24 November 2010

The Persian Classical mode Dastgâh-e Shur and its daughters. A musical Aufwachsmittel (wake-up potion).

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

†1. Avâz-e Abu Ata
10:09
("Abu Ata is purple or bright coffee in color and seems to be best played from noon until four in the afternoon. Its element is earth and its mystic connotation ranges from shariat (the law) to tariqat (the path)." This, and the following descriptions, are taken from the Foundation for Iranian Studies website, which looks like an authoritative source.)

†2. Avâz-e Bayat Zand
13:41
(Those opening arpeggios are a surprise. Also called Bayat Turk. "Turk seems to be smoke color or black and fits the hours from noon until four in the afternoon. Its element is earth and its mystic connotation is shariat (the law).")

†3. Avâz-e Afshari
11:44
("Afshari is burnt brown and fits the hours from noon till four in the afternoon. Its element is earth and its mystic connotation ranges from shariat (the law) to tariqat (the path).")

†4. Avâz-e Dashti
11:03
("Dashti seems brown, and its time might be in the afternoon from noon until four o'clock. Its element is earth and its mystic connotation ranges from shariat (the law) to tariqat (the path).")

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

5. Avâz-e Abuata (rec. 2008)
Kiu Haghighi - santur & dombak
Kiu Haghighi, Santour Virtuoso: Musical Mosaic
KH Productions, 00261 24105
36'

6. Avâz-e Dashti
(rec. 1992)
Hossein 'Omoumi - ney, Madjid Khaladj - tombak, Rezâ Majubi - violin
The Song of the Ney
Nimbus Records, NI 7060/1
13:02

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

†7. Dastgâh-e Shur
14:54
(Scale of Shur on finalis G = E½b F G A½b Bb C D(natural in ascending lines; ½b in descending lines) Eb. Note that the lower 6th scale degree is sharper than the upper 6th degree by a quarter tone. That's not as weird as it sounds; the microtonal inflections are governed by melodic movement. "Shur is fire red in color and is best played from late morning until noon. The element associated with Shur is fire [the pre-Islamic Persians were fire-worshippers] and its mystic connotation ranges from tariqat (the path) to marafat (gnosis). Shur demands concentration on the part of the listener and is good for meditation. It is one of the most important dastgâh and was called the "mother of modes" by the ancients. Five [sic] auxiliary modes are associated with Shur." The four auxiliary modes called avâz (don't ask me how they're derived – I'm still working on it) are the ones broadcast in the previous two hours.)

†Tracks 1-4 & 7 (rec. 2006)
Fakhri Malekpour - Persian-tuned piano
Fakhri Malekpour: Mashqe Ostad
Avaye Honar & Andisheh Institute of Culture and Art, n.n.
(Persian piano technique calls for more ornamentation – rolls, tremolos, and accents – than its Western-European counterpart. The left hand shadows in outline form the melody in the right, per the performer's taste. In other words, there's no harmony but some are tempted.)

8. Dastgâh-e Shur (rec. 1976-79)
Daryoush Tala'i - tar
, Djamchid Chemirani - tombak
Musique iranienne
Harmonia mundi, HMA 190391
25:36

9. Dastgâh-e Shur
4:41

10. Layli (first section)
3:45

11. Layli (second section)
2:53

12. Shahrashub
2:23

Tracks 9-12 (rec. 1995)
Jalal Zolfonun - setar, Soheil Zolfonun - setar, Bijan Zangeneh - daf & tombak
Kord Bayat: Traditional Music from Iran
Music of the World, CDT-134

17 November 2010

I learned myself Farsi in order to present this episode. The Persian-tuned piano sounds a lot like the santur [hammered dulcimer], and vice versa. Bear with me as I describe the dastgâhs [modal system of Persian classical music] from a dilettante's point of view.

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

†1. Dastgâh-e Homayoun
17:58
("Humâyân, meaning "lucky" or "fortunate", has a touching character and contains the most sentimental gûsheh-s [melodies] of the radîf [repertoire].")

*2. Dastgâh-e Homayoun
28:17
(Listen attentively.)

†3. Dastgâh-e Segah
13:32
("... Segâh bring[s] about a state of calm and concentration...." = equanimity.)

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

†4. Dastgâh-e Chahargah
14:24
("Chahargah['s] bold, martial accents are supposed to excite the passions...")

*5. Dastgâh-e Chahargah
28:44
(You tell me the mood of this mode at kds(at)umfm(dot)com, and you'll win a Komodo Dragon Show T-shirt.)

