Classical Persian
music is an ancient art form and one of the earliest musical traditions known
today. Because of the geographic location and sociopolitical role of the
ancient Persian empire, Persian music and culture has contributed enormously
to the foundation of many other musical traditions in Central Asia, Asia
Minor, China and North India. Since becoming associated with Islamic culture
after the Arab invasion (7th century AD), it has traveled throughout the
Middle East, North Africa and the Mediterranean.
The classical music of Iran is in some ways similar and analogous to the
classical musics of the Arabic world, Turkey and even India, but it is also a
self-contained system more or less independent of its neighbors. In the
twelfth century, a second system, that of Western classical music, has grown
up parallel to that of the Persian art , and today the two coexist, largely
leaving each other alone but in various ways cross-fertilizing each other.
The history of Persian music in the twentieth century has seen the development
of strategies for survival in the face of Western music, and these strategies
often involved borrowing from those elements in which Western music is strong.
For example, Western notation has been adapted to Persian music and while it
has done its share to change the character of Persian music, it has also
increased the degree to which Iranian music students are willing to learn
their tradition.
Persian music is mainly melodic. It makes almost no use of harmony, and its
performance is most typically solo, although sometimes a soloist is
accompanied by an instrument which echoes and recapitulates each phrase as the
artist performs it, a technique also widely used in Arabic, Turkish and Indian
music. Its essence is neither the dramatic nor is it the intellectual or
cerebral, but rather its quality is mystical and contemplative. Persian
musicians recognize this, for in speaking of their music they never fail to
relate it to the great lyrical tradition of Persian literature and to Sufism,
the mystical movement of Islam whose special home is Iran.
Much of the music has no meter, no beat, but proceeds with a rhythm akin to
that of speech. Its rhythmic structure is surely related to the rhythms of
Persian poetry. Nevertheless, there is also a great deal of metric music, and
this, normally accompanied by a drum.
Improvisation is the most important tenet of classical music of Iran. The
musician creates in the moment and simultaneously performs for the audience.
The presence and spirit of the audience plays an important role in the feeling
and the creative process of the improvisation. The improviser combines
creativity and technique with the internalized melodies and rhythms to express
his or her individual feelings. To become an improviser is to reach the
ultimate stage in the musician's creative development. To reach such a level
of mastery the musician must be rich in technique, emotions, innovation,
experience and knowledge. The musician becomes a master once he or she has
achieved such a level of virtuosity and has cultivated the art of performance
and teaching.
The collection of melodies in Persian classical music called Radif is
organized into twelve modes. Seven larger ones called dastgahs (Mahour, Shour,
Nava, Rast Panj-gah, Homayoun, Segah, Chahargah) and five smaller sub-sets to
these called avaz or maqam (Abu-Ata, Bayat-E-Zand or Bayat-E-Tork, Dashti,
Afshari, Bayat-E-Isfahan). Each of these modes are divided into smaller
melodic forms called gushehs, which vary in terms of meter, length, expression
and importance.
Each dastgah is thought to have a specific character and mood. The material of
the dastagh is, then, the basis for actual performance. During the early part
of the twentieth century, a model for what might be called a complete
performance evolved. It consists of five parts, all cast in one dastgah, but,
in fact, not all of them need appear and it is quite common to hear one or two
of them used alone. These five pieces are: pishdaramad, chahar mezrab, avaz,
tasnif, and reng. The Radif is memorized by musicians and students, which is
how the repertoire has been preserved throughout the ages. The Radif also
serves as a musical vehicle to teach, and as a reference point for
improvisation.
Links
about Iranian music
Peyman and his tonbak
Parham, the Tar Player
Persian Classical Music
shahriyarjamshidi.com
Medieval Music & Arts
Foundation
www.medieval.org
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