The word tar, in Persian, means “string.” This word can be found in the names of many of the instruments that musicologists class as chordophones, including setar (“3 strings”), dotar (“2 strings”), ektara (“1 string”), and of course, guitar.
Mohammad Resa Lofti plays the Persian tar
The stringed tar of Iran and Azerbaijan—not to be confused with the North African drum of the same name—is a plucked instrument with 3 double courses of strings, giving a hint to its origin, the 3-string setar mentioned above. While the setar traveled to North India eight centuries ago, eventually developing into the sitar, the tar was adapted from the setar in Iran only three centuries ago. The North Indian sitar and the Iranian tar are both larger and louder than the setar.
The body of the tar has a double bowl carved from a block of mulberry wood, with a thin skin membrane attached as the soundboard. When it is played with the traditional brass plectrum called mezrab, it produces a full, round, yet clearly articulated tone. It can be played as a solo instrument, in an ensemble, or to accompany a singer. As in many music cultures, the instrument’s sound and articulation mimic the vocal singing style, so the tar is played to sound like Persian singing, which employs a distinctive technique of melodic and rhythmic embellishment known as tahrir.
Ramiz Guliyev plays the Azeri tar
In an ensemble, the tar is often played along with the kamancheh, a bowed fiddle that also features a skin soundboard, and the tombak, a goblet-shaped drum. The frets of the tar are made of gut tied on the neck so as to be movable. This allows players to make small adjustments that might be necessary to play in different maqams, or scales.
The Iranian tar thus continues to be fretted like a setar and tuned according to the traditional system of the greater Middle East. During the Soviet rule of Azerbaijan in the 20th century, on the other hand, Azeri music and the Azeri tar adopted the Western equal temperament (piano-like) tuning system.
https://centerforworldmusic.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Tar1.jpg9001200Farhad Bahramihttps://centerforworldmusic.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/logo_w_red_type_52.pngFarhad Bahrami2023-08-29 20:59:412023-09-03 13:42:05The Persian Tar
Kourosh Taghavi is a master of the Iranian setar, a prolific composer, and a teacher of Persian classical music. Based in San Diego since 1984, he has studied under the tutelage of world-renowned virtuosi Mohammad Reza Lotfi and Hossein Alizadeh. These studies have been the source of his unique approach to the art of Iranian music. Taghavi’s passionate and melodic approach to music is the foundation of his many collaborations and recordings with numerous artists, performing both traditional and modern forms of Iranian music. His collaborative projects with master musicians and international and local cultural organizations help fulfill his lifelong commitment to raising awareness of the importance of music in people’s lives.
Kourosh teaches setar and voice throughout California, as well as lecturing, composing original music for plays and pieces based on contemporary Iranian poetry, holding music workshops, and recording. These and numerous other endeavors are expressions of his passionate quest to promote Persian classical music.
Kourosh is a founding member of Namaad Ensemble, with which he has toured throughout the US, Europe, and Asia. His collaborations with renowned master artists such as Hossein Omoumi, poets Robert Bly and Coleman Barks, and prestigious cultural organizations such as the Konya Mystic Music Festival (Turkey), the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the San Diego Museum of Art, and the Carlsbad and Del Mar Music festivals are a few highlights of his efforts to introduce Persian classical music and poetry to a broad audience.
As a San Diego State University faculty member, Kourosh taught a course in Persian classical music and oversaw a related thesis.
Kourosh Taghavi teaches the Persian setar. UT hoto by Don Boomer
His ongoing collaboration with the Center for World Music as a teaching artist in residence brings Persian music to schools across San Diego through weekly classes and occasional performances. Kourosh’s curricula provide children with high-quality instruction in Persian classical music and singing. Through age-appropriate lessons, Mr. Taghavi introduces the world of music and rhythm through hands-on music-making in a fun, harmonious environment where children thrive musically and socially.
