Tickets: $25 General Admission $20 Student/Senior with valid ID
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7pm pre-concert talk with Narges Attaran & Taghi Amjadi about Persian Classical Music and Sung Poetry
The Nava Ensemble, featuring Amir Nojan (setar – plucked lute), Taghi Amjadi (vocals) and Sina Dehghani ( tonbak – goblet drum, daf – frame drum) perform a program of sung poetry and instrumental music in the classical Persian tradition. As with most Asian and Middle Eastern music, there is a close link between music and poetry. At times, when the Persian language and identity were under assault (as during the Mongol invasion), it was poetry that kept the culture alive. With religious proscriptions against music and dance at various times, the culture was often maintained through poetry because of its connection to Sufism, the mystical branch of Islam that plays such an important part in the lives of the Iranian people. Instrumental music is nearly always performed as part of a suite that includes sung poetry. Improvisation is an essential part of any performance, and the musicians draw on their experience and mastery of technique to convey the emotions described by the song texts while adding their personal interpretations. The performance is shaped by the musicians’ knowledge and the sensitivity and mood of the audience. The songs are drawn from a rich history of mystical poetry that ranges from 11th- to 14th-century poets such as Baba Taher, Nizami, Rumi (Molavi), Hafez, Sa’adi, and more modern poets of the 17th to 20th centuries.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=raB4gAnF0FY[/youtube]
Amir Nojan is a virtuoso setar (small unfretted Persian lute) player based in California for the past 15 years. Born in Shiraz, Iran, he studied with some of the modern masters of traditional Persian music including Dariush Tala’i and M.R.Lotfi. His group, the Nava Ensemble, features musicians steeped in the radif, a repository of Persian music that is the foundation of today’s repertoire. The trio includes Taghi Amjadi, a vocalist who has mastered the intricate and ornate singing tradition traditional Persian music and has deep understanding a of the mystical Persian poetry tradition; and Sina Dehghani, a percussionist par excellence whose instruments include the tonbak (goblet shaped drum) and daf (frame drum)
amirnojan.com
Presented by Robert Browning Associates
Upcoming Events
Omar Faruk Tekbilek with Murat Tekbilek
Saturday, May 3, 2014 at 8:00 PM
Born in the Turkish city of Adana to a musical family, Omar Faruk Tekbilek is a brilliant interpreter of Sufi, folk and contemporary music of the Middle East. An evocative vocalist and virtuoso on several instruments, including the ney (bamboo flute) and baglama (long-necked lute), he has has been a major force in world music since the 1970s. His collaborations have included composer/producer Brian Keane, trumpeter Don Cherry, master percussionist Arto Tuncboyaciyan and ‘ud and violin virtuoso Simon Shaheen.
Murat Tekbilek has been the lead percussionist in his father’s ensembles for a decade and has performed throughout the world. His instruments include darbuka (goblet drum), def and bendir (frame drums).