Iranian musician Mohsen Sharifian held a workshop at the University of Toronto in Canada recently to introduce the ‘neyanban’ (bagpipe), an instrument frequently heard in musical performances in southern Iran.
Sharifian unveiled the oldest painting depicting a neyanban performance, first published in ‘Travels in Various Countries of the East’, an account of British Orientalist Sir Gore Ouseley’s journey to the East more particularly to Persia from 1810 to 1812, ISNA reports.
“Neyanban is the main instrument of Bushehri folk music,” Sharifian said. “However, it is played in Khuzestan, Hormozgan and Kerman provinces and its use even spans many of the southern Persian Gulf Arab states.”
“No one can trace the history or origin of the neyanban in Iran and the world,” said, Sharifian, author of ‘The History of Bushehri Music’.
However, there is a theory that it was invented in the Middle East and was then taken to Europe, where it evolved, he said.
The University of Toronto is hosting a series of music sessions, including the workshop, at the behest of the university’s Iranian Association.
The Iranian Association of the University of Toronto has been active since its inception in 1999, and is one of the most trusted groups in Toronto’s Iranian community. It has held numerous events on various topics related to Iranian culture and society.
Following his performance, Sharifian will attend the Prismatic Arts Festival in the Canadian city of Halifax to perform traditional Bushehri music.
The festival will be held from August 19-23 in Canada.
Background
Sharifian has a bachelor’s degree in social science and research and a master’s degree in music. He is a virtuoso performer on the two ancient, emblematic instruments of the Persian Gulf, the neyanban and the neyjofti (double-pipe reed flute). Since forming the Lian Band in 1993, he has released nine albums and performed around the world, from the US to the Far East.