*Tracks 2 & 5 (rec. 1992)
Hossein 'Omoumi - ney, Madjid Khaladj - tombak
The Song of the Ney
Nimbus Records, NI 7060/1

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

6. Avâz-e Abuata (rec. 2008)
Kiu Haghighi - santur & dombak
Kiu Haghighi, Santour Virtuoso: Musical Mosaic
KH Productions, 00261 24105
36'
("Abu Ata is purple or bright coffee in color and seems to be best played from noon until four in the afternoon. Its element is earth and its mystic connotation ranges from shariat (the law) to tariqat (the path)." This, and other useful information from the Foundation for Iranian Studies.)

7. Dastgâh-e Nava
9:28
("... somber, dignified and serious... the reflective mode favored by the Sufis...")

8. Dastgâh-e Rastpanjgah
12:53
("... set[s] a mood conducive to thinking, concentration and enlightenment.")

†Tracks 1, 3, 4, 7 & 8 (rec. 2006)
Fakhri Malekpour - Persian-tuned piano
Fakhri Malekpour: Mashqe Ostad
Avaye Honar & Andisheh Institute of Culture and Art, n.n.
(Pianist Fakhri Malekpour resists her fingers picking out V-I root movement unlike some of her younger colleagues. It's a tonal temptation when you've got a keyboard in front of you. We will hear from her again next week.)

10 November 2010

Music for 1/4, 5/16, and 3/8 of a tone. Charles Ives asks: "If an addition of a series of smaller tone divisions is to be added to our semi-tone system to help round out our souls, how much of a fight will the ears have to put up?" (Emphasis is mine.) I will ease you gently into the quarter-tone world over the next three hours.

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

1. Charles Ives: Three Quarter-Tone Pieces for Two Pianos (1903-23)
Herbert Henck - piano, Deborah Richards - second piano
Charles Ives: Piano Pieces
Wergo, WER 60112-50
13:16
(A sandwich.)

2. Henry Mancini: Excerpts from Wait until Dark OST (1967)
Henry Mancini - conductor
Wait until Dark Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
Film Score Monthly, Vol.10 No.7
43'
(Something you'd sooner expect from Morricone: pianos tuned a quarter-tone apart set the tone for this suspense thriller. I skip the pop song (it was too clashy even for me), but the Manciniesque source cues remain. It makes for a variegated listening experience nonetheless. My only criticism is that Mancini doesn't exploit the quarter-tones to their full potential.)

Set #2 - 9:00am - 11:00am

3. same as track 1

4. Jack Behrens: Utopianism for found piano (1994)
Jack Behrens - piano
Sound Ecology 3: Perception
Musicworks, 64
6:36
(A severely out-of-tune piano, abused by years of environmental extremes. Jack Behrens writes: "Each piano key had to be considered as an individual sound source, not necessarily related in any rational manner to the other eighty-four." Rational in the mathematical sense of whole number ratios, i.e. Pythagorean tuning. I will broadcast this piece twice.)

5. Getting in Tune (rec. 2005)
Ramin Zoufonoun - Persian-tuned piano, Abbas Etemadzadeh - tombak & daf, Jamshid Zarringhalam - voice
Getting in Tune: Improvisations on Persian-Tuned Piano
Ramin Zoufonoun, n.n.
56:00
(Did I hear right? Is that a V-I root movement in the bass? Below, an example of Persian-tuned piano technique. Hey, if your music was monodic, you'd tickle the ivories like this too.)

03 November 2010

Persian Percussion Fortnight continues on the Komodo Dragon Show. This week's episode is tombak-heavy.

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

1. Anthologie des rythmes iraniens Vol.1: Le répertoire fondamental de Maître Tehrâni (rec. 1997)
Madjid Khaladj - tombak
Buda Records, 92672-2
54:13
(A primer of basic rhythmic patterns..)

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

2. Iran: L'art du tombak (zarb) (rec. 1993)
Madjid Khaladj - tombak
Buda Records, 92594-2
61:15
(Improvisations within the basic rhythms.)

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

3. Whisper: Kurdish Tanbur Music of Iran (rec. 2000)
Aliakbar Moradi - tanbur, Pejman Hadadi - tombak, daf & nagada [small kettledrums]
Kereshmeh Records, KCD-111
48:31
(Two solid hours of tombak make me a little punchy. Here's stress-relief.)