Iranian folk music refers to the folk music transmitted through generations among the people of Iran, often consisting of tunes that exist in numerous variants.
The variance of the folk music of Iran has often been stressed, in accordance to the cultural diversity of the country's ethnic and regional groups.[1] Musical influences from Iran, such as the ancient folkloric chants for group dances and spells directed at natural elements and cataclysms, have also been observed in the Caucasus.[2]
Iran's folk, ceremonial, and popular songs might be considered "vernacular", in the sense that they are known and appreciated by a major part of the society, as opposed to the country's art music, which belongs for the most part to the intellectuals.[1]
Introduction
Folkloric items, such as folk-tales, riddles, songs, and everyday-life narratives, were collected through the discovery and translation of the Avesta, that is a collection of ancient Iranian religious texts.[3] In classical Iran, minstrels (gōsān; huniyāgar) had a prominent role in the society.[4] They performed for their audiences at royal courts[5] and in public theaters.[4] Ancient Greek historian Plutarch, in his Life of Crassus (32.3), reports that they praised their national heroes and ridiculed their Roman rivals. Likewise, Strabo's Geographica reports that the Parthian youth were taught songs about "the deeds both of the gods and of the noblest men".[6]
The modal concepts in Iranian folk music are linked to those of the country's classical music. Many of Iran's folk songs have the potential of being adapted into major or minor tonalities,[7] and Iranian singers of both classical and folk music may improvise the lyric and the melody within the appropriate musical mode.[8] Experiments and influences from Iran's folk music have been incorporated into the musical appearance of tasnif, that is a type of vocal composition in Iranian classical music.[9] Composers of the late 19th and early 20th centuries used the folk music of their native countries as a source of inspiration for their compositions. Iranian folk songs were incorporated into musical compositions that were produced within the parameters of classical Iranian modes, combined with western musical harmonies.[7] Elements deriving from Iran's folk and classical music have been combined and used also in the pop music.[1]
Iranian folk music is categorized in various themes, and includes historical, social, religious, and nostalgic contexts. There are folk songs that apply to particular occasions, such as weddings and harvests, as well as lullabies, children's songs, and riddles.[10] The poetic meter of do-beyti ("two-couplet"), often sung in the Iranian vocal mode of āvāz-e dašti, is closely associated with Iranian folk tunes.[11]
Ruhowzi, a musical comedy in Iran's traditional theater, involves loose paraphrases of stories from Iranian folklore and classical literature that are already known to the audience. The stories contain funny remarks that are improvised and indicate social and cultural concepts. Traditionally, ruhowzi was performed on stages made of boards that were covered with rugs and were put on a small pool (howz) in the courtyard.[12]
Musical instruments of various sorts are used in Iran's traditional music, some of which belong to specific groups. Three types of instruments are common to all parts of the country, namely sorna (karnay, zurna), ney (flute), and a doubleheader drum called dohol.[citation needed]
Folk music specialists
Iranian folk musicians usually learn their art from their families. There are several types of traditional specialists of folk music in Iran, some of whom belong to specific ethnic and regional groups. Professional folk instrumentalists and vocalists (motreb) perform at formal ceremonial events such as weddings. Storytellers (naqqāl; gōsān) would recite epic poetry, such as that of Iran's long epic poem of Šāhnāme, using traditional melodic forms that are interspersed with spoken commentary, which is a practice found also in Central Asian and Balkan musical traditions. The bakshy (baxši), wandering minstrels who play the dotar, entertain their audiences at social gatherings with romantic ballads about warriors and warlords. There are also lament singers (rowze-xān), who recite verses that would commemorate the martyrdom of religious figures.[1] and also there are many notable and top-notched scholars and ethnomusicologists who have studied on Persian folk music around different ethnicities to collect and analyze the Iranian folk music. Among them Morteza Hannaneh, Bahman Kazemi, & Mohammad-Reza Darvishi have had a deep authentic researchers on Iranian folk music.[13]
Notable works
Many of Iran's old folkloric songs were revitalized through a project developed by the Institute for the Intellectual Development of Children and Young Adults, a cultural and educational institute that was founded under the patronage of Iran's former empress Farah Pahlavi in 1965. They were produced in a collection of quality recordings, performed by professional Iranian vocalists such as Pari Zanganeh, Monir Vakili, and Minoo Javan, and were remarkably influential in Iran's both folk and pop music productions.[14]
Mohammad-Reza Shajarian was an Iranian singer and master (Ostad) of Persian traditional music. He was also known for his skills in Persian calligraphy and humanitarian activities. Shajarian started his singing career in 1959 at Radio Khorasan, rising to prominence in the 1960s with his distinct singing style.
The music of Iran encompasses music that is produced by Iranian artists. In addition to the traditional folk and classical genres, it also includes pop and internationally celebrated styles such as jazz, rock, and hip hop.
