Gol-e Sadbarg
Encyclopedia
Gol-e Sadbarg meaning The One-Hundred-Petalled-Rose, is one of the most popular albums in the genre of classical
Iran
ian music
. More precisely, it is believed to be among the best-selling albums of Iran’s classical music ever.
Released in 1984, the album is the fruit of the collaboration among a number of Iranian elite musicians such as Shahram Nazeri
, Jalal Zolfonoun, Bijan Kamkar and Reza Ghassemi
, among others. Gol-e Sadbarg introduced and established a new approach to Persian classical music.
Before Gol-e Sadbarg, one could hardly find Persian Lute
the Setar
as the main instrument in classical song
s. When the cassette
was released in 1984, Iranian people started to experience something really different since the composers had included only two instruments; namely, the Setar
and the Daf
(an Iranian percussion).
Though the masters Jalal Zolfonoun and Shahram Nazeri
had started to use the Setar
and resurrect its can-be-claimed faded identity as a major instrument years earlier when they released (not officially) the album The Moses
and the shepherd, Gol-e Sadbarg tasted differently.
Following the album, the number of Iranians who started to learn the instrument multiplied unbelievably. As Mehrdad Torabi (a famous teacher of Tar
and Setar who has written instructional books on Setar) claims, thanks to Gol-Sadbarg, musical schools of Tehran
found themselves found themselves loaded with young students who were eager to learn playing the Setar
.
Interestingly, the same exact thing happened to the Daf
. Till Gol-e Sadbarg, the main percussion of classical Persian music was the Tonbak
. Though the Daf
was borrowed from Kurdish music
of Iran a couple of years earlier, the presence was no more than a marginal role in a piece performed by Shayda group orchestrated by master Lotfi. It is to note that the same musician i.e. master Bijan Kamkar played the Daf
in both concert
s.
There were so many delicate things around it that brought the album and the instruments such undeniable success. Firstly, Shahram Nazeri
who song the album had something other singers failed to do: his voice which was totally different; his yodels were unique and his mournful intricacies could get the listeners somewhere others could not.
Also, the composers of the album, i.e. Shahram Nazeri
, Jalal Zolfonoun and Reza Ghassemi
, were so careful about setting poetry
to the melodies of Iranian music. The poems were chosen from such great poets such as Attar, Hafez
and Rumi (Molana J.A.D Balkhi). It is worth mentioning that Shahram Nazeri
was the first musician who seriously started to compose music for and sing Rumi’s poetry in 1970s.
In case of Gol-e Sadbarg, although the melodies were taken from musical Radif
of Iran, there was a strong taste of folklore music in it. The noticeably rhythmic use of the Daf
accompanied by the melodies produced by five musicians who played their Setar
s started a new page in the history of classic Iranian music.
After about three decades, in concerts, people still sing along Shahram Nazeri
whenever he is asked to sing the song Andak Andak (step by step) from this seminal album.
Classical music
Classical music is the art music produced in, or rooted in, the traditions of Western liturgical and secular music, encompassing a broad period from roughly the 11th century to present times...
Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
ian music
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
. More precisely, it is believed to be among the best-selling albums of Iran’s classical music ever.
Released in 1984, the album is the fruit of the collaboration among a number of Iranian elite musicians such as Shahram Nazeri
Shahram Nazeri
Shahram Nazeri is a contemporary Iranian tenor of Kurdish ancestry who sings classical Persian music from Kermanshah. He is one of Iran's most respected vocalists...
, Jalal Zolfonoun, Bijan Kamkar and Reza Ghassemi
Reza Ghassemi
Reza Ghasemi is an Iranian novelist and musician.He was born in Mahshahr from Isfahanian descent. Besides his excellence in the field of fiction, for which he is so popular, he has an undeniable talent in classical Iranian music. He is a true master of the Persian Lute the Setar. He has composed...
, among others. Gol-e Sadbarg introduced and established a new approach to Persian classical music.
Before Gol-e Sadbarg, one could hardly find Persian Lute
Lute
Lute can refer generally to any plucked string instrument with a neck and a deep round back, or more specifically to an instrument from the family of European lutes....
the Setar
Setar
SETAR N.V., is the privatised full telecommunications service provider for the island of Aruba. The services provided by SETAR include: telephone, internet and GSM-related wireless services. SETAR also owns Tele Aruba....
as the main instrument in classical song
Song
In music, a song is a composition for voice or voices, performed by singing.A song may be accompanied by musical instruments, or it may be unaccompanied, as in the case of a cappella songs...
s. When the cassette
Compact Cassette
The Compact Cassette, often referred to as audio cassette, cassette tape, cassette, or simply tape, is a magnetic tape sound recording format. It was designed originally for dictation, but improvements in fidelity led the Compact Cassette to supplant the Stereo 8-track cartridge and reel-to-reel...
was released in 1984, Iranian people started to experience something really different since the composers had included only two instruments; namely, the Setar
Setar
SETAR N.V., is the privatised full telecommunications service provider for the island of Aruba. The services provided by SETAR include: telephone, internet and GSM-related wireless services. SETAR also owns Tele Aruba....
and the Daf
Daf
A daf is a frame drum used as a musical instrument in popular and classical music. The term daf is used in Iran / Kurdistan for a large drum that has a series of four interlinked rings in the frame. Daf is mostly used in Middle East, Iran, Armenia, Pakistan, Turkey, Tajikistan, Azerbaijan and ...
