First hour: music from Azerbaijan. Second hour: Iran. Third: Iraq. Make sure your passport's in order.

Set #1 - 8:00am - 9:00am

1. Mugham Chargah
unknown - tar [long-necked lute]
5:14
(That's Azeri. In Persian it's Chahargah.)

2. Mugham Bayati Kurd
unknown - clarinet, unknown folk orchestra
2:52

3. Dance of the Ashiq Alaskar
unknown - saz [long-necked lute], unknown - balaban [oboe], unknown - daf [frame drum]
4:55

Tracks 1-3
The Land of Fire: Music of Azerbaijan
FM Records, 1036
("The word mugham, used by the Azeri to describe their classical music, is derived from the Arabic word maqam, which originally meant the "official" meeting place where the caliphs and other Arabian dignitaries gathered in medieval times to hear tales and rhyming prose, and later music as well. For each meeting, a suitable and carefully chosen mode – or maqam – was negotiated." It's only a matter of time, because humans like to make metaphors, before the mode gets associated with a mood, i.e. gets an affect attached to it.)


4. Mugham Chahargah (rec. 1992)
Alim Qasimov - voice & daf, Elshan Mansurov - kamanche [spike fiddle], Malik Mansurov - tar
Azerbaïdjan: Alim Qasimov
Ocora, C 560013
44:14
(Above, "Chahargah['s] bold, martial accents are supposed to excite the passions...")

Set #2 - 9:00am - 10:00am

5. Gheyrate sabba [Breeze from Heaven]
6:43

6. Omidvaihaye del [Hopes from the Heart]
6:29

7. Rosvaye do-aalam [Found Out in Both Worlds]
6:48

8. Erse aslaf [Inheritance of Ancestors]
6:16

9. Gol [Flower]
9:18

10. Delbar [The One That Takes Your Heart Away]
9:33

Tracks 5-10
Hossein Farjami - composer, santur [hammered dulcimer], oud & daf; Afshar - violin; Radmanesh - ney [reed flute] & setar [long-necked lute]; Khorvash - tombak [goblet drum]; Abbasi - tar; Adbul-Azim - violin; Sultan - ney; Nossir - ney
Hossein Farjami: Traditional Folk Music from Iran
ARC Music, EUCD 1423
("All these tunes have lyrics, they are songs.... Not all those who hear the CD will be acquainted with the Iranian language and poetry. So it seemed more appropriate that the santoor should play the vocal lines.")

Set #3 - 10:00am - 11:00am

11. Ragâ Roots
20:30

12. Allah ou Akhbar
14:38

13. From the Maqam to the Raga
22:46

Tracks 11-13 (rec. 1986-87)
Munir Bashir - oud
Ragâ Roots
Byblos Records, BLCD 1021
("These oud pieces from Indian and Middle Eastern inspiration were found by Munir Bashir's children after his death.")

14. Tahir (Folk Dance)
unknown - clarinet, unknown - gamon [accordion], unknown - duduk [double-reed wind], unknown - nagara [drum]
The Land of Fire: Music of Azerbaijan
FM Records, 1036
3:21