Iacobus Leodiensis [Iacobus de Montibus, Iacobus de Oudenaerde]

II. Classical traditions

Very few countries have such a long history of national and political identity as Iran. As a great empire, Persia was a meeting-place of diverse cultural elements. Yet it maintained its own marked individuality. Famed for its creative genius, Islamic Persia has exerted powerful influences on other civilizations and, in turn, absorbed the impact of contact with other cultures. In music, the Persian element was the dominant ingredient in the amalgam known as the Islamic musical tradition of the Middle Ages. This tradition relied on ancient Greek theoretical concepts but leant heavily on pre-Islamic Persian musical practices. The musical nomenclature of the Middle East, whether in Turkic- or Arabic-speaking regions, is largely Persian, and throughout this vast region most musical instruments have had earlier Persian prototypes.

See also Arab music, §I and Islamic religious music.

1. History.

2. Theory of intervals and scales.

3. The modal system.

4. Composed music.

5. Musical instruments and vocal techniques.

6. Music education and performance.

7. Modern developments.

Iran, §II: Pre-Islamic

1. History.

Persian classical music developed from the music of urban and courtly tradition. The first substantial historical evidence on music relates to the Sassanian dynasty (224–651 ce; see §I above). The Persians possessed a high musical culture where musicians enjoyed an exalted position at the imperial court. Emperor Khosrow II (ruled 591–628) was patron to many musicians, among whom were Rāmtin, Bāmshād, Nakisa or Sarkash and Bārbad. The most illustrious, Bārbad (fig.9 above), is known to have devised seven royal modes (khosrovāni), 30 derivative modes (lahn) and 360 melodies (dastān), corresponding to the number of days in the week, month and the year of the Zoroastrian calendar. The nature and calendrical applications of these modes and melodies are not known, but some names have survived in the writings of early Islamic authors, such as al-Kindī (c801–c866), Ibn Zayla (d 1048), and particularly through the epic poem Khosrow va Shirin (‘Khosrow and Shirin’), one of the five sections of the Khamseh (‘Five poems’) by Nezami (d c1203).

The Arab conquest of the Persian empire begain in 642 and eventually resulted in the incorporation of Iranian nations within the greater Islamic Empire. With the ascendancy of the Abbasid dynasty (750–1258) and transfer of the seat of the Caliphate from Damascus to Baghdad, Persian political and cultural influences became dominant. The Arabs valued Persian culture highly and soon Persian musicians and musical scholars were to be found throughout the Muslim world. Among the outstanding were Ibrāhīm al-Mawsilī (742–804) and his son Ishāq al-Mawsilī (767–850), Mohammad Rāzī (d c923) and al-Fārābī (d 950). The last was the most celebrated of early scholars; his famous Kitāb al-mūsīqī al-kabīr (‘Great book on music’) contains discussions on musical instruments and on musical theory, including intervals, modes, scales and rhythmic cycles (see Arab music, §I, 2(ii)).

Al-Fārābī’s investigations were founded on theories expounded by classical Greeks, as were those of his illustrious follower Ibn Sīnā (Avicenna) (d 1037). In addition to discussing modes and rhythmic cycles, Ibn Sīnā considered the notion of harmonic consonance and dissonance, the concept of ethos (ta’thir) and the therapeutic effects of music. Significantly, the names of the 12 primary modes as described by Ibn Sīnā are still found among the modes of contemporary Persian classical music, although they do not necessarily identify the modal schemes of Ibn Sīnā’s time. These 12 are rahāvi, hosseini, rāst, busalik, zanguleh, oshāq, hejāzi, erāq, esfāhān, navā, bozorg and mokhālef.

In the tradition of classical Greece, medieval Islamic scholarship concerned itself with music as an aspect of mathematical philosophy. As such, most men of learning took an interest in musical theory. In the succeeding period, the most important of many writers on music was Safī al-Dīn (d 1294). His Kitāb al-adwār (‘Book of cycles’) and Risāla al-sharaffiyya fi al-nisāb al-ta’lifiyya (‘Sharafian treatise on intervallic relations’) were highly influential in establishing a uniform theoretical basis for urban musical traditions throughout much of the Islamic world. His pupil Qutb al-Dīn [Mahmūd ibn Mas‘ūd al-Shīrāzī] (d 1312) also wrote on musical theory and his Durrat al-tāj (‘Pearl of the crown’) was widely circulated. Other scholars of note were al-Āmulī (d 1352) and al-Jorjānī (d 1413). The last great theorist of this era was ‘Abd al-Qādir (d 1435) whose Jāmi‘ al-alhān (‘Compendium of melodies’) contains rare examples of musical notation.

