Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-nr4z6 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-06-09T00:54:56.418Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Iran's Regional Musical Traditions in the Twentieth Century: A Historical Overview

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2022

Ameneh Youssefzadeh*
Affiliation:
The “Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique” (CNRS) in the “Monde iranien” group

Abstract

Image of the first page of this content. For PDF version, please use the ‘Save PDF’ preceeding this image.'
Type
Articles
Copyright
Copyright © 2005 The International Society for Iranian Studies

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Footnotes

Her publications include several articles, CDs, and a book, Les bardes du Khorassan iranien: le bakhshi et son repertoire (Paris, Peeters, 2002).

References

1 Brailoiu, Constantin, “Esquisse d'une méthode de folklore musical,” in Problèmes d'ethnomusicologie, compiled and with preface by Rouget, Gilbert, (Geneva, 1973), 13Google Scholar.

2 For instance, see the CD Deep Forest, 1993, Sony Music. Also, the use of the term “pygmy” should be clarified. As Michelle Kisliuk has noted, “‘Pygmy’ is a problematic term often carrying a derogatory or belittling connotation…Nonetheless, it is the only term in English inclusive of the many socially, culturally, and historically similar peoples of the African equatorial rain forest, including the Efe, Mbuti, Twa, Baka, and BaAka, among others” ((Un)doing Fieldwork: Sharing Songs, Sharing Lives,” in Shadows in the Field, eds. Barz, Gregory and Cooley, Timothy [Oxford, 1997], 43Google Scholar).

3 The central political theme of the Iranian government since President Khatami's election in 1997 has been “The Dialogue between Civilizations” in which music is seen as fostering dialogue and friendship among people.

4 Nettl, Bruno, “Recent Directions in Ethnomusicology,” in Ethnomusicology: An Introduction, ed. Myers, Helen, The Norton/Grove Handbooks in Music (London, 1992), 396Google Scholar.

5 Examples of this include the bakhshi of Khorasan (see Youssefzadeh, Ameneh, Les bardes du Khorassan iranien: le bakhshi et son répertoire [Paris, 2002]Google Scholar; Iran, Bardes du Khorassan. Chants et luth dotar, CD, Ocora, Radio France, 1998) and the ’asheq of Azerbaijan (see Farr, Charlotte, The Music of Professional Musicians of Northwest Iran: Azerbaijan [PhD diss., University of Washington, 1976]Google Scholar).

6 Many of the greatest musicians in Iran come from families that have, for many generations, been musicians.

7 See Youssefzadeh, Les bardes du Khorassan iranien. Regarding the life history of such bards, see The Middle East, eds. Danielson, Virginia, Marcus, Scott, and Reynolds, Dwight, vol. 6 of The Garland Encyclopedia of World Music, Nettl, Bruno and Stone, Ruth, advisory eds. and Porter, James and Rice, Timothy, founding eds. (New York, 2002)Google Scholar, s.v. “Snapshot: 'Ali Aqa Almajoqi: The Life of a Khorasani Bakhshi” (by Ameneh Youssefzadeh), 839–841.

8 As Elwell-Sutton, Laurence Paul writes in his book Modern Iran (London, 1941), 153Google Scholar: “The attitude of the Iranian Government is that music can be an instrument both of propaganda and of popular education.”

9 Digard, Jean-Pierre, Hourcade, Bernard, and Richard, Yann, L'Iran au XXe siècle (Paris, 1996), 13Google Scholar.

10 Spector, Johanna, “Musical Tradition and Innovation,” Central Asia: A Century of Russian Rule, ed. Allworth, Edward (New York, 1967), 440Google Scholar.

11 For an overview of Iran's regional musical traditions, see volume twelve of The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 2nd ed., eds. Sadie, Stanley and Tyrrell, John (London, 2001)Google Scholar, s.v. “Iran, III, Regional and Popular Traditions,” (by Stephen Blum), 537–546.

12 Even though these names are, in fact, derived from the names of cities, tribes, or regions, the actual musical material does not necessarily correlate to the actual music practices of these areas.

