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Muharram Tunes Hit the Music Scene

Muharram Tunes Hit the Music Scene
Muharram Tunes Hit the Music Scene

The last week of October coincided with the start of Muharram - the period of national mourning and commemoration marking the martyrdom anniversary of Imam Hussein (A.S.) and hence a somber and reverent mood in music charts.

Honaronline has listed some of the standout albums released during the last couple of days. Among these, ‘Masiha’ or-Messiah by Hessamoddin Seraj is on top of the list. Masiha’ is a two-CD album composed by ‘Bahram Khani’ which narrates the life events of ‘Narjes’ the granddaughter of Caesar of Rome who according to Shiite tradition , married Imam Hassan Askari (A.S) – a marriage which resulted in the birth of Imam Mahdi ( A.J.) – the hidden Imam who is the prophesized redeemer of Islam. It is based on poetry by such classical literary stars such as Hafez, Saadi and contemporary poets Geisar Aminpour and the late Seyyed Morteza Mirfakhraee. The album contains 15 pieces of poem recitations by Zhaleh Sadeghian and 11 ballads sung by Seraj.

Poems by the celebrated contemporary female poet, Foroogh Farrokhzad has inspired another album to suit the lachrymose air of Muharram;  Peyman Khazani and Elham Pavehnejad have joined hands to compose ‘Where is the Wind’s Abode’  which took nearly four years to produce. Instruments such as piano, clarinet, flute, violin cello and ‘Mbira’ have accompanied famous poems of Farrokhzad such as ‘Rebirth,’  ‘Union,’ ‘Conquest of Garden,’ and ‘Let’s Believe in the Start of the Cold Season’ to make the album fitting for the season.

 Satirical

‘Shakhdarshekani’ or ‘Horn Breaking’ is a satirical album from the northern province of Gilan based lyrics by Babak Exir. The album’s cover describes it as a ‘’sardonic smile’ at the ‘’sour fragments’’ of life: ‘’A Cynical smile to the world whose superficial seriousness becomes irritating at times.’’  

‘Bach for Classical Guitar’ is a remix collection of some pieces by the German composer Bach by Leili Afshar. She says on the cover of the album that it’s a series of arrangements from a selected works by Bach that she has performed on the guitar. ‘’This recording is a new approach to the performance of Bach; I intend to make the musician more comprehensible for a wider range of audience. Many have played Bach on the guitar, but my work is quite different’’ reads another part of the album cover. Leili Afshar, born in 1959 has a PhD in music from the University of Memphis and is considered one of the best classical guitarists in the country.

‘Eternity’ is a mystical album composed by Salman Hosseini and sung by Hamed Tamddon. The album, which includes 8 tracks, is a potpourri of different mystical genres including Persian Maghami, Sufi and Kurdish Sufi music with contemplative features that well resonates with the mournful aura of the coming days.

 

Financialtribune.com