From the beginning of the 16th century, however, with the reunification of the country under the highly nationalistic Safavid dynasty (1501–1722), Persia became increasingly isolated from the rest of the Middle East, where Ottoman rule was paramount. The Safavids established the Shi‘a faith – a schismatic offshoot of Islamic orthodoxy – as the state religion, thereby creating an even greater separation from other Muslim states. The Shi‘a religious leaders have generally maintained a hostile attitude towards music; it was viewed with suspicion as its effect on the listener cannot be reasoned or theologically explained. Furthermore, music was generally seen as an accompaniment to frivolity and merriment, which could lead to impiety. The consequence of such proscriptive attitudes towards music was a gradual decline of musical scholarship from the 16th century to the mid-19th. Within urban settings, music was gradually reduced to a private, quasi-clandestine art where solo performance and improvisation became the dominant features.

The comparatively fallow period from the 16th century to the 19th gave rise to performing practices in which the individuality of modes became subordinated to a system where modes were linked into groups known as dastgāh. The system of 12 dastgāhs, which represents the classical tradition as known today, is largely a legacy of 19th-century practices. The definitive codification of this system is attributed to Mirzā Abdollāh (1845–1918), an eminent player and teacher of the setār (long-necked lute).

In the second half of the 19th century, European musical influences began to be felt. A Frenchman named Bousquet was employed in 1856 to organize a military band for ceremonial occasions at court. He was succeeded by Rouillon and Lemair, who established a music school to train conscripts to play Western wind instruments. The European marches and airs that these military bands performed were the first examples of Western music to be heard by the Iranian public at large. Through this music school, Western musical notation, theory, harmony and the very concept of a fixed and stable – as opposed to free and improvised – piece of music were introduced.

Iran, §II: Pre-Islamic

2. Theory of intervals and scales.

Numerous treatises on the theory of music containing discussions on intervals, methods of their measurement, modes and rhythmic cycles were produced between the 9th and 13th centuries. They were mostly written in Arabic, the scientific language of the vast Islamic domain. Within the Islamic community, there was a common thread of scholarly pursuit indicating that, on a theoretical level, music was based on shared principles, whether in Persia, Arabic-speaking regions, or Turkey. These theories relied fundamentally on the works of classical Greek authors from Pythagoras to Aristoxenus of Tarentum (see Greece, §I, 6). As music was not learnt or performed from notation, the measure of a true correlation between the theories expounded by medieval Islamic writers and the actual musical practices of their time cannot be reliably assessed. In theory, modes were conceived with tetrachordal arrangements of tones and semitones, corresponding to the Pythagorean whole tone of 204 cents and the semitone of one limma (90 cents). Other intervals, smaller than the whole-tone but larger than the semitone, were also in use. By the time of Ibn Sīnā (11th century), in a tetrachord of say c-d-e-f, there were, according to different methods of measurement, seven possibilities for a flattened d and five ways of achieving a flattened e. In the structure of various modes, however, no chromatic progressions from the natural to any flat version of a pitch were employed. Similarly, two versions of a flattened pitch were not used in succession.

In the 13th century, Safī al-Dīn re-evaluated the many theories, proposing only two possibilities for flat notes within each whole tone. According to his system, each tone (204 cents) could be subdivided into either limma (90 cents) or limma + limma (180 cents). Thereby, a tetrachord, having two tones and one semitone, yields seven possible pitches, and an octave composed of two conjunct tetrachords plus a whole tone contains 17 pitches, as shown in Table 1. (For a detailed discussion of medieval Islamic music theory to 1500, see Arab music, §I.) This highly exacting scale system has given way to a more flexible system in the surviving Persian tradition. The degree of correspondence to past practices cannot be ascertained, but one can recognize traces of Safī al-Dīn’s 17-tone scale, albeit in a distorted form.