(an Iranian percussion).
Though the masters Jalal Zolfonoun and Shahram Nazeri
Shahram Nazeri
Shahram Nazeri is a contemporary Iranian tenor of Kurdish ancestry who sings classical Persian music from Kermanshah. He is one of Iran's most respected vocalists...
had started to use the Setar
Setar
SETAR N.V., is the privatised full telecommunications service provider for the island of Aruba. The services provided by SETAR include: telephone, internet and GSM-related wireless services. SETAR also owns Tele Aruba....
and resurrect its can-be-claimed faded identity as a major instrument years earlier when they released (not officially) the album The Moses
Moses
Moses was, according to the Hebrew Bible and Qur'an, a religious leader, lawgiver and prophet, to whom the authorship of the Torah is traditionally attributed...
and the shepherd, Gol-e Sadbarg tasted differently.
Following the album, the number of Iranians who started to learn the instrument multiplied unbelievably. As Mehrdad Torabi (a famous teacher of Tar
Tar
Tar is modified pitch produced primarily from the wood and roots of pine by destructive distillation under pyrolysis. Production and trade in tar was a major contributor in the economies of Northern Europe and Colonial America. Its main use was in preserving wooden vessels against rot. The largest...
and Setar who has written instructional books on Setar) claims, thanks to Gol-Sadbarg, musical schools of Tehran
Tehran
Tehran , sometimes spelled Teheran, is the capital of Iran and Tehran Province. With an estimated population of 8,429,807; it is also Iran's largest urban area and city, one of the largest cities in Western Asia, and is the world's 19th largest city.In the 20th century, Tehran was subject to...
found themselves found themselves loaded with young students who were eager to learn playing the Setar
Setar
SETAR N.V., is the privatised full telecommunications service provider for the island of Aruba. The services provided by SETAR include: telephone, internet and GSM-related wireless services. SETAR also owns Tele Aruba....
.
Interestingly, the same exact thing happened to the Daf
Daf
A daf is a frame drum used as a musical instrument in popular and classical music. The term daf is used in Iran / Kurdistan for a large drum that has a series of four interlinked rings in the frame. Daf is mostly used in Middle East, Iran, Armenia, Pakistan, Turkey, Tajikistan, Azerbaijan and ...
. Till Gol-e Sadbarg, the main percussion of classical Persian music was the Tonbak
Tonbak
The tonbak or zarb is a goblet drum from Persia . It is considered the principal percussion instrument of Persian music...
. Though the Daf
Daf
A daf is a frame drum used as a musical instrument in popular and classical music. The term daf is used in Iran / Kurdistan for a large drum that has a series of four interlinked rings in the frame. Daf is mostly used in Middle East, Iran, Armenia, Pakistan, Turkey, Tajikistan, Azerbaijan and ...
was borrowed from Kurdish music
Kurdish music
Kurdish music refers to music performed in Kurdish language.Traditionally, there are three types of Kurdish Classical performers - storytellers , minstrels and bards . There was no specific music related to the Kurdish princely courts, and instead, music performed in night gatherings is...
of Iran a couple of years earlier, the presence was no more than a marginal role in a piece performed by Shayda group orchestrated by master Lotfi. It is to note that the same musician i.e. master Bijan Kamkar played the Daf
Daf
A daf is a frame drum used as a musical instrument in popular and classical music. The term daf is used in Iran / Kurdistan for a large drum that has a series of four interlinked rings in the frame. Daf is mostly used in Middle East, Iran, Armenia, Pakistan, Turkey, Tajikistan, Azerbaijan and ...
in both concert
Concert
A concert is a live performance before an audience. The performance may be by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, a choir, or a musical band...
s.
There were so many delicate things around it that brought the album and the instruments such undeniable success. Firstly, Shahram Nazeri
Shahram Nazeri
Shahram Nazeri is a contemporary Iranian tenor of Kurdish ancestry who sings classical Persian music from Kermanshah. He is one of Iran's most respected vocalists...
who song the album had something other singers failed to do: his voice which was totally different; his yodels were unique and his mournful intricacies could get the listeners somewhere others could not.
