OAS headquarters ceremony. The World Digital Library was launched on April 21,2009 at UNESCO headquarters in Paris, the World Digital Library and Universal Access to Knowledge. Oudenaren, John Van, Beyond Access, Digitization to Preserve Culture, Library of Congress, UNESCO Oudenaren, World Digital Library In The Developing World
34.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
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The Metropolitan Museum of Art, colloquially the Met, is located in New York City and is the largest art museum in the United States, and is among the most visited art museums in the world. Its permanent collection contains two million works, divided among seventeen curatorial departments. The main building, on the edge of Central Park along Manhattans Museum Mile, is by area one of the worlds largest art galleries. A much smaller second location, The Cloisters at Fort Tryon Park in Upper Manhattan, contains a collection of art, architecture. On March 18,2016, the museum opened the Met Breuer museum at Madison Avenue in the Upper East Side, it extends the museums modern, the Met maintains extensive holdings of African, Asian, Oceanian, Byzantine, Indian, and Islamic art. The museum is home to collections of musical instruments, costumes and accessories, as well as antique weapons. Several notable interiors, ranging from first-century Rome through modern American design, are installed in its galleries, the Metropolitan Museum of Art was founded in 1870. The founders included businessmen and financiers, as well as leading artists and thinkers of the day and it opened on February 20,1872, and was originally located at 681 Fifth Avenue. The Met maintains extensive holdings of African, Asian, Oceanian, Byzantine, the museum is also home to encyclopedic collections of musical instruments, costumes and accessories, and antique weapons and armor from around the world. A number of interiors, ranging from 1st century Rome through modern American design, are permanently installed in the Mets galleries. In addition to its permanent exhibitions, the Met organizes and hosts traveling shows throughout the year. The director of the museum is Thomas P. Campbell, a long-time curator and it was announced on February 28th,2017 that Campbell will be stepping down as the Mets director and CEO, effective June. On March 1st,2017 the BBC reported that Daniel Weiss shall be the acting CEO until a replacement is found, Beginning in the late 19th century, the Met started to acquire ancient art and artifacts from the Near East. From a few tablets and seals, the Mets collection of Near Eastern art has grown to more than 7,000 pieces. The highlights of the include a set of monumental stone lamassu, or guardian figures. The Mets Department of Arms and Armor is one of the museums most popular collections. Among the collections 14,000 objects are many pieces made for and used by kings and princes, including armor belonging to Henry VIII of England, Henry II of France, Rockefeller donated his more than 3, 000-piece collection to the museum. The Mets Asian department holds a collection of Asian art, of more than 35,000 pieces, the collection dates back almost to the founding of the museum, many of the philanthropists who made the earliest gifts to the museum included Asian art in their collections
35.
Silk Road Project
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Silkroad, formerly the Silk Road Project, Inc. In 2009, Silkroad began a pilot program for middle-school students in New York City public schools. The program has continued each year since, in celebration of its 10th anniversary, Silkroad presented performances and programs by the Silk Road Ensemble in North America, Asia and Europe from 2008 to 2010. Its anniversary season began with the Silk Road Ensembles performance with Yo-Yo Ma of the United Nations Day Concert in October 2008, the organization has published a book, Along the Silk Road, and commissioned more than 70 new chamber music compositions. Silkroad has been affiliated with both Harvard University and the Rhode Island School of Design in the USA, where the Silk Road Ensemble engaged with faculty, silkroads partnership with Rhode Island School of Design took place from 2005 through 2010. The Music of Strangers, Yo-Yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble, is a documentary about Silkroad directed by Morgan Neville. The film was released in U. S. theaters starting in June 2016, the Orchard has acquired all worldwide rights to the film with the exception of U. S. domestic television rights, which HBO has acquired. The Silk Road Ensemble is a collective and a part of Silkroad. The ensemble is not a group of musicians, but rather a loose collective of as many as 59 musicians, composers, arrangers, visual artists. They have performed in locations along the historic Silk Road, including Iran, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, India. The Silk Road Ensemble has recorded six CDs, the groups 2009 CD Off the Map was nominated in the Best Classical Crossover Album category at the 53rd Grammy Awards in 2011. Silk Road Chicago was a partnership among Silkroad, the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and the Chicago Office of Tourism, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and The Art Institute of Chicago
36.
Barbat (lute)
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The barbat or barbud was a lute of possibly Central Asian origin. As a two-stringed lute, the barbat was an important instrument of the Arab Ghassanids in pre-Islamic times, many instruments such as the Arabic oud are derived from the barbat. The modern Persian Barbat is almost identical to the oud, although differences include a body, longer neck. The barbat is one of the oldest instruments in the world, according to Encyclopedia Iranica, this type of instrument could have been introduced by the Kushans and was later adopted by the Persians. By the 7th century, the barbat was developed by the Sassanid Persians into a rud which after the Islamic Conquest of Persia was Arabized into its current form, after the tanbur, it is the oldest string instrument in Iran. The instrument was abolished in the Safavid period for an unknown reason and it is possible that the earliest ouds were carved from a solid piece of wood in a similar manner to the barbat. By the time of the Moorish period in Spain, the body was in its characteristic staved wood vaulted back design. After the instrument was taken to the Arab world, the body became larger as a result of the new method of construction. In all matters of holding and playing it is recommended that the player use only the muscles needed for any task and to relax as much as possible. This will allow one to play longer, easier and to put the effort into creativity rather than mechanics. In the past many players sat cross-legged on a rug, but now most perform sitting, two methods of left hand fingering are in current usage. Hakki Obadia taught a fingering system that uses finger 1 for several notes, finger 2 for some, but not all strings and finger 3. Another important facet of left hand technique is the employment of the fingernail to help stop the string, giving a clearer tone and this is common to several other fretless instrument, among them the sarod, shamisen and san-xien. As mentioned the right hand employs a method for holding the quill-inspired pick called risha in Arabic. The long flexible pick puts the wrist at a particular angle, the traditional material was an eagle quill, but this is not practical, plastic makes a more durable and standard material for the risha. Players have used things like collar stays, plastic pieces from hardware stores, cut-up plastic bottles and these come in a thin, more-or-less pointed tip style made of lighter gauge translucent plastic and a round tip model made of heavier white opaque stock. The thinner ones are lovely sounding and play very delicately with subtle nuances, variations can be obtained by cutting a new tip on the thinner ones a bit further back where the plastic is a little thicker, adding volume to the attack. The rounded ones can be cut to a shape and thinned a fraction with fine sandpaper adding nuance to the heavier attack produced by this pick
37.
