Mazandaran Folk Music in Sari

Sonata Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by composer Mohsen Bafandeh, 31, will perform folk pieces of Mazandaran in Sari, capital of the northern  province.

The orchestra, affiliated to the Tehran-based Sonata Music Institute, will conduct tracks from the album ‘Music of Mazandaran,’ a collection of folk pieces composed by researcher in ethnic music Mohammad Reza Darvishi, 61, over three decades ago.

“The upcoming concert has been organized and orchestrated by Darvishi himself,” Bafandeh told IRNA.

The concert will be held on January 19-20 at Sari’s Red Crescent Hall. Vocalists at the music concert are Gholam Reza Rezaee, Mahmoud Sharifi, Parviz Siahdashti, Abolhassan Khoshrou and Nourollah Alizadeh, all acclaimed provincial musicians.

Songs will be accompanied by a total of 55 players, mostly on the violin. A solo performance of kamancheh (Iranian spike fiddle) by composer and specialist in ethnic instruments Jamal Mohammadi, is on the agenda.

In an introduction to his album, Darvishi had earlier said that the pieces “are based on the melodies I heard one cold night in Chelab village in the mountains of Amol County.”

The renowned musician, composer and kamancheh virtuoso of Mazandaran Ahmad Mohsenpour (1946-2016) was playing the melodies with a violin and “I wrote down the notes and arranged them later for orchestra.”

In creation of the album, it was decided that contemporary lyrics be used instead of old poems, so people could connect with the music, Darvishi said.

These melodies haven’t been performed in public since 1981, Bafandeh said. “When heard in an orchestral setting, the nostalgic pieces will sound more pleasing.”