13 Blum, Stephen, “Musics in Contact: The Cultivations of Oral Repertoires in Meshed, Iran,” (PhD diss., University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1972), 3Google Scholar.

14 Zonis, Ella, Classical Persian Music: An Introduction (Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1973)CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

15 Caron, Nelly and Safvate, Dariush, Iran: Traditions Musicales (Paris, 1966)Google Scholar.

16 During, Jean, Quelque chose se passe: le sens de la tradition dans l'Orient musical (Paris, 1994), 43Google Scholar.

17 Blum, “Iran, III, Regional and Popular Traditions.”

18 See also During, Jean, Mirabdolbaghi, Zia and Safvat, Dariush, The Art of Persian Music (Washington DC, 1991), 1925Google Scholar.

19 Regarding different concepts of the term maqam, see volume 12 of The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, ed. Sadie, Stanley (London, 1980)Google Scholar, s.v. “Mode, V, The Concept, 2 (i), Maqam,” (by Harold Powers), 423–28.

20 During, Quelque chose se passe, 43.

21 Myers, Helen, “Ethnomusicology,” in Ethnomusicology: An Introduction, ed. Myers, Helen, The Norton/Grove Handbooks in Music (London, 1992), 5Google Scholar. Also, the use of folk music by 18th and 19th century composers like Haydn, Beethoven, Chopin and Liszt is a well known phenomenon (see Bartók, Béla, “The Relation of Folk Song to the Development of the Art Music of Our Time,” in Béla Bartók Essays, sel. and ed. Suchoff, Benjamin [London, 1976], 320330Google Scholar).

22 Béla Bartók, “On Music Education for the Turkish People,” in Béla Bartók Essays, 511–515.

23 Béla Bartók, “Folk Song Collecting in Turkey,” in Béla Bartók Essays, 137. At the time, the Municipal Conservatory of Music in Istanbul had a collection of folk music—“about sixty-five double-sided records, mostly of peasant performances.”

24 To compare and contrast the “authoritarian modernization” of the regimes of Atatürk and Reza Shah in the 1920s and 1930s, see Men of Order, Authoritarian Modernization Under Atatürk and Reza Shah, eds. Atabaki, Touraj and Zürcher, Erik (London, 2005)Google Scholar.

25 The introduction of Western music in Iran began in the second half of the 19th century under the reign of Naser al-Din Shah (1848–1896). On Western influences in Iranian music, see Sepanta, Sasan Cheshmandaz-e musiqi-ye Iran (Tehran, 1369/1990)Google Scholar; During, Jean, “Les musiques d'Iran et du Moyen Orient face à l'acculturation,” in Entre l'Iran et l'Occident, ed. Richard, Yann (Paris, 1989), 194223Google Scholar; and Darvishi, Mohammad Reza, Negah beh gharb dar ta'sir-e musiqi-ye gharb bar musiqi-ye Iran (Tehran, 1373/1995)Google Scholar.

26 After his return to Iran in 1923, Vaziri founded his own conservatory, Madreseh-ye ‘ali-ye musiqi, where he taught Western music theory and the elements of notation, as well as instruments such as the tar, violin, and piano. He is the author of several books on the theory of Persian music, and he published the first transcription of Persian music in Western staff notation (on Vaziri, see volume two of Khaleqi, Ruhollah, Sargozasht-e musiqi-ye Iran, new edition, vols. 1–3 (Tehran, 1381/2002)Google Scholar and Musiqi nameh-ye Vaziri, ed. 'Alinaqi, Mir (Tehran, 1377/1998)Google Scholar.

27 Chelkowsi, Peter, “Popular Entertainment, Media and Social Changes in Twentieth-Century Iran,” vol. 7, The Cambridge History of Iran (Cambridge, 1991), 774775Google Scholar.