A parent of two children, Kourosh recognizes the significance of music in early childhood education. Fatherhood inspired Kourosh to explore and compose music for the youngest of audiences, as captured in the album Epiphany by the Namaad Ensemble.
https://centerforworldmusic.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Kourosh-Taghavi.jpg6751200Editorhttps://centerforworldmusic.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/logo_w_red_type_52.pngEditor2023-06-15 16:51:292024-01-31 16:38:38Kourosh Taghavi: Excellence in Persian Classical Music
Persian master musician and CWM teaching artist Kourosh Taghavi is teaching at Highland Ranch Elementary School in Poway this fall. The class is part of the Center for World Music’s World Music in the Schools program, which has been reaching students in San Diego since 1999.
UT reporter Deborah Sullivan Brennan visited Highland Ranch and attended a third-grade class conducted by Kourosh. She was impressed with what she saw and heard:
This semester, students will learn classical Persian music, Brazilian Capoeira and Eastern and Western folk dances. In the Spring, they’ll study Zulu percussion, Zimbabwean songs, and Brazilian Samba. It’s a good mix for a campus where the students hail from all corners of the globe.
Kouroush Taghavi teaches a song while playing the Persian setar. UT Photo by Don Boomer.
Reflecting on the diversity of languages and cultures represented at Highland Ranch, Mr. Taghavi said:
Music makes you a kinder person. I hope they become more gentle people, more understanding, and with open eyes, ready to experience the world that is before them. I think they will become more content when they know about each other.
https://centerforworldmusic.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/CWM-Schools-Program-Poway2.jpg5751024Lance Nelsonhttps://centerforworldmusic.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/logo_w_red_type_52.pngLance Nelson2017-11-05 21:19:142017-11-20 07:20:16Poway Students Encounter a World of Music
This article is one in a series of reports on the fascinating variety of musical instruments that audience members and students encounter through Center for World Music programs.
The setar is a Persian (Iranian) stringed instrument with a small, pear-shaped soundbox and four metal strings. Its name means “three strings.” A fourth drone string was added about 150 years ago by the mystic Moshtagh Ali Shah. The drone string is referred to as the “Sim Moshtagh” (Moshtagh string) by many prominent tar and setar players. This modification gave the delicate instrument a “bigger” sound and more complex tuning possibilities. The resonating box of the setar is attached to a long neck that has twenty-five gut frets. The soundbox is made from mulberry wood, while the neck comes from the walnut tree. The instrument has a melodic range of just over twenty scale degrees. Although it is traditionally played with the right index finger’s nail, in the past three decades, two distinguished master performers, Mohammad-Reza Lotfi and Hossein Alizadeh, have introduced new techniques to give setar playing a whole new life.
Mohammad-Reza Lotfi playing the setar.
Today the setar is generally considered the supreme instrument for performing Persian classical music. Due to new playing techniques, its evolution, and new approaches to melodies within Persian classical music boundaries, the setar has opened the door to contemporary compositions.
It is hard to believe the setar was nearly forgotten during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries due to the tar‘s increased popularity. The tar a similar but larger instrument with a fuller sound. The tar is a double-chambered string instrument with three sets of double strings with the same fretting on its neck as the smaller, more delicate setar.
Hossein Alizadeh playing the tar.
In 1984, a pivotal recording of a setar solo performed by the master Mohammad-Reza Lotfi brought the smaller instrument to the attention of a whole new generation of Persian classical music enthusiasts. Indeed, Lotfi’s historic album, in memory of the great musician Darvish Khan, enticed many young instrument makers and musicians to fall in love with the sound of the setar. Thus a new generation of setar makers and players has recently emerged.
Updated and expanded: March 9, 2021
This project is made possible with support from the California Humanities, a non-profit partner of the National Endowment for the Humanities. Visit www.calhum.org.
https://centerforworldmusic.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Kourosh-Setar.jpg526950Kourosh Taghavihttps://centerforworldmusic.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/logo_w_red_type_52.pngKourosh Taghavi2015-06-01 21:37:062023-07-23 13:22:14The Setar: Supreme in Persian Classical Music
Peyk: The Persian Cultural Center’s Bilingual Magazine, September 1, 2010
Our friends at the Persian Cultural Center of San Diego have published a nice article about our World Music in the Schools program in Persian music and culture at King-Chavez Academies in San Diego. The instructor is Kourosh Taghavi, a world-renowned professional setar player, and CWM teaching artist in residence.