TABLE 1: Subdivision of the tetrachord into Pythagorean limmas (L) and commas (C) (Safī al-Dīn, 13th century)

open

Z1

Z8

sabbābe

V1

V7

bansar

khansar

L

L

C

L

L

C

L

(90 c)

(90 c)

(24 c)

(90 c)

(90 c)

(24 c)

(90 c)

In the 1920s Ali Naqi Vaziri, a distinguished musician who had spent some years pursuing musical studies in France, proposed an artificial 24 quarter-tone scale as the basis for Persian music. His theory was not based on historical or scientific research but mainly derived from his abiding interest in submitting Persian music to the tempered tuning system to render it compatible with harmonization. To this day, many Iranian musicians believe their music is founded on a 24 quarter-tone scale, oblivious of the fact that no interval even approximating to a quarter-tone is used.

Vaziri organized a National School of Music and for some 20 years trained a significant number of musicians who became dedicated followers of his ideas. New pieces were composed within the framework of the traditional modes, but with an additional thin harmonic layer, a ‘progressive’ move seen as necessary for rescuing Persian music from stagnation. Naive and questionable as this aim was, it gained a considerable following. By the mid-20th century, Western influences had brought about a general acceptability and overwhelming popularity for music (both Persian and Western), effectively bypassing any religious objection that may still have existed (see §6 below).

In the mid-20th century, a Persian physicist and musician, Mehdi Barkeshli, attempted to establish, through scientific examination, that the contemporary tradition is still based on Safī al-Dīn’s 17-tone scale, but with the addition of one more possibility for the subdivision of the whole tone. According to Barkeshli, a whole tone is divisible into: limma (90 cents), limma + comma (114 cents), and limma + limma (180 cents). With each of the five tones in the octave yielding four possible pitches, and the addition of the two semitones, his octave scale contains a total of 22 pitches. This scale concept is appealing for its implied connection with past theories but difficult to reconcile with the reality of Persian music today. All theories that set forth neatly ordered and precise intervallic structures would seem unrealistic if in practice the music involves string instruments with movable frets and bridges, or wind instruments of no standardized size, thickness or substance.

Later studies on the intervals of Persian music, carried out in the 1960s by Hormoz Farhat, have been concerned with the reality of music as known and practised today. His findings are based on measurement of intervals and analysis of recorded music. No attempt has been made to prove links with classical theories, nor has there been undue reliance on Western musical concepts. His studies showed that Persian music cannot be represented meaningfully by any octave scale concept. It is rather pointless to speak of ‘the scale’ of Persian music. Such abstractions have no practical applications and tend to mislead. It is the groupings of tones into melodic configurations, normally not exceeding a tetrachord or pentachord, that are significant. Another striking feature of Farhat’s conclusions is that, in Persian music, intervals are often unstable; they tend to fluctuate, within a certain latitude, depending on the mode and according to the performer’s taste and inclination.

Based on these conclusions, the whole tone is reasonable stable, approximating to the Pythagorean whole tone of 204 cents. The semitone, although more flexible, is usually close to the Pythagorean limma of 90 cents. There are two unstable intervals that lie between the semitone and the whole tone. The smaller one varies between about 120 and 140 cents (‘small neutral tone’), and the larger of the two fluctuates between about 160 and 180 cents (‘large neutral tone’). In most cases, the two types of neutral tone come in succession, combining to complete the interval of a minor 3rd. There is also a variable interval of between 260 and 280 cents (‘plus tone’); it is appreciably smaller than the augmented 2nd. This tone has comparatively little application; where it is used, it follows, or precedes, a ‘small neutral tone’, together completing the range of a major 3rd. Whether these intervals represent deviations from the more exact intervals suggested by the classical writers and by Mehdi Barkeshli is open to question. Indeed the flexibility of intervals in modern Persian music is such that any number of theories can be broadly accommodated.

The traditional music is learnt by rote and, within the confines of the melodic dictates of each mode, is highly improvisatory. Musical notation is not used and can have little purpose. On the other hand, during the last hundred years compositions of pieces within the melodic frame of reference set by each mode have become prevalent (see below §4). In this context, Western notation has found wide application. Two additional signs, to express pitches lowered or raised by less than a semitone, were introduced by Vaziri early in the 20th century, and are commonly used. The koron indicates an approximate ‘half-flat’, and the sori a ‘half-sharp’ (see Table 2). The degree of lowering and raising of a tone is variable.

