KARNA @ Persepolis Museum

KARNA is one of the ancient Persian musical instruments. This Karna which is now kept at Persepolis Museum near Shiraz shows the importance of military and epic music in ancient Persia (Iran).
The above Karna has been made in 6th century BC, when the Achaemenids were ruling the country.

The instrument was discovered during 1930s excavations in Persepolis.

Unfortunately no serious musical material has been left from ancient Persia so no one knows now how that music sounds. There are just historical objects and some names about the modes and musicians.

Karna in a smaller size is still popular in Persian folk music ensembles.

The above photo has been made by Payam Jahangiri, Shiraz-based photographer.

Persian Music and Poetry @ Bimhuis

Last night, November 3rd  2013, at Bimhuis in Amsterdam, Rumi Ensemble performed a concert that was led by Javid Afsari-Rad . Bimhuis is a beautiful place and indeed a part of Muziekgebouw.

The ensemble performed Afsari-Rad's vocal pieces from Rumi's poetry. Mohammad Motamedi was the vocalist. I did not like his voice when he was singing at high range but the rest was OK.

Afsari Rad's music was fine for max. 15 min. During the rest of the concert, his ideas were just being repeated. I think if he studies more in the field of music composition, the result of his works will become much better. 
Another issue is his santur play. In playing this instrument, controlling the sound reflection is a challenge so the player should be quite concerned about the impact of the mallets. 

It seemed Afsari-Rad not only did not bother controlling this issue but also he was so eager to strike his santur's string with the maximum power!

Anyway the atmosphere was nice but it was surprising that such a concert did not even have a 'guide' so the audience could have an idea what the name of each piece was, in which mode it had been composed, etc.

Persian Music Ensemble @ Shiraz Art Festival, 1970

Persian Music Ensemble at Shiraz Art Festival 1970

The photo has been taken during one the concerts at Hafez tomb.

Left to right: Faramarz Payvar, santur, Jalil Shahnaz, tar, Hassan Nahid, ney, Abdolvahab Shahidi, barbat (oud0, Ali-Asghar Bahari, kamancheh and Hossein Tehrani, tombak.

The photo has been originally published in the Persian-language monthly Majaleh-ye Musighi.

Rare photo of Mahasti and friends in 1979

A rare photo of the late Persian singer Mahasti (R) with friends and colleagues in  a private gathering around 1979. The legendary songwriter Mohammad Heydari stands in the middle.

Hayedeh's Fee at Tehran Cabarets in 1970s

A late 1970s newspaper in Tehran writes: "Hayedeh's fee for performing at Tehran cabarets is 12,500 tomans" [around 1500 USD on that time.]"

According to the paper, she had been the most expensive singer on that time in Persia.

Hayedeh was one of controversial Persian singers in 1970s and even after 1979 revolution who fled to UK and later to the US.

She passed away in northern California in 1990 by heart attack; She was just 47.

Newspaper Source: Kayhan Havai, 16 July 1975