In the past decade, the
works of medieval Persian poet Jelaluddin Rumi have
been resurrected in many forums, from readings by
the likes of Madonna and Goldie Hawn to an operatic
extravaganza by composer Philip Glass.
But at a time of growing friction between the
government of Iran and the West, the father-and-son
team of Shahram and Hafez Nazeri – two of Iran's
leading folk musicians – hope that their latest
interpretation of Rumi's work might serve as a model
for better relations between the two cultures.
In a break from tradition, the Nazeris have
developed an interpretation of Rumi's work that
melds classical Western music with the traditional
music of Iran, blending the sounds of the viola and
cello with such ancient Persian instruments as the
daf and setar. Hafez Nazeri, who composed the work,
hopes this combination of Western and Persian
traditions might serve as a model for both sides to
learn from each other.
“The idea is to embrace change while remaining true
to your own culture and the traditions of the past,”
Hafez said. “That's vital for the health of Persian
music – and the health of Persian culture as a
whole.” |
Iranian-Kurdish singer Shahram Nazeri performed his
son, Hafez's, composition "In the Steps of Rumi" - a
melding of Western and Persian themes.
Photo:Signonsandiego |
|
The composition, “In the Steps of Rumi,” resonated
with the 1,000 or so Iranians and Kurds who heard
the Nazeris perform at the California Center for the
Arts, Escondido on Friday. They tapped their feet
and clapped along with some of the livelier pieces –
folk tunes from Shahram Nazeri's hometown of
Kermanshah – and gave the troupe no fewer than four
standing ovations.
Rumi – a Kurdish poet who lived in Persia in the
1200s – was a natural choice for an intercultural
composition. In his day, the Sufi Muslim's
ruminations on the nature of love struck a chord
among listeners from the Buddhists of China to the
Christians of Europe.
In the 1990s, Rumi had a revival in the West. An
English translation of his poems sold more than
100,000 copies – a decent run for 800-year-old
poetry. Bill Moyers featured a show on Rumi in his
PBS poetry series “Language of Life.” Madonna, Hawn
and the late civil-rights activist Rosa Parks were
among the voices on a CD of Rumi's poetry. Deepak
Chopra set Rumi's poems to music.
But in Iran, the most popular settings of Rumi's
poetry were the strictly traditional interpretations
of Shahram Nazeri, a Kurdish singer who has spent
the past 35 years reviving ancient traditions in
Persian music.
Five years ago, Shahram's son, Hafez, who was then
21, put together the Rumi Ensemble, a troupe that
toured 20 cities in Iran with a slightly modernized
take on the age-old music. One performance in Tehran
drew 140,000 people – one of the biggest concerts
ever in the Middle East.
With encouragement from his father, Hafez moved to
New York to study Western composition at the Mannes
College of Music. While reading Franz Kafka's
“Metamorphosis,” he decided to create a piece of
music that would reflect a cultural metamorphosis by
intertwining the classical strains of Persia and
Europe.
Unlike classical Persian music, in which individual
pieces stay within the same musical scale, Hafez
used the broader Western range of multiple keys. He
kept the quarter-tones found in Near Eastern scales,
but melded them into Western harmonic structures.
In Friday's performance, Hafez played the Persian
setar, similar to the Indian sitar, as his father
sang. Hafez's cousin, Siavash Nazeri – who is moving
to San Diego – played the daf, a Persian drum so
versatile that it had the power of a small
percussion ensemble.
Taiwan-born Liuh-Wen Ting, who is more accustomed to
accompanying Broadway musicals than medieval Persian
music, played the viola. Peter Wyrick, associate
principal cellist of the San Francisco Symphony,
played the cello. Salar Nadar, an Afhgan from
Germany, played tabla, bongo-like drums from
Northern India.
Hafez hopes the melding of cultures won't be a
one-way street.
“Recently, I've been thinking, 'Why can't Persian
culture be introduced to the West, in the same way
that Indian culture has been introduced over the
past 50 years?' You've borrowed transcendental
meditation, yoga, Indian food and sitar music from
India. Why shouldn't you be able to learn from Iran
as well?” he asked.
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