Iran, §II: Pre-Islamic

3. The modal system.

Persian classical music is represented by a corpus of amorphous pieces that are subject to extemporized renditions. They adhere to a modal principle that is defined by a set of pitches (maqām) and a certain melodic contour (māyeh). The pieces are collectively known as the radif (‘row’, ‘line-up’). 19th-century performing practices have tended to place these pieces into 12 groups, known as the 12 dastgāhs (a large unit with inner components; ex.1). The pieces within each dastgāh are generically called gusheh, and they carry their own individual names. Some of the dastgāhs contain large numbers of gushehs, which represent numerous maqāmāt, while others are composed of only a few gushehs. The 12 dastgāhs are: shūr, abu atā, dashtī, bayāt-e tork (or bayāt-e zand), afshāri, segāh, chāhārgāh, homāyun, bayāt-e esfāhān, navā, māhur and rāst (or rāst-panjgāh). Five of the 12 are commonly considered as subordinate dastgāhs (āvāz). Four of these, abu atā, dashtī, bayāt-e tork and afshārī, are taken to be related to shūr; bayāt-e esfāhān is considered as a derivative of homāyun. This classification, however, is poorly reasoned as it is merely based on a measure of relationship in the pitch material of these dastgāhs and not on their melodic content, which is far more axiomatic to their identity.

The performance of a dastgāh usually begins with one or more sections called darāmad (introduction). It is in the darāmad that the mode (maqām) and the melodic character (māyeh) of the dastgāh are revealed. After the darāmad, selections from the gushehs that are constituent parts of the dastgāh are presented. They differ from the darāmad in their māyeh, and they may also present, through modulation, different maqāmāt.

Some gushehs belong exclusively to the repertory of one dastgāh; others may be found within the structure of more than one dastgāh. In the latter category, there are those gushehs that preserve both their modal and melodic identity and those that maintain only their māyeh but yield to the set of pitches (maqām) of the dastgāh where they are placed. Notable in this type are gushehs belonging to dastgāh segāh, all of which can also be performed in dastgāh chāhārgāh.

It is common to begin the performance of a dastgāh in a relatively low register of the instrument or voice. The gushehs that follow the darāmad section are usually chosen to give a gradual ascent to higher sound registers. This systematic rise in pitch level was more binding in 19th-century practices; it is not always maintained in more modern performance styles.

Given the fact that a dastgāh is comprised of pieces in different modes, a measure of organizational unity is achieved through periodic reference back to the opening mode of the darāmad, which properly identifies the dastgāh. This is done by a concluding melodic cadence, placed at the end of each gusheh, which has presented a distinct maqām of its own. This melodic cadence, which may be brief or lengthy, is called forud (‘descent’), since it requires a modulation to the lower sound register of the darāmad section.

The entire performance process of a dastgāh is carried out, in the main, through extemporization. This occurs on the skeletal melodic material inherent to the mode of the dastgāh, as represented by the darāmad section, and extends to the various gushehs within the dastgāh. These melody models (māyeh) are not clearly defined, and no performer is able to isolate and tangibly represent them; nevertheless, they act as nebulous themes for an infinite number of variations. A broad understanding of the constituency of these māyehs is attained through years of training and immersion in a musical tradition that remains intriguingly arcane and non-specific. It is no wonder that many of the governing principles of Persian music remain controversial. A rendition of a dastgāh can vary greatly depending on the number of gushehs included and the degree of improvisatory freedom taken, and it may last just a few minutes or well over an hour.

Iran, §II: Pre-Islamic

4. Composed music.

20th-century performing practice of the 12 dastgāhs led to the creation of a new genre of composed pieces by known authors. The stimulus for this development came from Western music, which found increasing popularity. Whereas the traditional pieces from the radif are improvised variations on existing melody models, these 20th-century compositions were predetermined pieces of more or less fixed content, either written in Western notation or memorized.

In the main, there are four types of composed music. Three are purely instrumental: pishdarāmad, reng and chāhārmezrāb. The fourth, the tasnif or tarāneh, is a vocal genre. All four are composed in set metres, which distinguishes them from the improvised performance of the traditional radif, which is essentially non-rhythmic. The most common metre is the compound duple; simple duple, triple and quadruple rhythms are also used. Melodically, most composed pieces begin with a theme suggestive of the maqām and the māyeh of the darāmad, followed by one or more sections referring to one or more of the prominent gushehs of the dastgāh for which the piece has been composed. The exception to this rule is the chāhārmezrāb, which is usually a monothematic piece for a solo instrument.