28 Keddie, Nikki, Modern Iran: Roots and Results of Revolution (London, 2003), 170Google Scholar.

29 Regarding ta'zieh, see Ta'ziyeh: Ritual and Drama in Iran, ed. Chelkowski, Peter (New York, 1979)Google Scholar; Massoudieh, Mohammad, Musiqi-ye ta'zieh, vol. 1, Musiqi-ye mazhabi-ye Iran (Tehran, 1367/1988)Google Scholar.

30 See Digard, Hourcade and Richard L'Iran au XXe siècle, 302.

31 The ’asheq play in ensembles composed of sorna (a type of oboe) and dohol (a barrel drum with two skins); qoshmeh (double clarinet) and dohol; or kamancheh (spiked-fiddle) and the dohol. These ’asheq should not be confused with those of Azerbaijan who are similar to the bakhshi of Khorasan. See Blum, Stephen, “The Concept of the ’asheq in Northern Khorasan,” Asian Music 4 no. 1 (1972):2747CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

32 Kurds, also called Kurmanji Kurds (from the name of the language they speak), form the most important Kurdish community living outside the province of Kurdistan in Iran. Their immigration into Khorasan has continued for centuries. Today, they represent the majority of nomadic and semi-nomadic populations in northern Khorasan (see Youssefzadeh, Les bardes du Khorassan iranien, 20–30).

33 Qal'i, meaning fortress, is usually used to indicate a village.

34 Personal conversation with musicians during my fieldwork in Khorasan (August 2002).

35 See Youssefzadeh, Iran, Bardes du Khorassan. Chants et luth dotar, CD, Ocora, Radio France, 1998.

36 Kermani, Hosein Kuhi, ed., Hafsad taraneh az taraneh-ha-ye rusta'i-ye Iran (Seven Hundred Songs from the Songs of Iranian Villages) with a preface by Malek al-Sho'ara-ye Bahar (Tehran, 1317/1938)Google Scholar. In 1314/1935, the former also published Chahardah afsaneh az afsaneh-ha-ye rusta'i-e Iran (Tehran).

37 We should also mention the work of the orientalist Aleksander Chodzko who in 1842 published Specimens of the Popular Poetry of Persia (London).

38 See Hedayat, Sadeq, “Taraneh-ha-ye amiyaneh,” in Neveshteh-ha-ye parakandeh (Tehran 1344/1965), 344364Google Scholar.

39 This article was published in issue numbers six and seven in the 1939 volume. The first series of this journal was published between 1938 and 1941. Because of budgetary restrictions in 1941, the journal had to close down. This short-lived publication was later reborn under a new name, Nameh-ye musiqi (Music Letter), published in 1949. The third series of this journal was published under the name Majaleh-ye musiqi in 1335/1959 (for more information on the music journals, see Khaleqi, Sargozasht-e musiqi-ye Iran, 173–190).

40 Founded in 1317/1938. Its directors were Vaziri, Mahmood, and Gregorian.

41 It was with these intentions that the Symphony Orchestra was established in 1325/1946.

42 The same term is today used for Western classical music because the Islamic Republic didn't want to stress its Western origins by using the adjective “Qarbi.” It is somewhat ironic that this term, which has created controversy because of its sweeping and unfounded generalization, was actually already in use in the 1970s. See Shirvani, Hasan and Mansuri, Parviz, “Musiqi,” in Fa'aliyatha-ye honari dar panjah sal-e shahanshahi-ye Pahlavi (namayesh, musiqi, opera, raqs) (Tehran, 1356/1977), 129188, 146Google Scholar.

43 See Khaleqi, Ruhollah Sargosasht-e musiqi-ye Iran, new edition (Tehran, 1381/2002), 3:173Google Scholar.

44 See Mir 'Alinaqi, Musiqi nameh-ye Vaziri, 335.

45 Published in 1323/1944. Vaziri wrote an introduction to the volume.

46 Mobasheri, Lotfollah, Panzdah taraneh az ahang-ha-ye mahalli, Gilan (Tehran 1338/1959)Google Scholar.

47 Mostly dobeyti—two-line stanzas, often called chaharbey (i.e., four lines), a term commonly used in many regions.

48 Among other publications of regional melodies (musical scores only), we can mention Mobasheri's, Lotfollah Ahang-ha-ye mahalli (Tehran, 1338/1959)Google Scholar, Lotfollah Payan's Taraneh-ye mahalli (Tehran, n.d.), 'Aziz’, Sheybani Taraneh-ha-ye mahalli-ye Azarbaijan, 4 vols. (Tehran, 1333/1954)Google Scholar, and Manuchehr's, Mahmudi Shish ahang-e mahalli (Tehran 1328/1949)Google Scholar, etc.

