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Persian traditional music orIranian traditional music, also known asPersian classical music orIranian classical music,[1][2][3] refers to theclassical music ofIran (historically known asPersia). It consists of characteristics developed through the country's classical,medieval, and contemporary eras. It also influenced areas and regions that are considered part ofGreater Iran.[4]
Due to the exchange ofmusical science throughout history, many of Iran's classical modes are related to those of its neighboring cultures.
Iran's classical art music continues to function as a spiritual tool, as it has throughout history, and much less of a recreational activity. It belongs, for the most part, to thesocial elite, as opposed tothe folkloric andpopular music, in which the society as a whole participates. However, components of Iran's classical music have also been incorporated intofolk andpop music compositions.[4]
The history of musical development in Iran dates back thousands of years.Archaeological records attributed to"pre-Iranian" civilizations, such as those ofElam in the southwest and ofOxus in the northeast, demonstrate musical traditions inprehistoric times.[5]
Little is known about the music of the classical Iranian empires of theMedes, theAchaemenids, and theParthians. However, an elaborate musical scene is revealed through various fragmentary documents, including those that were observed at thecourt[5][6] and in public theaters[7] and those that accompaniedreligious rituals and battle preparations.[5]Jamshid, a king inIranian mythology, is credited with the "invention" of music.[8]
The history ofSasanian music is better documented than the earlier periods, and the names of various instruments and court musicians from the reign of theSasanians have been attested. Under the Sasanian rule,modal music was developed by a poet-musician of the court namedBarbad, who is remembered in many documents.[9] He may have invented thelute and the musical tradition that was to transform into the forms ofdastgah andmaqam. He has been credited to have organized a musical system consisting of seven "royalmodes" (xosrovāni), 30 derived modes (navā),[10] and 360melodies (dāstān).[5]
Khosrau II was a great patron of music, and his court musician, Barbod, was said to have developed a musical system with seven modal structures (known as the Royal Modes), thirty derivative modes, and 365 melodies, associated with the days of the week, month and year".[citation needed]
Iran's academic classical music, in addition to preservingmelody types attributed to Sasanian musicians, is based on thetheories of sonicaesthetics as expounded by the likes of Iranianmusical theorists in the early centuries of after theMuslim conquest of the Sasanian Empire, most notablyAvicenna,Farabi,Qotb-ed-Din Shirazi, andSafi-ed-Din Urmawi.[4]
It is also linked directly to the music of the 16th–18th-centurySafavid Empire. During the 19th-centuryQajar era, the classical melody types were developed, alongside the introduction of modern technologies and principles from the West.[4]Mirza Abdollah, a prominenttar andsetar master and one of the most respected musicians of the court of the late Qajar period, is considered a major influence on the teaching of classical Iranian music in Iran's contemporaryconservatories and universities.Radif, the repertoire that he developed in the 19th century, is the oldest documented version of the sevendastgah system, and is regarded as a rearrangement of the older 12 maqam system.[11] During the late Qajar and the earlyPahlavi eras, numerous musical compositions were produced within the parameters of classical Iranian modes, and many involved westernmusical harmonies.[12]
The introduction and popularity ofwestern musical influences in the early contemporary era was criticized by traditionalists, who felt that traditional music was becoming endangered. It was prior to the 1950s that Iran's music industry was dominated by classical musicians.[13] In 1968,Dariush Safvat and Nur-Ali Borumand[14] helped form an institution called theCenter for Preservation and Propagation of Iranian Music, with the help ofReza Ghotbi, director of theNational Iranian Radio and Television, an act that is credited with saving traditional music in the 1970s.[citation needed]
The "Radif of Iranian music" was officially inscribed on theUNESCO Representative List of theIntangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2009, described as "the traditional repertoire of the classical music of Iran".[15][16]
Iran's classical art music relies on bothimprovisation andcomposition, and is based on a series ofmodal scales andtunes including twelveDastgahs andAvazes.[17] Compositions can vary immensely from start to finish, usually alternating between low, contemplativepieces and athletic displays of musicianship calledtahrir. The common repertoire consists of more than 200 shortmelodic motions (guše), which are classified into sevenmodes (dastgāh). Two of these modes have secondary modes branching from them that are calledāvāz. This whole body is calledradif, of which there are several versions, each in accordance with the teachings of a particular master (ostād).
By the end of theSafavid Empire, more complex musical movements in 10, 14, and 16 beats stopped being performed. In the early Qajar era, therhythmic cycles (osul) were replaced by ameter based on theqazal, and themaqam system of classification was reconstructed into the radif system. Today, rhythmic pieces are performed in beats of 2 to 7, with some exceptions. Thereng are always in a6
8 time frame.[citation needed]
A typical Iranian classical performance consists of five parts, namelypišdarāmad ("prelude"; a composed metric piece),čahārmezrāb (a fast, metric piece with a repeatedrhythmic pattern),āvāz (the improvised central piece),tasnif (a composedmetric song of classical poetry), andreng (a rhythmic closing composition).[4] A performance forms a sort of suite. Unconventionally, these parts may be varied or omitted.
Iran's classical art music is vocal based, and the vocalist plays a crucial role, as he or she decides what mood to express and which dastgah relates to that mood. In many cases, the vocalist is also responsible for choosing the lyrics. If the performance requires a singer, the singer is accompanied by at least onewind orstring instrument, and at least one type ofpercussion. There could be an ensemble of instruments, though the primary vocalist must maintain his or her role. In some tasnif songs, the musicians may accompany the singer by singing along several verses.[citation needed]
The incorporation of religious texts as lyrics has largely been replaced by the works of medievalSufi poets, especiallyHafez andRumi.[citation needed]
Indigenous Iranian musical instruments used in the traditional music includestring instruments such as thechang (harp),qanun,santur,rud (oud,barbat),tar,dotar,setar,tanbur, andkamanche,wind instruments such as thesorna (zurna,karna),ney, andneyanban, andpercussion instruments such as thetombak,kus,daf (dayere),naqare, anddohol.[citation needed]
Some instruments, such as the sorna, neyanban, dohol, and naqare, are usually not used in the classical repertoire, but are used inthe folk music. Up until the middle of the Safavid Empire, the chang was an important part of Iranian music. It was then replaced by theqanun (zither), and later by the westernpiano. The tar functions as the primary string instrument in a performance. The setar is especially common amongSufi musicians. The westernviolin is also used, with an alternative tuning preferred by Iranian musicians. Theghaychak, that is a type offiddle, is being re-introduced to the classical music after many years of exclusion.[citation needed]
The following articles on the Persian Wikipedia (easily translated with abrowser such asChrome) cover informations not yet included in the English Wikipedia. It is easy to gloss overrhythm,instrument andsong as having the same meanings that they have in westernmusical theory, when they have specific meanings in Persian musical theory.
(Pers.navā, Ar.laḥn,naḡma, etc.)
17.Mirrazavi, Firouzeh, Persian Traditional Music, Iran Review, 2020
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