The pishdarāmad ‘pre-introduction’ owes its origins to a growing interest in ensemble playing. Early in the 20th century, Persian musicians came in contact with Western orchestral music. The richness of orchestral sound was in sharp contrast to the soloistic/improvisatory modesty of Persian music, and it made a great impression. For ensemble playing, compositions with fixed melodic and rhythmic content were needed. Innovation of the pishdarāmad has been credited to Qolam Hossein Darvish (1872–1926). Although essentially an ensemble piece, true to the classical tradition, the pishdarāmad is monophonic and, as such, it can also be played by a single instrument. In melodic content it draws on the darāmad and some of the more striking gushehs of the relevant dastgāh. The rhythm is mostly in duple time, less commonly in triple or quadruple time. The tempo is normally moderate and the piece may last some two to five minutes.

The reng is a dance piece. There are some very old rengs by unknown composers, but hundreds of rengs have also been composed in modern times. In form, the reng resembles the pishdarāmad; it also draws on melodic material of the relevant dastgāh. It is, however, in a faster tempo, is nearly always in 6/8 time, and usually concludes the performance of a dastgāh. A reng can be played by an ensemble, but, having an older tradition than the pishdarāmad, is also very often played as the concluding piece for a solo performance.

Unlike the preceding two forms, the chāhārmezrāb is exclusively a solo instrumental composition intended to display the performer’s virtuosity. Its melodic content is simple and slight, with emphasis on fast and flowing movement around a fragmentary basic motif. A recurring rhythmic motif in 6/8 time is a common feature. However, modern chāhārmezrābs have become more elaborate, sometimes involving rhythmic syncopation and melodic extensions requiring modulations. The chāhārmezrāb is less fixed than the other compositional forms, allowing for some expansion through improvisation. The position of a chāhārmezrāb in the course of a dastgāh performance is not fixed. It may be placed near the beginning as a part of the darāmad section, in which case it will derive from the basic mode of the dastgāh. Additional chāhārmezrābs may be placed before or after one or more of the prominent gushehs of the dastgāh. In that case, they highlight the mode of that particular gusheh. The chāhārmezrāb may also come towards the end, just before the reng, or at the end, in place of the reng. Contemporary instrumentalists (especially santur and tār players) tend to intersperse their rendition of a dastgāh with an ever-increasing number of such display pieces. The growing interest in a show of virtuosity, as opposed to the more contemplative nature of the older style of performance, is another unmistakable outcome of Western influences.

The tasnif is a vocal piece performed with instrumental accompaniment by a soloist or an ensemble. Its structure parallels that of the pishdarāmad, but it usually comes towards the end of a dastgāh, just before the reng. In modern times it is not uncommon for the same tasnif to open and close a performance. Tasnifs written in the early years of the 20th century have serious poetic content with a social and patriotic message. The works of poet-musicians such as Aref, Sheydā and Amir Jāhed exemplify this type of tasnif. In the 1930s and 40s most tasnifs were set to high-quality lyric verses by classical poets such as Rumi, Hafez and Sa‘di. In the succeeding period of increased commercialization, tasnifs deteriorated in poetic and musical standard. A style of popular amorous ballad emerged, known as tarāneh. This genre, heavily diluted with Western elements, sometimes includes a thin layer of elementary harmony. Following the 1979 Revolution, composition of tasnifs gave way to more serious songs that conform to the ideological tenets of the clerical régime.

Iran, §II: Pre-Islamic

5. Musical instruments and vocal techniques.

Historically, a wide variety of instruments has been used in Persian music, although some are now obsolete (e.g. the chang). Evidence suggests Persia as the source of several musical instruments found outside the country. The Persian dulcimer (santur) is found in North India and Greece (santouri). The Persian word Ney (‘reed’) is applied to various flutes or pipes throughout the Middle East and North Africa. The Persian word sornā (‘festive pipe’), distorted to zurnā, is applied to a similar instrument in Turkey and all countries in the Balkan peninsula (shahnāī in India; see Surnāy). The North Indian sitār bears a Persian name, although it differs in construction from the Persian setār.

There are many instruments of regional folk music not used in urban classical music (see §III, 3 below). Currently the most widely used instruments of classical music are: setār, tār, santur, kamāncheh, ney and tombak (fig.10). The dāyereh (frame drum) was formerly important.