49 Mobasheri, Lotfollah, “Saba va ahanghahye mahalli,” in Yadnameh-ye 'Abdol Hasan Saba, ed. Dehbashi, 'Ali, 215–8 (Tehran, 1376/1997)Google Scholar. He first published this article in The Journal of Music in 1336/1957.

50 Mobasheri, Lotfollah, “Saba va ahanghahye mahalli,” in Yadnameh-ye 'Abdol Hasan Saba, ed. Dehbashi, 'Ali (Tehran, 1376/1997), 215–8Google Scholar.

51 The Journal of MusicMajaleh-ye musiqi 3 (1957/1336)—states that “last month in order to gather popular songs (taraneh-ha-ye amiyaneh), a commission comprised of Mobasheri and two cameramen traveled to the Gulf region and collected ritual and ceremonial music as well as regional melodies.”

52 Shirvani and Mansuri, “Musiqi,” 150.

53 Mobasheri, Lotfollah, “Jam'avari-ye ahang-ha-ye mahalli-ye Iran,” Majaleh-ye musiqi, second year, 7 (1946):7Google Scholar.

54 Although some of this rich collection housed in the Ministry of Culture has been transcribed and published (see Mobasheri Ahang-ha-ye mahalli: taraneh-ha-ye sahele darya-ye Mazandaran and Ahang-ha-ye mahalli-ye Gilan above), the bulk of it remains untouched (Mobasheri, pers. comm., Tehran, April/May 1984).

55 Under the direction of Mehrdad Pahlbod, brother-in-law of Mohammad Reza Shah and grandson of Gholam Reza Minbashian, the first Persian director of the Conservatory of Music.

56 With the exception of music broadcasts on the radio which were the responsibility of the Ministry of Information.

57 Shirvani and Mansuri, “Musiqi,” 149.

58 Shirvani and Mansuri, “Musiqi,” 155–6.

59 Mohammad Reza Shah in 1969, launched what he called, “The White Revolution,” subsequently known as “The Revolution of the Shah and the People.”

60 Shirvani and Mansuri, “Musiqi,” 159.

61 Reza Shah decided to build an opera house like his neighbors in Turkey and Iraq had done. However, the war prevented its completion and it was demolished in 1956 (see Avery, Peter, Modern Iran [London, 1965], 287Google Scholar).

62 Shirvani and Mansuri, “Musiqi,” 174–9.

63 Bartók, “On Music Education for the Turkish People,” 511.

64 Bartók, “On Music Education for the Turkish People,” 511.

65 Zonis, Classical Persian Music, 185.

66 Pakdaman, Naser, “La situation du musicien dans la société persane,” in Normes et valeurs dans l'Islam contemporain, ed. Charnay, Jean-Paul (Paris, 1966), 338Google Scholar.

67 For example, more than ninety percent of the national radio and television programs broadcast music that appealed to the masses, mainly consisting of imitations of Western pop music sung by Iranian “pop” stars (see Youssefzadeh, Ameneh, “The Situation of Music in Iran Since the Revolution: The Role of Official Organisations,” British Journal of Ethnomusicology 9 no. 2 2000:3561CrossRefGoogle Scholar).

68 Ferrier, Ronald, “The Iranian Oil Industry,” vol. 7, The Cambridge History of Iran, 639–704 (Cambridge, 1991), 639CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

69 In the ethnomusicological studies in the West in the 1970s and 1980s, there was a unification of anthropology and musicology and the focus shifted from the collection of repertory to an examination of these processes. See Myers, Helen, “Introduction,” in Ethnomusicology: Historical and Regional Studies, ed. Myers, Helen, The Norton/Grove Handbooks in Music (New York, 1993), 315Google Scholar.

