Iranian Music

Rahman MehrabyOctober 6, 2019
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Introduction of Dastgah and Avaz in Traditional Persian Music

Before you learn about Dastgah and Avaz in traditional Persian music, you have to learn about the background it comes…
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Rahman MehrabySeptember 23, 2019
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An Introduction to Persian Traditional Music

Before introducing Persian traditional music, it’s important to consider certain facts. The music of every nation is like a mirror…
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Rahman MehrabySeptember 8, 2018
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Radif of Iranian Music Inscribed as Intangible Cultural Heritage of Iran

The radif of Iranian music refers to the arrangement of old melodic figures, songs and Iranian classical music which are…
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Rahman MehrabyMarch 22, 2010
0 391

Music of Iran

Music of Iran is an ancient traditional art. One can find the traces of this art at various parts of…
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Introduction of Dastgah and Avaz in Traditional Persian Music
Before you learn about Dastgah and Avaz in traditional Persian music, you have to learn about the background it comes from. There are some complexes and structures in Persian music known as Dastgah. The classification of Dastgahs dates back to approximately a hundred years ago. At first, the number of Dastgahs was 12. Then, the theorists considered 7 of the 12 of them more expansive and more independent and classified them as “Dastgah”. They categorized the other five, dependent on the other 7 Dastgahs, as a subset of main Dastgahs and called them “Avaz”. Dastgah in Traditional Persian Music is a system similar to the Greek Systema Teleion, the musical system of ancient Greece, included Dorian, Phrygian, Lydian, Mixolydian, Syntonolydian, Ionian (Iastian). In Western music, the piece played by an instrument or an orchestra is usually different from the vocal music. However, the vocal is the central part of the music in the Persian musical system. The earlier and later parts of the vocal (Avaz) depend on the introduction and the termination of the music. History of Dastgah and Avaz in Traditional Persian Music We have already gone through the history of Iranian music in detail. Before the separation of …
An Introduction to Persian Traditional Music
Before introducing Persian traditional music, it’s important to consider certain facts. The music of every nation is like a mirror where we can see the social situation, the change and the decline of society. Fine arts represent the emotions and the morals of people and nations and as the nations have different preferences, their arts are different from each other. The original Persian music, also known as Persian traditional music and Persian classical music, includes Dastgah (musical modal system), melody, and Avaz. This kind of music has existed before Christendom and reached us mainly by word-of-mouth. The more enjoyable and easier parts have remained up until now. Persian music influenced the music of the major parts of Central Asia, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Turkey, and Greece. Also, each one of them has also contributed to the formation of this music. Barbod, Nagisa (Nakisa) and Ramtin are the famous Persian musicians in ancient Iran. Radif (meaning order in Persian, a collection of many old melodic figures) was inscribed as the first independent Iranian legacy in the Intangible World Heritage List in October 2009. The carvings on the ancient cave walls show Iranians interest in music since the earliest times. The traditional …
Radif of Iranian Music Inscribed as Intangible Cultural Heritage of Iran
The radif of Iranian music refers to the arrangement of old melodic figures, songs and Iranian classical music which are called “gusheh” (short pieces of melody). In October 2009, the radif of Iranian Classical Music, a traditional repertory of Iranian traditional music was inscribed in UNESCO’s list as an intangible cultural heritage of Iran. In recent decades, most Iranian instrument makers were often Iranian-Armenians, and many singers and musicians were Jewish. In the 1960s, some of them emigrated to different parts of the world. Thus, they have promoted the radif of Iranian Classical Music outside their own countries. As a result, Iranian “avaz” (a certain type of singing) and music gained the reputation all over the world. Definition of Radif of Iranian Music Radif is a collection of many traditional Iranian melodies which have been organized by a special order in the form of vocal dastgah (pattern). Radif of Iranian classical music also deals with the collection of gusheh pieces and their orders. The gusheh with the lowest introductory note is called “daramad” which is followed by other gusheh pieces. We may be able to say that the radif of Iranian music is a method of teaching these gusheh pieces, …
Music of Iran
Music of Iran is an ancient traditional art. One can find the traces of this art at various parts of this country. To have a better understanding of its history, let’s review how it’s been evolved in Iran Music of Iran during the Pre-Islam Era During antiquity, music was a means of communication. It later became part of people’s beliefs and rites and was played in funerals and happy occasions. According to an ancient seal found in Choghamish, back to 3400 B.C, there was the most ancient music orchestra of the world in Khoozestan province at the southwest of Iran. In the 8th century B.C, Elamites music was under Assyrians’ influence. Even during Achaemenians, that influence was still present. Under Seleucids and Parthians, Hellenistic art had put an impact on Iranian music. But it was during Sassanians that Iranian music was brought to an independent innovative identity. Achaemenians During Achaemenians, there were three kinds of music in Iran: religious, military and local. The religious music was a special kind of song called Gatheha sung by priests and was merely vocal, not instrumental. It differentiated Iranian music from others of its time like Assyrians, Babylonians or Semites. The influence of this …

Introduction of Dastgah and Avaz in Traditional Persian Music

An Introduction to Persian Traditional Music

Radif of Iranian Music Inscribed as Intangible Cultural Heritage of Iran

Music of Iran