The setār (fig.11a) is a long-necked lute with a small pear-shaped soundbox and four strings. Its name signifies ‘three strings’; a fourth drone string has been added in more recent times. It has a range of two octaves and a 5th, and it is strummed with the nail of the right index finger. The more ancient name for this type of lute is tanbūr or tunbūr; the name setār found currency from the 16th century. Similar instruments used in the folk music of eastern Iran to this day are called tanbūr. The tār (fig.11b) has a tonal range identical with the setār. It has three double courses of strings (six strings in all); the first two courses serve a melodic function while the third course serves as a drone. The tār has a double interconnected soundbox covered with parchment. The larger resonating chambers, doubled melody strings and use of a metal pick (instead of the finger-nail) result in greater sonority, which has made the tār much more popular than the setār. However, it has not had a very long history in Persia.

The santur (fig.11e) is a small dulcimer with two layers of quadruple strings tuned in unison resting on movable bridges. It has a range of over three octaves and is played with delicate hammers made of rosewood. The kamāncheh (fig.10a and fig.11c) is a spike fiddle with four strings and a range of about three octaves. Its soundbox is round and deep, with a skin-covered surface over which the bridge rests. Ney is the generic name for many types of flute. A wooden rim-blown flute called ney-e haftband has found its way into the classical tradition. It is obliquely held, with six finger-holes and one thumb-hole. The tombak (fig.10b), also called dombak, is a vase-shaped wooden drum, held horizontally on the lap and played with the fingers of both hands. As it is used for establishing rhythm, the tombak is also popularly called the zarb (‘beat’).

The ‘ūd (lute; fig.11d) is believed to be a later development of a pre-Islamic Persian instrument called barbat. It has been a prominent musical instrument throughout the Middle East and is still widely used in Turkey and Arabic-speaking regions. In Persia, however, since the Safavid period, the ‘ūd gradually lost favour with musicians. Reasons for this are unclear, but by the beginning of the 20th century it was barely known. In the second half of the century, attempts were made to revive interest in the ‘ūd. It now has some use, particularly in orchestral music although there are still very few proficient ‘ūd players in Iran. The same holds true for the qānūn (psaltery; fig.11f), which has also enjoyed a limited revival, mainly in some orchestral formations.

Several Western instruments have found a firm place within the Persian classical tradition. The violin has been adopted very effectively as it is capable of producing intervals other than the tempered semitone and whole tone. In fact, it has largely replaced the native fiddle (kamāncheh). Other Western instruments used in Persian music include the clarinet, flute and trumpet. The most incompatible instruments are those with fixed tuning, such as the piano, which is severely at odds with the pliable nature of Persian intervals. Nevertheless, the piano’s majestic sound made it all too alluring to be overlooked. With some tuning alterations, it has been widely used, both as a solo instrument and in ensembles (with less than felicitous results).

Iran, §II: Pre-Islamic

6. Music education and performance.

The traditional approach to learning Persian music is through private instruction from a master-musician. The process is essentially centred on mastery of an instrument. Even singers usually study with an instrumentalist, singing as the teacher plays on his instrument. Learning to perform and to improvise are inseparable; the necessary knowledge of the musical system comes as a by-product of gaining proficiency in performance. This traditional practice is still widely followed, although music schools that use organized classroom teaching also now exist (see §7 below).

After discussing how to hold the instrument, the teacher is likely to begin lessons with a simplified version of a darāmad of one of the dastgāhs. As the pupil progresses, the various gushehs of the chosen dastgāh are introduced. It is all done by rote. Purely technical studies or dry exercises detached from the dastgāh repertory have only a marginal place in the teaching process. With continued work, the pupil becomes aware that the object is not to learn specific and unalterable pieces, but rather that it is a question of mastering mutable ideas for the improvisation of pieces that have aspects of identity (tones, melodic configurations, range, limitations etc.), but no fixed formation or duration. Through this procedure musicians come to know the implied models of the radif repertory. They learn to improvise upon them and become imbued with an understanding that can be articulated in performance but not verbalized.

