Compositions of Majid Derakhshani (Iran)
Majid Derakhshani, Tar & Setar (Iran)
Thea Nielsen, Flute (Germany)
Oliver Fartach-Naini, Guitar (Germany)
Amir Abbas Zare, Daf (Iran)
Kreuzberg Records 10092, 2004

The music presented here on this recording is not a “fusion” in the generally applied use of the term. It is much more. The traditions of Iranian classical music extend well back beyond living memory and are as intense and complex as the rich culture which has inspired them. The listener is not required to be well versed in the structural details of this music – the variety of modi employed, the elaborate and gracefully ornamented melodic lines, the use of 1/3 notes, the deft and highly sophisticated rhythms…….to perceive that the essence of this music is a delicate and harmonious balance between the material and spiritual worlds. The music weaves a seemingly endless myriad of threads and paths through an inner mystical landscape, the detail is virtually unfathomable yet the end result is a clear and transparent beauty – just like a Persian carpet.

It is the expressed intention of Majid Derakhshani to bring the respective traditions of Iranian classical music and Western music closer together. The combination of traditional Iranian instruments such as the tar and daf with guitar and flute form an instrumental unity which functions wonderfully and one is left imagining the flute and guitar to be modern day reincarnations of instruments that once had their place in ancient Iran…….(as they no doubt are!)

Albert Einstein is known to have stated that “what is valid in every progress of a process, be it scientific, philosophical, artistic or otherwise, is not the novelty itself in its essence, but rather what will be left after the application of this novelty has been eliminated”. The significance of this statement will become apparent to any listener after experiencing the music in this recording.

Patricio Zeoli