A Rough Guide to Turkish and Persian Music

A Rough Guide to Turkish and Persian Music

Asia Minor; the bridge between the West and the East, the genesis of our first cities and civilizations, the path to Cathay after the Romans discovered a taste for silk, the birthplace of many Sufi saints and a fertile ground for much music. We offer a rough guide(with apologies to the brand name) to music from Turkey, Iran and points East down the Silk Road.

Axiom of Choice; Formed in 1992 by guitarist, composer and Artistic Director Loga Ramin Torkian and co-producer and percussionist Mammad Mohsenzadeh, the ensemble’s goal is to define a new sound within the context of Persian music. They were soon joined by vocalist Mamak Khadem whose prodigious vocal talent complemented the original compositions of Torkian. The group I would compare them to is The Chieftains. Like the Chieftains, they approach their music with a chamber music like quality with an emphasis on tight, balanced arrangements. Also, they attempt to synthesize various traditions into something new. Every element in their music, including the use of electronics, is balanced just right.

Their first album “Beyond Denial” (X-Dot 25) was described as “Near Eastern art music, deeply moving and utterly beautiful” by Rhythm. Their second release “Niya Yesh” (Narada World) became the winner of NAV’s best contemporary world music album in 2001. They were nominated Best Recombinant World Music Ensemble in 2001 by the LA Weekly Music Awards. Their third album “Unfolding,” also on Narada World, is inspired by the Persian poet, mathematician, and astronomer Omar Khayyam and embraces his mystical poetry and vision.

Sample

You can learn more and purchase “Unfolding” from WorldSpiritMusic

Shahram Nazeri: Shahram Nazeri is one of Iran's most popular singers and a master of the Persian classical and Sufi repertoires. You can learn more about Nazeri and find excellent information about Persian music at Kereshmeh Records. “Voice of Endearment” is a highly recommended recording. Made with the Shams Tanbur Ensemble, it combines Nazeri’s wonderful voice with the spiritual Kurdish Tanbur music of Iran. The one strong impression you will take away from listening to Nazeri is the sweetness of his voice. Highly recommended for anyone interested in Sufi music or spiritual music. You can learn more, listen to samples and purchase at Kereshmeh Records.

Hossein Alizadeh & Djivan Gasparyan: “Endless Vision” A master of Persian classical music, Alizadeh plays a shurangiz, a plucked lute that he has modified into an instrument of his own invention; Gasparyan, an Armenian, plays a duduk. What these two have done in this live recording is create a real “world music”. Too much world music is diluted ethnic music grafted on to Western production values. “Endless Vision” is a real synthesis of different traditions to create something new and vital. More about this recording can be found at World Village Music.

“In The Mirror of the Sky” : Kayhan Kalhor , Ali Akbar Moradi and Pejman Hadadi have taken the traditions of Kurdish and Persian music, two traditions historically related, yet on different paths of development, and combined them into a new and exciting musical genre.

For a taste of this exciting music, listening to the opening of “Showgh”.

Kayhan Kalhor plays the kamencheh, a spike fiddle ancestor of the medieval rebec and modern violin. A member of the Persian/Indian ensemble Ghazal, he was nominated for two Grammys in 2003. His collaborator, Ali Akbar Moradi, is a singer, teacher, composer and renowned exponent of the Kurdish tanbur, a long-necked pear-shaped lute with 14 gut frets. This is another World Village Release and you can learn a bit more and purchase it at WorldSpiritMusic.

Ghazal: “The Rain” This wonderfully recorded ECM live disc also features Kalhor with Shujaat Khan and tabla virtuoso, Sandeep Das Ghazal is truly an Asia Minor “supergroup” combining traditions all along the Silk Road. In fact, their previous CDs are entitled “Lost Songs of the Silk Road” and “As Night Falls Along the Silk Road”.

The playing and singing are some of the finest in the world. In fact, Shujaat Khan has just released a CD on the Navras label, a CD where he sings the songs associated with the great Qawwali master
Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan

As always, you can learn more and buy this wonderful music at WorldSpiritMusic.

Other recordings worth investigating:

The Silk Road: A Musical Caravan- from Smithsonian Folkways. The Silk Road: A Musical Caravan offers a glimpse of the rich musical life that an intrepid and curious traveler like Marco Polo might find in the lands of the Silk Road today.

The Silk Road Ensemble: Yo Yo Ma’s ensemble explores the music of the long, wide band of land from Turkey to China brought wealth and knowledge in both directions. For centuries after Marco Polo, the trade made Central Asia the main point of contact between West and East and created a unique and influential arts scene still flourishing today.

If you are, in any way, serious about collecting and hearing “world music” you must become a serious fan of Cliff Furnald’s Rootsworld.

“I like the music I carry and I hope to offer you a crack in the window on the world, a small earful of the incredible music being made far away from the mainstream. The CDs you will find here are often personal favorites, unusual music that often defies a simple naming of genre. Some is very traditional, from places you hear little about, and ought to hear more. Some is extremely avant garde, making its own rules as it goes. My favorites combine deep traditional roots with wild and innovative energy. What they all share is a human touch, a personality that goes beyond the mere making of music and into the very heart of art. That's a mighty high plateau to rise to, but I think the music you will find here attains that goal.”

He does have his passions: namely Nordic and Italian music, but the depth and breathed of what Rootsworld carries is truly astounding. The prices and service are excellent, also. In particular, his newsletter( for a nominal $20 a year) is well worth it. The reviews are concise and informative. We highly recommend shopping for world music at Rootsworld.

We also recommend Afropop Worldwide. Afropop was launched by NPR as a weekly series. It was the first of its kind and, years later, the program has expanded its vision to include the music and cultures that encompass the entire African Diaspora. Now known as Afropop Worldwide (APWW), the program is still the standard for both the curious and the connoisseur. Hosted by one of Africa 's best-loved broadcast personalities, Georges Collinet, and produced by Sean Barlow for World Music Productions, Afropop Worldwide is currently distributed by PRI Public Radio International to over 100 stations in the U.S. The series is also heard in Europe and Africa

They offer a pod cast, a store to buy a number of titles and are the force behind Calabash Music where you can download music from all over the world and also know that your purchases are supporting the artists and not the record companies.

We hope you enjoyed this weeks entry “A Rough Guide to Turkish and Persian Music”. Next week, we will tell you about some wonderful jazz releases of vintage music from the Verve Vault series. The next week, we will explore the difficulties of downloading classical music and what some are doing to change that.