In this music the preponderance of extemporization has mitigated against the use of ensembles. Moreover, a monophonic music that utilizes a limited range of sound has little justification for the employment of an orchestra. Nevertheless, the inroads of Western music and the introduction of fixed compositions (see §4 above) have resulted in the formation of small ensembles combining Persian and Western instruments, e.g. tār, santur, ney and tombak, plus violin and clarinet. The gushehs that are subject to improvised rendition are played by individual musicians within the group. In vocal performances the singer leads in improvisation. He or she is followed closely by the accompanying instrumentalist (who must have considerable experience and an exceptionally retentive memory), resulting in an inadvertent imitative counterpoint.

Persian music has a unique vocal technique, which includes tahrir, a type of ornamentation with a quasi-yodelling effect and high falsetto notes. This difficult art has been declining since the beginning of the 20th century. Outstanding early 20th-century singers were Qamar and Tāherzāde.

Until the early 20th century, performance of Persian classical music was limited to special occasions in private gatherings, mostly in aristocratic homes or at court. Religious constraints tended to prohibit large public forums for musical presentation. Since then, Westernization and the advent of recording, cinema, radio and television have combined to give music a wider social application (see §7 below). Whereas in the past great performers were known by the social élite, today they are familiar to the bulk of the population. Outstanding performers of modern times, such as ahmad Ebādi (setār), ali akbar Shahnāzi (tār), Asqar Bahāri (kamāncheh), abolhasan Sabā (violin), Farāmarz Pāyvar (santur), Hasan Kasāi (ney), Hoseyn Tehrāni (tombak) and Qolāmhoseyn Banān (singer), gained recognition through their recordings, broadcasts and concert presentations, and have been revered by all.

Iran, §II: Pre-Islamic

7. Modern developments.

Increasing Westernization was the dominant feature of Iran under Pahlavi rule (1925–79). Significant strides were made in the promotion of music as a social force. Tehran was the hub of activity, but larger provincial cities also gradually benefited. In the 1930s a music conservatory was established in Tehran under the auspices of the Ministry of Culture and Arts, with theoretical and practical courses based on European models, and there was a state-funded School of National Music. In 1965 the University of Tehran organized a Music Department modelled on the American system, covering theory, composition, music education and study of different instruments of Western art music. A separate section dealt with systematic study of theoretical and practical aspects of Persian classical music.

Before the 1979 Revolution, radio and television stations aired all types of musical programmes and employed many musicians. In a lighter vein, composed songs of a hybrid Persian/Western type became increasingly popular. An ever-growing host of male and female singers captured the public fancy, stimulating a profitable record industry. These songs were taken up by professional entertainers, as were musical items from films (see §III, 5 below).

By the 1970s, Iran had a number of competent composers, conductors, pianists, violinists and singers of Western music, mostly trained abroad; some enjoyed international recognition. The Tehran SO, founded in the late 1930s, improved steadily. By the mid-1970s it had a hundred musicians under contract, performing regular concerts of the standard repertory and newly commissioned works. An opera company founded in the late 1960s staged works in the splendid Rudaki Hall, including a few by Iranian composers. The National Iranian Radio and Television maintained an excellent chamber orchestra, and there was also a ballet troupe.

The annual Shiraz Festival, held in the southern city of Shiraz and nearby ancient ruins of Persepolis, was another highly effective area of musical activity. The accent was on the Western avant-garde and authentic music from Iran (fig.12) and other parts of the East, with internationally known artists and groups.

With the 1979 Revolution and political takeover by the fundamentalist religious faction, all public music was initially brought to a halt. Music ceased to be broadcast, music schools were closed, and the Symphony Orchestra, opera company and ballet troupe were disbanded. However, within a few years the government came to realize that such draconian measures are untenable: music cannot be expunged from the life of a nation. Furthermore, the hardline position against music, when theologically scrutinized, was found to be largely groundless.

A considerable softening in policy has since occurred. The Tehran SO has been revived, music schools are functioning again and music is heard on radio and television. However, pop music of all kinds is held in disfavour, and women are banned from singing in public. At the same time, large numbers of Iranian expatriates (particularly in the United States) include many musicians continuing to produce and market a vast quantity of popular music.

On the private level, interest in music is greater than ever. Since the régime blocks so many avenues of pleasure, large numbers of people now find joy in the study of musical instruments, both Western and Persian. A real shortcoming is the lack of cultural exchange with the world at large, but that too will no doubt be re-established as Iran’s self-imposed isolation is gradually, and inevitably, rescinded.

See below for bibliography.

Iran