Also, the composers of the album, i.e. Shahram Nazeri
Shahram Nazeri
Shahram Nazeri is a contemporary Iranian tenor of Kurdish ancestry who sings classical Persian music from Kermanshah. He is one of Iran's most respected vocalists...
, Jalal Zolfonoun and Reza Ghassemi
Reza Ghassemi
Reza Ghasemi is an Iranian novelist and musician.He was born in Mahshahr from Isfahanian descent. Besides his excellence in the field of fiction, for which he is so popular, he has an undeniable talent in classical Iranian music. He is a true master of the Persian Lute the Setar. He has composed...
, were so careful about setting poetry
Poetry
Poetry is a form of literary art in which language is used for its aesthetic and evocative qualities in addition to, or in lieu of, its apparent meaning...
to the melodies of Iranian music. The poems were chosen from such great poets such as Attar, Hafez
Hafez
Khwāja Shamsu d-Dīn Muhammad Hāfez-e Shīrāzī , known by his pen name Hāfez , was a Persian lyric poet. His collected works composed of series of Persian poetry are to be found in the homes of most Iranians, who learn his poems by heart and use them as proverbs and sayings to this day...
and Rumi (Molana J.A.D Balkhi). It is worth mentioning that Shahram Nazeri
Shahram Nazeri
Shahram Nazeri is a contemporary Iranian tenor of Kurdish ancestry who sings classical Persian music from Kermanshah. He is one of Iran's most respected vocalists...
was the first musician who seriously started to compose music for and sing Rumi’s poetry in 1970s.
In case of Gol-e Sadbarg, although the melodies were taken from musical Radif
Radif
Radif is a rule in Persian, Turkic, and Urdu poetry which states that, in the form of poetry known as a Ghazal, the second line of all the couplets must end with the same word/s. This repeating of common words is the "Radif" of the Ghazal...
of Iran, there was a strong taste of folklore music in it. The noticeably rhythmic use of the Daf
Daf
A daf is a frame drum used as a musical instrument in popular and classical music. The term daf is used in Iran / Kurdistan for a large drum that has a series of four interlinked rings in the frame. Daf is mostly used in Middle East, Iran, Armenia, Pakistan, Turkey, Tajikistan, Azerbaijan and ...
accompanied by the melodies produced by five musicians who played their Setar
Setar
SETAR N.V., is the privatised full telecommunications service provider for the island of Aruba. The services provided by SETAR include: telephone, internet and GSM-related wireless services. SETAR also owns Tele Aruba....
s started a new page in the history of classic Iranian music.
After about three decades, in concerts, people still sing along Shahram Nazeri
Shahram Nazeri
Shahram Nazeri is a contemporary Iranian tenor of Kurdish ancestry who sings classical Persian music from Kermanshah. He is one of Iran's most respected vocalists...
whenever he is asked to sing the song Andak Andak (step by step) from this seminal album.
- Vocalist: Shahram NazeriShahram NazeriShahram Nazeri is a contemporary Iranian tenor of Kurdish ancestry who sings classical Persian music from Kermanshah. He is one of Iran's most respected vocalists...
- Composers: Jalal Zolfonoun, Reza GhassemiReza GhassemiReza Ghasemi is an Iranian novelist and musician.He was born in Mahshahr from Isfahanian descent. Besides his excellence in the field of fiction, for which he is so popular, he has an undeniable talent in classical Iranian music. He is a true master of the Persian Lute the Setar. He has composed...
and Shahram NazeriShahram NazeriShahram Nazeri is a contemporary Iranian tenor of Kurdish ancestry who sings classical Persian music from Kermanshah. He is one of Iran's most respected vocalists... - Conductor: Jalal Zolfonoun
- DafDafA daf is a frame drum used as a musical instrument in popular and classical music. The term daf is used in Iran / Kurdistan for a large drum that has a series of four interlinked rings in the frame. Daf is mostly used in Middle East, Iran, Armenia, Pakistan, Turkey, Tajikistan, Azerbaijan and ...
: Bijan Kamkar - SetarSetarSETAR N.V., is the privatised full telecommunications service provider for the island of Aruba. The services provided by SETAR include: telephone, internet and GSM-related wireless services. SETAR also owns Tele Aruba....
: Jalal Zolfonoun, Reza GhassemiReza GhassemiReza Ghasemi is an Iranian novelist and musician.He was born in Mahshahr from Isfahanian descent. Besides his excellence in the field of fiction, for which he is so popular, he has an undeniable talent in classical Iranian music. He is a true master of the Persian Lute the Setar. He has composed...
, M.H. Mehdian, Kaveh Dalir-Azar & Houshang Amir-Ardalan