I knew this was a work of classical music as soon as I played
it. There is a refinement about this live performance that is not usually
found in the music of the bazaar and the cafe.
The tradition is Persian (Iranian), and the music is performed by a small ensemble of extraordinarily gifted individuals. The lyrical work is based on Persian mystical poetry dating from the 13th century C.E., notably that of Baba Taher, Sheikh Attar, Mowlavi, and Hafez. Although the printed lyrics are in Arabic, the English liner notes are quite good and guide the listener through some of the finer points of the tradition.
The singing comes from Mohammad Reza Shajarian and his son, Homayoun Shajarian, who also plays the tombak or goblet drum. Joining them are Hossein Alizadeh on the tar, or plucked lute, and Kayhan Kalhor on the kamancheh (spike fiddle). All four musicians are masters of their particular disciplines and have performed throughout the world.
Two things struck me upon hearing the overture. First, the tar's sound ranges from that of an American banjo to a Japanese koto to a West African kora, an incredible panorama. Second, the level of improvisation almost begs belief at times. And that was just in the opening movements!
The first round of vocals are devotional in nature, opening the way for a tour-de-force of the human experience put into musical form. The middle eastern traditions have always paid the highest respect to the spoken word and its delivery, and this CD is a culmination of those traditions.
One trademark of Middle Eastern singing is of course the ululation. The Shajarians deliver this form smoothly and with mellifluence. The tempo of the play list courses from the hypnotic to the molar-jarring and back again with everything in between.
Even without my understanding the words (much to my loss, I'm sure), these musicians interpreted for me the universal spirit of mystical poetry. From their ecstatic passages to their most mournful dirges, they convey their experience that in order to taste the delights of life, one must also know the horrors and the darkness.
This CD belongs to all music lovers in all traditions. Whether you play it as background music or as an intense 75-minute journey within (and you'll find yourself doing both), it will grow on you.
An approximate analogy to Without You in the European tradition would be a project in which William Coulter, Mary McLaughlin, and Charlotte Church put the works of St. John of the Cross and Ranier Maria Rilke to music (hint, hint you three). Finally, these Masters do tour; catch them if they ever come to your town.
The label that brought us this unique CD has its web site here.
