This is an article I first wrote in 1996 as part of my MA in Ethnomusicology.

(I’ll come back this evening and illustrate it with sounds and pictures !)

INTRODUCTION

In the field of Ethnomusicology, it cannot be denied that Western researchers have definitely had their favourites – the music of India, Java, the African continent, & Latin America has a wealth of literature for the interested student to read about. Indeed, Universities in the UK are increasing their stocks of instruments from these areas – acquiring gamelans, sitars, surdos, & jhembes, & include as part of undergraduate courses modules in ‘World Music’, where the ‘favourite’ areas are covered to greater & lesser depths. However, for various reasons there are some areas, such as Iran, Polynesia, Aboriginal Australia, & Russia which haven’t been quite so favoured by the ethnomusicologist.

It is not the purpose of this article to predict reasons why some cultures are more ‘popular’ than others, but rather to briefly touch upon one of those cultures, namely Iran, & more specifically the classical music of Iran.

HISTORICAL OUTLINES

Before examining the music of the area, I think it is important to first of all be aware of some of the previous political events which have befallen this, one of the worlds’ more ‘historically colourful’ (for want of a better turn of phrase) nations. It has been said that a country’s politics affects its culture, & likewise its culture affects its politics, & Iran, with its alternating periods of conquest, conquered, & recently near isolation, is certainly an example of the truthfulness of this axiom, though that perhaps can only really be demonstrated in the period before the Islamic Revolution of 1979. One aspect of its history which is particularly relevant is the fact that despite its peppered political history, Iran’s culture has remained remarkably continuous. Historians often stress that even when it has been thoroughly subjugated, such as in the Medieval Period, Persia has in fact been the cultural conqueror, imposing its (usually) advanced civilisation upon the (usually) more ‘artless’ invaders. Coupled with this can be the fact that up until the Islamic Revolution Iran had a prediliction in the opposite direction – a fascination with foreign customs & styles. This isn’t a recent fascination either, as many modern Westerners obsessed with ‘Political Correctness’ would have it – as long ago as the 5th century BCE the historian Herodotus remarked that ‘no race is so ready to adopt foreign ways as the Persian’.

In as much as any culture’s history can be broken down in neat pigeon holes, Iran’s history can be laid out thus:

Ancient Period

Achaemenid Empire: 6th – 4th centuries BCE
Parthian Dynasty (Hellenic influence): 4th c. BCE – 2nd c. CE
Sassanian Empire: 3rd c. – 7th c. CE

Medieval Period

Islamic conquest & influence: 7th c. – 10th c.
Turkish & Mongolian conquests: 11th c. – 15th c.

Renaissance Period

Safavid Kingdom: 16th c. – 18th c.

Modern Period

Western political & cultural influence: 19th c. – 1979
Islamic Revolution: 1979 – present

Tracing the musical history back over 2500 years is not an easy task, made particularly difficult by the fact notation wasn’t used with any significant regularity until the 1930s. The main reason for this is the fact that most Persian Classical Music is improvised, so exact passing on of repertoire is not as important as in Western Music – & the teaching of pre composed music was done aurally anyway. So, most of the information we have on the early nature of Persian music comes to us from artists, by virtue of representations in paintings, pottery, & poetry; from historians, such as Herodotus, Xenophon, & Athenaeus; & from the great Arab philosopher – theorists such as al-Kindi (c. 801 – 866), al-Farabi (c. xxx – 950), Ibn Sina (c. 980 – 1037), & Safi al-Din (c. xxx – 1294).

In the Ancient period, unfortunately the sources do little more than confirm to us the fact that there was indeed music in Persia; & give no information on the theory or practise of that music. This is a great shame, not least for those interested in ancient Greek & Byzantine music, as given the contact between the 2 cultures during this time, & what is known of Greek music, some primary sources would be incredibly useful. During the Achaemenid empire the Persians occupied parts of Asia Minor & made many expeditions into the mainland. Conversely, the Greeks had much input into Persian society – starting with the Empire’s inheritance by Alexander the Great in 330 BCE, carrying on through the Seleucid period of the 4th to 3rd century BCE when the Greeks founded several cities in Persia such as Seleucia (on the Tigris) & started intermarrying with Persians, & also through the Parthian period.