Chang (instrument)
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The chang is a Persian musical instrument similar to harp. It was very popular and used widely during the times of ancient Persia, the chang has appeared in paintings and wall art in Persia since its introduction in about 4000 B. C. In these paintings and mosaics, the chang went from the arched harp to an angular harp in the early 1900s B. C. with vertical or horizontal sound boxes. By the beginning of the Common Era, the chang had changed shape to be less of an instrument and more of a large, Hellenistic. Sassanian courts were enamored with the more Hellenistic chang and increased its popularity, but by the end of the Sasanian period, the chang had been redesigned to be as light as possible. Becoming more elegant, the chang lost much of its rigidity and structural soundness, the chang that is used today resembles the last documented transformation. In medieval Azerbaijan, the chang had 18-24 strings but varies based on how far the chang dates back. In the design of some ancient changs, sheep skin or goat skin was used to amplify the sound making it closer to an eastern harp. In modern days the chang is made out of string or the tail of a horse. The past structure of the chang was typically goat or sheep skin, the skins used on the chang also give it a different sound. The chang was predominantly played by women during ancient times, however, the chang is being revived and is now starting to make its way back into the field of contemporary Persian music. There are records from as far back as 4000 B. C. that depict pictures of the chang being played, along with other instruments and a singer. Since the playing style of the chang does not share any similarities with other Persian instruments, it is an instrument to pick up, play. As a result, the number of players is small. There are a few players of the chang including Mrs. Parvin Ruhi. Today the chang is played in ensembles, such as religious ceremonies and parties. In recent years, the Iranian scholars and instrument makers have been trying to revive the ancient chang back to its former glory, the chang is also a name given to the fangxiang, a Chinese metallophone played in China since ancient times. The Uzbek chang is a dulcimer, similar to the Santur
38.
Harp
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The harp is a stringed musical instrument that has a number of individual strings running at an angle to its soundboard, which are plucked with the fingers. Harps have been known since antiquity in Asia, Africa and Europe, Harps vary globally in many ways. In terms of size, many smaller harps can be played on the lap, whereas larger harps are quite heavy, different harps may use strings of catgut or nylon, or of metal, or some combination. While all harps have a neck, resonator, and strings, frame harps have a pillar at their end to support the strings, while open harps, such as arch or bow harps. Modern harps also vary in techniques used to extend the range and chromaticity of the strings, the earliest harps and lyres were found in Sumer,3500 BC, and several harps were found in burial pits and royal tombs in Ur. The oldest depictions of harps without a forepillar can be adjacent to the Near East, in the wall paintings of ancient Egyptian tombs in the Nile Valley. These murals show an instrument that resembles the hunters bow. The chang flourished in Persia in many forms from its introduction, about 3000 BC, around 1900 BC arched harps in the Iraq–Iran region were replaced by angular harps with vertical or horizontal sound boxes. By the start of the Common Era, robust, vertical, angular harps, in the last century of the Sasanian period, angular harps were redesigned to make them as light as possible, while they became more elegant, they lost their structural rigidity. At the height of the Persian tradition of illustrated book production, such light harps were still frequently depicted, the works of the Tamil Sangam literature describe the harp and its variants, as early as 200 BC. Variants were described ranging from 14 to 17 strings, and the instrument used by wandering minstrels for accompaniment, another early South Asian harp was the ancient veena, unlike the modern instrument of the same name, the ancient veena was a harp vice the modern lute-type instrument. Some Samudragupta gold coins show of the mid-4th century AD show the king Samudragupta himself playing the instrument, the ancient veena survives today in Burma, in the form of the saung harp still played there. The harp was popular in ancient China and neighboring regions, though harps are largely extinct in East Asia in the modern day, the Chinese konghou harp is documented as early as the Spring and Autumn period, and became extinct during the Ming Dynasty. A similar harp, the gonghu was played in ancient Korea, Harps are essentially triangular in shape, and are made primarily of wood. Harp strings are made of gut or metal, the top end of each string is secured on the crossbar or neck of the instrument, where each will have a tuning peg or similar device to adjust the pitch of that string. It is the distance between the tuning peg and the soundboard, as well as the tension and weight of the string, the body is hollow and when a taut string is plucked, the body resonates, projecting sound. The longest side of the harp is called the column or pillar, though some earlier harps, such as a bow harp, on most harps, the sole purpose of the pillar is to hold up the neck against the great strain of the strings. On harps which have pedals, the pillar is a column and encloses the rods which adjust the pitch of strings
Media related to Kamancheh at Wikimedia Commons
