David Dalle
Thursday August 24th, 2023 with David Dalle
Mohammad Reza Shajarian performs Dastgah Chahargah; piano, gospel, jazz.

I have been in a Persian mood recently, listening to a lot of Persian music. Today we are going to hear that giant of Persian classical vocals, Mohammad Reza Shajarian. We hear a recording from 36 years ago, a suite of improvised solos and composed movements for ensemble in the Persian mode Dastgah Chahargah, recorded in Bonn, West Germany. This recording features ensemble Aref, a large ensemble directed by Parviz Meshkatian who also composed the ensemble parts. In addition to the extensive vocal solos of Shajarian, it also features instrumental solos on the santur by Meshkatian, on tar by Dariush Pirniakan, on kemencheh by Ardeshir Kamkar, and on ney by Jamshid Andalibi. The ensemble also features several more tars, barbat, robab, ghaychak, and percussion.