The first primary sources available come from the Sassanian period, at the court of which musicians had a high status. Emperor Chosroes II (Xosro Parviz) ruled between 590 & 628 CE, & was patron to a number of musicians, including Barbod, the most famous of the era about whom numerous stories of his skills as a performer & composer have been told by later writers. He is credited with the invention of a system of organisation which became the prototype of the Dastgah system now in use – a system containing 7 modal structures, known as the Royal Modes (Xosrovani), 30 derivative modes (Lahn), & 360 melodies (Dastan). Unfortunately we still do not know what the actual composition of these modes & melodies was; we have been left only their names courtesy of the writers of the Islamic era. These titles do, however, suggest a rich diversity of expression & musical forms. Titles such as ‘Kin-e Iraj’ (the Vengeance of Iraj) & ‘Taxt-e Ardesir’ (the Throne of Ardesir) are assumed by historians to refer to actual historical events, & perhaps were epic songs; whereas ‘Baq-e Sahryar’ (the Sovereign’s Garden) & ‘Haft Ganj’ (the Seven Treasures) are thought to be specifically about Chosroes & his court itself. There are also titles such as ‘Sabz Bahar’ (the Green Spring) & ‘Mah abar Kuhan’ (Moon Over the Mountains) which it has to be said have left historians baffled, & we can only speculate blindly as to the nature of these compositions.

By contrast, once we arrive at the Medieval period there is a wealth of information available to us on the subject – in fact the Islamic period (starting with the conquest of the Persian Empire by the Arabs in CE 642) has produced more writings on music than any other. As an example, the historian Henry G Farmer lists 28 music theorists between the 8th & the 12th centuries, claiming that these are only the ‘most important’ (how many such ‘important’ theorists could be claimed for the Western European era & musical culture ?), & this list misses out writers such as biographers. In that category too there are numerous writings, one particularly noteworthy example being the Kitab al Aghani by Abul Faraj al-Isfahani (897 – 967). This veritable tome is a kind of Grove’s dictionary of the era, in 21 volumes listing the virtuosi of the period & the music that they played. Lastly there is much in the form of discourses covering both the illegality & the defense of music within Islam.

It is perhaps during this period when the seeds of Persian music as we know it today were sown, with the confluence of Arabic & Persian culture, especially of their musics. However, there is much disagreement as to whose music had the greater influence on who. It is more or less accepted that the urban Persian culture was more advanced than the desert – based Arab one, & it cannot be denied that Persian musicians over Arabic ones were favoured in the Arabic royal courts. On the other side of the coin, there are just as many Arabic words in Persian music terminology as there are Persian words in Arabic terminology. This ‘claiming of ownership’ has in actuality been taken to extremes – of three of the period’s major figures (al-Farabi, Ibn Sina, & Safi al-DIn) scholars from Persia, Arabia, Turkey, & even Russia have claimed ownership on the basis of birthplace, genetics, residence, & language of their works.

From the 16th to the early 20th century music suffered a decline in Persia, largely due to the hands of Shiite Muslim religious leaders – Islam in general & Shia Islam in particular frowns on the performance of secular music as a corrupting frivolous activity, & the suppression of it has ranged from it being tolerated in public, through being allowed in the privacy of one’s on home (though suspicious) down to being a downright thought – crime. Nevertheless, it persisted, & indeed important changes were made, such as the final organisation into the present system of 12 dastgah-e during the Qajar dynasty (1785 – 1925).

From the final Pahlavi dynasty (1925 – 1979) music was restored to a position of esteem as part of a general period of westernisation of Iran (as it came to be known). Not only was performance made more publicly accessible but musical scholarship was increasingly revived; by the 1930s a conservatoire had been formed in Teheran, with teachers producing musicians skilled in both western orchestral & classical Persian music. Leading figures again came to fore, such Mirza Abdullah (d. 1917), Ali Naqi Vaziri (1886 – 1981), & Mehdi Barklesli; & in our own time Ella Zonis & Hormoz Farhat.

Unfortunately since the Islamic Revolution of 1979, music in Iran is the subject of severe suppression, & the fate of this culture for the time being is largely in the hands of a few expatriate musicians in Europe & North America, & people like myself of western descent who have their own interests in it.