70 Born in Berlin, she studied piano and composition in England. Although she is mainly a composer and a piano teacher rather than an ethnomusicologist, she has spent several years collecting and studying regional musical traditions of Iran.

71 Massoudieh (1927–1998), a composer and ethnomusicologist, returned to Iran in 1968 after he received a doctor's degree in ethnomusicology in Cologne, Germany. He devoted himself to teaching Iranian music and ethnomusicology at the University of Tehran where he died in 1998. He is the author of several books, some of which deal with the music of various regions of Iran, e.g., Kuckertz, Josef and Massoudieh, Mohammad, Musik in Bushehr (Süd-Iran) (Munich, 1976)Google Scholar; Massoudieh, Mohammad, Musiqi-e Torbat-e Jam (Tehran, 1359/1980)Google Scholar; Musiqi-ye Baluchestan (Tehran, 1364/1985)Google Scholar; Musiqi-e Torkamani (Tehran, 1379/2000)Google Scholar. For a detailed bibliography, see Safarzadeh, Farhud, “Dar vatan-khish, qarib,” Mahur 5 (1378/1999):153–6Google Scholar.

72 Darvishi, Mohammad Reza, “Dorud o shadi va ramesh dar entezar ust,” Mahur 3 (1378/1999):185Google Scholar.

73 During, Jean, review of “Les bardes du Khorasan. Le bakhshi et son repertoire,” by Youssefzadeh, Ameneh, Cahiers de musique traditionnelles 17 (2005):358Google Scholar.

74 For the German expedition to Kurdistan, see Christensen, Dieter, “Brautlieder der Hakkari-Kurden,” Jahrbuch für musikalische Volks- und Völkerkunde 1 (1963):1147CrossRefGoogle Scholar and Kurdish Folk Music from Western Iran, recorded by Dieter and Nerthus Christensen, Ethnic Folkways Library FE 4103.

75 See Nettl, Bruno, “Examples of Popular and Folk Music from Khorasan,” in: Musik als Gestalt und Erlebnis: Festschrift Walter Graf zum 65. Geburbstag, ed. Schenk, Erich (1970):138146Google Scholar and Charlotte Farr, The Music of Professional Musicians of Northwest Iran.

76 See the following works by Stephen Blum: “The Concept of the ‘asheq in Northern Khorasan;” Persian Folksong in Meshhed (Iran),” Yearbook of the International Folkmusic Council 6 (1974): 86144CrossRefGoogle Scholar; Rural and Urban Interchange in the Music of Northeastern Iran,” in International Musicological Society, Report of the Twelfth Congress, eds. Heartz, Daniel and Wade, Bonnie, (Kassel: Bärenreiter, 1981), 608611Google Scholar; Changing Roles of Performers in Meshhed and Bojnurd, Iran,” in Eight Urban Musical Cultures, Tradition and Change, ed. by Nettl, Bruno, (Urbana, 1978), 1995Google Scholar.

77 Personal conversation with Prof. Blum. On Mahur Publications, see below.

78 See During Quelque chose se passe, 15–16.

79 Chelkowski, Ta'ziyeh: Ritual and Drama in Iran, 813.

80 These include the Shiraz Festival of Arts; the Tus Festival of Arts; the Isfahan Festival of Popular Traditions; the Center for Folklore (Markaz-e farhangi-ye mardom); the Center for the Preservation and Propagation of Persian Classical Music; the Center for the Collection of Persian Traditional Music; the Institute for Traditional Performance and Ritual, etc.

81 For which the National Iranian Radio and Television paid the considerable sum of 50,000 Franc (quite remarkable for the time; see During, “Les musiques d’Iran et du Moyen-Orient face à l'acculturation occidentale,” 201).

82 The Center played an essential role in the transmission and the safeguarding of this national heritage; it became the place where tradition was to be found at its purest in an era where light music and semi-classical music dominated musical life.

