Persian Song Night on May 20

A special program on Iranian music ‘Night of Persian Song,’ will be held on May 20 at Soureh Hall in Tehran.

Soureh Hall, located at the intersection of Hafez and Somayeh streets, is one of the auditoriums belonging to Hozeh-Honari, affiliated to Islamic Development Organization, which in collaboration with the Art Center of Islamic Revolution will be organizing the program.

It is the 19th edition of the event, starting at 6 pm with performances by six ensembles, a group of special guests and five young bands competing, Mehr News Agency reported.

Their performances will be evaluated by master musicians who are well-known in Iranian music and songs. One ensemble will be the winner.

The program is aimed to discover, introduce and promote young and less-known artists in Iranian traditional music and singing while at the same time pay homage to pioneers and veterans.

Notable among the participating bands are the duo, vocalist Hossein Saemi, 42 and setar player Ali Badri, 36. Saemi will sing verses by the celebrated Persian poet Hafez (1315-1390) in the ‘dastgah’ or Persian musical mode of Segah.

Another prominent pair at the event is vocalist Kian Hamedinejad, 34, and tar player Adib Forouzan, 28. Hamedinejad will sing ‘Avaz of Dashti,’ an unmetered, improvised song which is a sub-mode of Shur musical mode. His song is based on poems by prominent poet, essayist and translator Hossein Monzavi (1946-2003).