INSTRUMENTS IN PERSIAN MUSIC

Today in the ‘standard’ classical Persian ensemble one can find 5 melody – type instruments & 2 or 3 rhythm instruments; these are the Tar, the Sehtar, the Nay, the Kamanche, & the Santur, & the Tombak, the Zarb, & the Douf.

The Tar (tr. ‘string’) is the most widely used plucked string instrument in current usage, & has 6 strings, usually tuned as c c’ g g c’ c’, & a distinctive double bellied body shape – not very disimilar to a pair of western bongos. This similarity is heightened by the fact that the soundboard surface of the instrument is actually a sheep’s skin stretched across a hollow body, giving a sound production method comparable with a banjo. Unfortunately, because the membrane is an animal skin, it is highly susceptible to changes in temperature & humidity, with significant consequences to both tuning & tone. There are 26 movable gut frets on a standard tar, which is believed to have first appeared in Iran sometime in the 19th century.

The Sehtar (’3 strings’) has, despite its name, 4 strings, tuned c c’ g c’. The fretting, neck length (approximately 60cm), & consequently range is the same as the tar, from c to g”. It is there however where the similarity ends – the body of the sehtar is a single pear shape, made entirely out of wood, with some small holes drilled in the outside face of the wood in order to aid sound projection. However, because of this method of construction, the sehtar is markedly quieter than the tar – but this disadvantage does have advantages in the fact that since the sound does not carry, it can easily be played in secret, or in small, intimate gatherings; ideal during the periods when the playing of musical instruments in Iran has been taboo. Ella Zonis noted that the sehtar is only ever used as a solo instrument, & never used in ensembles; however, I must add that every Persian ensemble I have seen perform has included a sehtar in the line up.

The Nay is the simplest & also probably the oldest instrument used in the performance of classical music. A good description of it would be as a cross between a flute & a recorder – like a recorder it is played pointing downward, & has 6 finger holes & 1 thumb hole. However, unlike a recorder the top end of it is open, & the player blows across this open end in the manner of a flute, or as one may blow across the top of a bottle. It is actually extremely difficult to play well, as being of particularly simple construction it is hard to obtain a pure tone without ‘breathy’ sounds; also, maintaining the octave one is intending to play in is quite hard, as it is highly susceptible to overblowing. Unlike many instruments used in purely Persian music, the nay is actually also used outside of Iran – southwest in Arabic music, & northwest in Balkan folk music.

The Kamanche is a form of spiked violin, similar to a rebab, or a small version of the standard cello. It is actually about the same size as a viola, & its 4 strings are generally tuned in the same way as a violin. The body is usually a wooden hemisphere (similar to a roundback mandolin), & the face of it is, like the Tar, a skin membrane. The unfretted neck is simply glued on to the body.

The Santur is generally considered the most important of Persian melody instruments. It is a type of dulcimer – an instrument type which (like the bagpipes) has the rare distinction of being found right across the world’s musical cultures; there is the hackbrett in Northern Europe, the cymbalum in Eastern Europe, the santouri in Greece, the yang ch’in in China, & the dulcimer is also found in Britain & North America. The santur basically consists of a trapezoid wooden box with metal strings stretched across bridges arranged in courses; the typical santur has 4 strings per note. The instrument is capable of playing in 3 different octaves: the bass octave which has its own set of brass strings, & the middle & treble octaves, which uses the same set of steel strings divided in 2 by a set of movable bridges. The strings are tuned diatonically, that is to say not chromatically. The santur player tunes the strings to the pitch class set of whichever dastgah they are going to be playing in. In a typical Persian music ensemble, the leader of the group is the santur player, & tends to sit in the middle of the line up.

The Zarb is a larger version of the Tombak, which is a goblet – shaped drum with the narrow end open & the wide end covered by a skin, which is glued to the (usually wooden) frame. The playing technique of these drums is comparable, though not particularly similar, to the Indian Tabla – the player produces different sounds from a single drum according to how (& exactly where) they strike the surface with their fingers – hitting the centre of the drum produces a deep booming sound, whereas hitting the rim makes a high pitched ricky-ticky sound. The combination of these sounds produces the distinctive Arabic rhythm.