Persian traditional music or Iranian traditional music, also known as Persian classical music or Iranian classical music, refers to the classical music of Iran. It consists of characteristics developed through the country's classical, medieval, and contemporary eras. It also influenced areas and regions that are considered part of Greater Iran.
Ma'soumeh Dadehbala, known professionally as Hayedeh, was an Iranian singer with a contralto vocal range. Known for her wide range of voice, her career spanned over two decades, and she has been widely described as one of the most popular and influential musicians of Iran.
Kayhan Kalhor is an Iranian Kurdish kamancheh and setar player, and a vocal composer. He has received three Grammy Award for Best Traditional World Music Album nominations. Kalhor also has earned two nominations and won one Grammy Award for Best Global Music Album as a member of the Silk Road Ensemble.
Barbad was a Persian poet-musician, lutenist, music theorist and composer of Sasanian music. He served as chief minstrel-poet under the Shahanshah Khosrow II. A barbat player, he was the most distinguished Persian musician of his time and is regarded among the major figures in the history of Persian music.
Dastgāh is the standard musical system in Persian art music, standardised in the 19th century following the transition of Persian music from the Maqam modal system. A dastgāh consists of a collection of musical melodies, gushehs. In a song played in a given dastgah, a musician starts with an introductory gusheh, and then meanders through various different gushehs, evoking different moods. Many gushehs in a given dastgah are related to an equivalent musical mode in Western music. For example, most gushehs in Dastgāh-e Māhur correspond to the Ionian mode in the Major scale, whilst most gushehs in Dastgāh-e Šur correspond to the Phrygian mode. In spite of 50 or more extant dastgāhs, 12 are most commonly played, with Dastgāh-e Šur and Dastgāh-e Māhur being referred to as the mothers of all dastgahs.
Homayoun Shajarian Homayoun Shajarian is an Iranian singer. Homayoun is the son of Iranian singer Mohammad-Reza Shajarian, He learned singing from his father and started his musical career in the 1990s..
Mugham or Mughamat is one of the many classical compositions from Azerbaijan, contrasting with tasnif and ashik.
Fātemeh Vā'ezi, better known as Parisā, is a Persian classical singer, Avaz master, and one of the foremost female vocalists from Iran.
Symphonic music in Iran encompasses Iranian musical pieces composed in the symphonic style. In addition to instrumental compositions, some of Iran's symphonic pieces are based on the country's folk songs, and some are based on poetry of both classical and contemporary Iranian poets.
Mohammad-Reza Lotfi was an Iranian classical musician renowned for his mastery of the tar and setar. He collaborated with singers such as Mohammad-Rezā Shajarian, Hengameh Akhavan, Shahram Nazeri and Alireza Shahmohammadi.
Gusans were creative and performing artists - singers, instrumentalists, dancers, storytellers, and professional folk actors in public theaters of Parthia and ancient and medieval Armenia.
Iranian folklore encompasses the folk traditions that have evolved in Greater Iran.
Afsaneh Rasaei is a premier Persian vocalist who began training with Mahmoud Karimi in 1974. After the Islamic Revolution, women were not allowed to perform in public, so all the activities for women vocalists were limited to teaching. Now, Iranian women are permitted to perform at a concert with men, in the choir. However, she was the pioneer woman in Iran to sing thoroughly and singularly in concerts, even though men were present.
The Shamss Ensemble is a musical group that performs traditional Sufi and classical Iranian music with the Tanbour, Daf, Ney and various other percussion instruments. The group was founded by composer Kaykhosro Pournazeri. His sons Tahmoures and Sohrab are also members of the group.
Morqe Sahar is an Iranian tasnif often sung in protest of injustices, dictatorship and tyranny in Iran. Often regarded as the "anthem" of struggles for freedom in Iran, the tasnif was written by Mohammad-Taqi Bahar and composed by Morteza Neidavoud in the early 20th century under the wake of Iranian constitutional revolution. The song's lyrics centre on the metaphor of the bird of dawning or morning that initiates a lament. As the song progresses, it appeals to the caged bird to sing and break free, symbolising the termination of a period of oppression ("night") and the commencement of liberation ("day").
Masters of Persian Music is a Persian classical music ensemble founded in 2000 by four internationally recognized ustāds (masters) of the genre: vocalist Mohammad-Reza Shajarian; composer-musicians Hossein Alizâdeh and Kayhan Kalhor; and Mr. Shajarian's son, multi-instrumentalist singer Homayoun Shajarian.
The Parthian Empire, a major state of ancient Iran, lasted from 247 BCE to 224 CE, in which music played a prominent role. It featured in festivals, weddings, education, warfare and other social gatherings. Surviving artistic records indicate that it involved both men and women, who could be instrumentalists or singers. Along with the older music of the previous Achaemenids, Medians and Assyrians, Parthian music was crucial in laying the foundation for the golden age of subsequent Sasanian music.
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