The
traditional sounds of Persia come to life on the new CD composed,
arranged and performed by Kamil Alipour entitled "Moon Dance".
Classical Persian music is an ancient art form who's integrity
and character must be preserved by those who have lived and breathed
its essence for a great number of years; Kamil Alipour is one
such musician. He displays remarkable skill and versatility on
both Taar (a six stringed instrument with a sheep skin sound board,
two resonance chambers and 27 moveable frets) and Se-Taar (a three
stringed instrument with a wooden sound board and a single resonance
chamber). The deft touch of Kamil Alipour results in a beautiful
music that is not only logical and technical, but highly emotional
and spiritual as well; it is a delight to experience.
Classical
Persian music is an ancient art form. Its roots can be traced
back to the flourishing cultural germination that took place under
the Parthian (349 B.C.-226 A.D.) and Sassanid (226-651 A.D.) dynasties.
This music is organized into seven scales and modes, called Dastgaahs
with five smaller sub-sets to these scales, called Aavaaz. Each
of these scales require specific emotional considerations exemplified
by special melodic patterns called Gushes (pronounced goo-sheh).
Spontaneous emotive improvisation is at the heart of this art
form but must adhere to the paths governed by the Gushes. At first
this may sound constricting for the musician yet there are approximately
250 different Gushes distributed among the seven Dastgaahs, creating
a myriad of possibilities. Presently, the integrity and character
of this precious and antiquitous music must be preserved by those
who have lived and breathed its essence for a great number of
years; a time requirement that encompasses most of their lives.
Kamil Alipour is such a musician.
He began studying
the Taar at the Tehran Academy of Music, under the guidance of
Ustaad (master) Ali-Akbar Shahnaazi. Later he attended Tehran
University, where he expanded his knowledge of Persian classical
music theory, while studying Setaar, Daff, and traditional singing
techniques. He plays all the instruments found on this album,
with the exception of the Zarb. He also has composed and arranged
all of the music in this recording.
Kamil Alipour
shows adept versatility on, both, Taar and Setaar, creating beautiful
solo improvisations, some of which took as much time to record
as it takes you to listen. His music is technical as well as logical
and emotional as well as spiritual. In short "a mere pleasure".
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