83 Many masters from our generation, like Dariush Tala'i, Majid Kiani, Mohammad Reza Lotfi, or Hosein 'Alizadeh were Borumand's pupils at the Center.

84 A virtuoso of the santur, born in 1320/1941. He is currently the director of the Center for the Conservation and Propagation of Music.

85 Personal conversation in Tehran, 2000.

86 The group was composed of Mrs. Majd, a sound recording engineer, and a cameraman (Mrs. Majd, pers. comm., Tehran, 1984).

87 See Fozieh Majd, Maqam-ha-ye sazi-ye Torbat-e Jam, Nazar-Mohammad Soleymani, CD. Mahur, 2003; Musiqi-ye shomal-e Khorasan, Mohammad Hosein Yeganeh, dastan-e Zohreh o Taher, CD, Mahur, 2003.

88 See also Dastan Zohreh & Taher performed by the bard Roshan Golafruz (Youssefzadeh, Ameneh, Récit de Zohre et Taher, Rowshan Golafruz, CD, France, 2004Google Scholar).

89 With the collaboration of the Ministry of Information, National Iranian Radio and Television, and under the patronage of the Empress of Iran, Farah Pahlavi.

90 Western composers (like John Cage, Karlheinz Stockhausen, etc.) and famous European conductors (Herbert von Karajan, etc.) or great world masters of traditional music (such as the Indian musicians Bismillah Khan and Ali Akbar Khan).

91 Ghassemi, Reza, “Les intellectuels et le Festival de Chiraz,” Noghteh Review 8 (1998):7778Google Scholar.

92 See Sasan Fatemi's article in this issue.

93 Blum, Musics in Contact, 245.

94 During, Mirabdolbaghi and Safvat, The Art of Persian Music, 28.

95 Keyhan, 1st Mordad (1358/1979), in an article called, “Radio and Television Must Strengthen the Young.”

96 See Youssefzadeh, “The Situation of Music in Iran Since the Revolution.”

97 Pers. comm., 1994. He explained his reasons for giving up playing as follows: “Twenty years ago, I returned from a wedding, and having made a pilgrimage to Mecca, a sheikh (molla) told me that my instrument was cursed, that I myself was cursed. So I threw my instrument into a corner and didn't touch it for ten years. Then two other seyyed assured me that my music was a gift from Heaven and that they were convinced that my instrument was to be found in the home of the prophets. They themselves placed my dotar, which was hanging on the wall, into my hands and ordered me to play.”

98 Six performances were originally scheduled, but due to the unexpected audience turnout, which far exceeded the number of seats available, the security department of the concert hall cancelled the rest of the program after its third night.

99 Gozareshi az ’amalkard-e mo'avenat-e honari-ye Vezarat -e Farhang va Ershad Eslami,” Motale'at-e Karbordi-ye Honar 7 (Tehran 1378/1999)Google Scholar.

100 Ahang 3, Daily Bulletin of the 17th International Fajr Music Festival, 2002.

101 In the newsletter Avaz 4 (8 Azar 1373/1994).

102 In the newsletter Ahang 5 & 8 (Esfand 1374/1996).

103 On the role of these organizations, see Youssefzadeh, “The Situation of Music in Iran Since the Revolution.”

104 The festival is held in February and lasts from eight to ten days.

105 Since his election as President of the Republic in 1997 and under his auspices, an organization called “The International Center for Dialogue between Civilizations,” dependent upon his office, was created.

106 For a list of the criteria applicable to the music of various regions of Iran, see Youssefzadeh, “The Situation of Music in Iran Since the Revolution,” 53–54.

107 Personal interview; Tehran, February 2000.

108 Many festivals are organized within the framework of official celebrations that are either religious or revolutionary such as “Unity Week” (Hafteh-ye vahdat), on the occasion of the anniversary of the Prophet, or the “Week of Holy Defence” (Hafteh-ye defa'e moqadas), commemorating the onset of the Iran-Iraq war. Such commemorative concerts play an important role in bestowing greater legitimacy upon music (see Youssefzadeh, “The Situation of Music in Iran Since the Revolution,” 49).

