Music of Iran
In addition to the traditional folk and classical genres, it also includes pop and internationally celebrated styles such as jazz, rock, and hip hop.
[2] A number of trumpets made of silver, gold, and copper were found in eastern Iran that are attributed to the Oxus civilization and date back between 2200 and 1750 BC.
[2] Little is known about music in the classical Iranian empires of the Medes, the Achaemenids, and the Parthians apart from what can be gleaned from the comments of Greek historians.
Athenaeus of Naucratis, in his Deipnosophistae, mentions a court singer who had sung a warning to the king of the Median Empire of the plans of Cyrus the Great, who would later establish the Achaemenid dynasty.
[2] Athenaeus also notes the capture of singing girls at the court of the last Achaemenid king Darius III (336–330 BC) by Macedonian general Parmenion.
Likewise, Strabo's Geographica reports that the Parthian youth were taught songs about "the deeds both of the gods and of the noblest men".
He is shown among his musicians on a large relief at the archaeological site of Taq-e Bostan, holding a bow and arrows himself and standing in a boat amidst a group of harpists.
[2] The court of Khosrow II hosted a number of prominent musicians, including Azad, Bamshad, Barbad, Nagisa, Ramtin, and Sarkash.
[10] The academic classical music of Iran, in addition to preserving melody types that are attributed to Sasanian musicians, is based on the theories of sonic aesthetics expounded by Avicenna, Farabi, Qotb-ed-Din Shirazi, and Safi-ed-Din Urmawi.
[12] In the post-medieval era, musical performances continued to be observed and promoted through especially princely courts, Sufi orders, and modernizing social forces.
[1] Mirza Abdollah, a prominent tar and setar master and one of the most respected musicians of the court of the late Qajar period, is considered a major influence on the teaching of classical Iranian music in Iran's contemporary conservatories and universities.
Vaziri then founded an association named Music Club (Kolub-e Musiqi), formed by a number of progressive-minded writers and scholars, where the school orchestra performed concerts that were conducted by himself.
He was an extraordinary figure among the Iranian musicians of the 20th century, and his primary goal was to provide music for ordinary citizens through a public arena.
[22] Under the presidency of Reformist Khatami, as a result of easing cultural restrictions within Iran, a number of new pop singers emerged from within the country.
The influence of dastgah is seen as the reservoir of authenticity that other forms of musical genres derive melodic and performance inspiration from.
[1] The variance of the folk music of Iran has often been stressed, in accordance to the cultural diversity of the country's local and ethnic groups.
The bakshy (baxši), wandering minstrels who play the dotar, entertain their audiences at social gatherings with romantic ballads about warriors and warlords.
They were produced in a collection of quality recordings, performed by professional vocalists such as Pari Zanganeh, Monir Vakili, and Minu Javan, and were highly influential in Iran's both folk and pop music productions.
[30] Iran's symphonic music, as observed in the modern times, was developed by the late Qajar and early Pahlavi periods.
[1] The pop music of Iran is largely promoted through mass media, but it experienced some decade of prohibition after the 1979 Revolution.
[41] In post-revolutionary Iran, many rock music artists are not officially sanctioned and have to rely on the Internet and underground scenes.
[46] It started with underground artists recording mixtapes influenced by the American hip hop culture, and was later combined with elements from the indigenous Iranian musical forms.
[47][48] Iranian A cappella (music without instrument) in 2011 with a new type was first introduced by Damour Vocal Band[citation needed] led by Faraz Khosravi Danesh.
