A Bit More about the Persian Music Scene

A lot of my shop customers ask me tricky questions along the lines of, ‘What’s Persian music like?’ It’s a perfectly reasonable question, but one that I normally answer somewhat facetiously with another question, ‘What’s British music like?’ Iranian music comprises a bit of everything (except, unsurprisingly, country and western). Classical Persian music is famous for its purity of sound and often extemporized abandon. Whilst there is plenty of orchestral music, instruments are most enjoyed in trios, duets or solo pieces. Their names – neh, tar, santour, kamancheh, dapth, sittar, oud – and shapes are exotic, their sound haunting. Perhaps most exciting is the tonbak – the Iranian drum. Traditional vocal work is also exciting, with singers such as Shajarian piercing the soul with their mournful ‘daad eh bidaad’ – laments.