109 See Wendy DeBano's article in this issue.

110 The first festival lasted from 28 November to 3 December 1999.

111 In the newsletter Ahang 7 (bahman 1377/1999).

112 Saz 2 (brochure accompanying the 3rd festival of regional music).

113 Bustan, Bahman and Darvishi, Mohammad Reza, Haft owrang: moruri bar musiqi-ye sonnati va mahalli-ye Iran (Tehran 1992)Google Scholar; Darvishi, Mohammad Reza, A'ineh o avaz. Majmu’eh maqalat darbareh-ye musiqi-ye navahi-ye Iran (Tehran, 1376/1997)Google Scholar; Musiqi-ye hemasi-ye Iran: gozideh-e maqalat, ed. by Darvishi, Mohammad Reza (Tehran, 1383/2004)Google Scholar.

114 Interview with Reza Mahdavi, Hamshahri newspaper, August 2002.

115 Darvishi, Mohammad Reza, Musiqi-ye navahi-ye Iran, daftar-e nakhost, manateq-e jonub (Tehran, 1373/1994)Google Scholar.

116 He also composes music for films, for instance Samiran Makhmalbaf's Blackboards (2002) and Mohsen Makhmalbaf's Kandehar (2001).

117 Dayeratolma'alef saz-ha-ye Irani, 1 (Tehran, 2001).

118 This prize is awarded annually by the Society for Ethnomusicology.

119 Ahang 2, Daily Bulletin of the 17th International Fajr Music Festival, 2002.

120 International Daily, Iran Times, 9 March, 2002.

121 Djivan Gasparyan (seventy-five years old) is a well-known duduk player whose collaborations with Peter Gabriel (in Passions) brought him worldwide renown.

122 Night, Silent and Deserted, with the vocalist Mohammad Reza Shajarian and composer Keyhan. Kalhor, RYAN production, Canada, 1373/1994.

123 During, Jean, “L'oreille islamique, dix années capitales de la vie musicale en Iran: 1980–1990,” Asian Music 23, no. 2 (1992):152CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

124 There exists a “Council for the Authorization of Poems” (Shoraye Mojavvez-e She‘r), which also reviews the poetic content before it can be publicized at festivals (see Youssefzadeh, “The Situation of Music in Iran Since the Revolution,” 44–47.).

125 Moreover, Mahur Publications has produced a number of instructional books and cassettes for Iranian musical instruments in addition to those intended for learners and enthusiasts about fundamental theories of Iranian music. They also publish the Mahur Music Quarterly, a leading scholarly journal about music that is written in Persian.

126 All of these sets bear the inscription, “Local Iranian Music (musiqi-ye navahi-ye Iran),” followed by the name of the region and the name of the edition, “Iranian Music Association (Anjoman-e musiqi-ye Iran).” The set for each region also comes with a booklet. Unfortunately, these booklets only provide vague descriptions of the music itself and do not include information about the artists and the pieces they play.

127 For a listing of all Mahur's Publications, see their website at http://www.mahoor.ir

128 During, “L'oreille islamique,” 138.

129 See Laudan Nooshin's article in this issue.

130 The label “mystical pop” is, ironically, used to describe music that has text written by classical poets like Hafez, Sadi or Rumi, but these texts are set to the imported rhythms and melodies of the “Losanjelesi” variety (i.e., music produced by musicians and singers who have lived in exile in Los Angeles, California, since the 1979 revolution). 'Alireza 'Asar is one example of these types of singers.

131 See Khezri's website www.hamid-khezri.com

132 The commission was first produced in Italy in 2002. It included a live performance of ta'zieh in front of large screens that simultaneously displayed the faces of Iranian spectators watching a previous performance of the same version of the play in an actual village context. In the versions shown in Brussels in 2004 and London and Paris in 2005, the live performance was replaced by a video on a TV screen.

133 See the bibliography at the end of this issue.

134 Nettl, “Recent Directions in Ethnomusicology,” 396.