| NeyNava and Song of Compassion are two pieces by leading Persian composer Hossein AlizadehNeyNava (written 1983) is a concerto for the ney, which is the breathy Middle Eastern flute, and a Western string orchestra. It represents a meeting of East and West, not only in the instruments but in the writing: traditional Middle Eastern music does not use harmony or counterpoint but instead relies on the very complex and usually improvised development of melodic figures for its interest. In NeyNava Alizadeh has attempted to work out an explicit harmony based on the intervals of those traditional Persian figures. The experiment is an undeniable success. While the strings sound at moments like a number of Western composers -- Rimsky-Korsakoff, Vaughan Williams, and Shostakovich, to name a few -- they do not so consistently resemble any single one of them as to be accused of being derivative. And the strings dovetail with the rich timbre of the ney to create a mood that is foreboding yet large-souled. While most of the piece is on the slow and dreamy side, it closes with a movement entitled "Sufi Dance" that is more sprightly and which weaves the fascinating texture of two neys together with bold gestures from the strings. With Song of Compassion (composed in 1991) we enter a completely different sound-world. Instead of the soothing sound of the ney against the familiar background of Western strings, we are assaulted with Persian lutes, zithers, fiddles, winds, and drums. An ... |