Mr. Taghavi teaches about 250 K-5th grade students at King-Chavez Academies, where he is on campus for two full days a week. As the students learn about Persian classical music, they are introduced to Persian culture as well. . . . In the spring of 2010, the demand for the program increased beyond the resources that were immediately available, so the Center reached out to the Iranian-American community in California and members of the community responded generously.
The CWM is thankful for this support, and we’re sure the students would agree!
https://centerforworldmusic.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/PersianDrumsPeyk.jpg6281200Lance Nelsonhttps://centerforworldmusic.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/logo_w_red_type_52.pngLance Nelson2010-09-01 09:13:592019-06-28 17:33:26San Diego Students Learn About Persian Music and Culture
We are pleased to announce our 2024 Concert Season with two exciting series. The first series, Sound of the Border | Sonido de la Frontera, will be held at Mingei International Museum. The series is inspired by a Mingei exhibit, La Frontera, and will delve into the vibrant cultural landscape of the U.S.-Mexico border. The second series, Mesmerizing Melodies from Three Ancient Lands, held at the La Jolla Community Center, will showcase the cross-cultural exchange of musical ideas between three distant lands along ancient trade routes.
Tickets
General Seating: $35 – $40
VIP Seating: $50 – $55
General Admission Series Pass: $100
VIP Series Pass: $145
Tickets to concerts in the Sound of the Border | Sonido de la Frontera series include admission to the performance and access to Mingei International Museum’s Gallery Level ($14 value) after 4 PM on the day of the performance. The Commons Level is free for all.
Please purchase your tickets early. These performances sell out well in advance. Tickets are transferrable but non-refundable.
Sound of the Border | Sonido de la Frontera
Mingei International Museum – 7:30 PM
Sound of the Border | Sonido de la Frontera is a concert series centered around the vibrant cultural dynamism along the U.S.-Mexico border. Inspired by the ‘La Frontera’ exhibit at Mingei International Museum, this series explores the essence of this borderland represented by three musical traditions.
In this border region music acts as a powerful form of social and cultural activism and as a way to celebrate the rich cultural heritage of inhabitants on both sides of la frontera. Sonido de la Frontera is dedicated to highlighting the role of music as a transformative and unifying force.
Audiences who take this musical journey will resonate with the stories, the resilience, and the distinctive yet interconnected human experiences that define this unique cultural space.
In this concert series we explore three traditions that have exchanged musical ideas for at least a thousand years along ancient trade routes from Western China through Central Asia, the Indian subcontinent, the Middle East, and North Africa all the way to Morocco and Southern Spain.
Throughout this huge area of the globe, melody is king. We will be treated to the incredibly virtuosic melodies of South Indian classical (Carnatic) music; the haunting, emotionally charged melodies of Persian classical music; and the extraordinarily subtle, delicate elaboration of “microtonal” melodies in Turkish classical music.
Each performance in this series promises an immersive odyssey into the very nature of melody and its ability to touch the human heart and fill the souls of listeners, no matter where in the world they come from.
Namad Ensemble: A Performance in Dastgâh Segâh and Dastgâh Nava
La Jolla Community Center
Friday, May 10, 2024 | 7:30 PM
Join us for an unforgettable evening of classical Persian music featuring Pejman Hadadi on percussion, Saeed Kamjoo on the kamânche, and Kourosh Taghavi on the setâr. Dive into these timeless melodies and intricate rhythms as we explore the rich cultural heritage of this captivating musical tradition.
Tickets
General Seating: $35
VIP Seating: $50
General Admission Series Pass: $100
VIP Series Pass: $145
Please purchase tickets online. These performances sell out well in advance. Tickets are transferrable but non-refundable.
Kourosh Taghavi Kourosh Taghavi is a master of the setar, a prolific composer, and a teacher of Persian classical music. Based in San Diego since 1984, he has studied under the tutelage of the world-renowned virtuosi Mohammad Reza Lotfi and Hossein Alizadeh. These studies have been the source of his unique approach to the art of Iranian music.
Taghavi’s passionate and melodic approach to music is the foundation of his many collaborations and recordings with numerous artists, performing both traditional and modern forms of Iranian music. His collaborative projects with master musicians and international and local cultural organizations help fulfill his lifelong commitment to raising awareness of the importance of music in people’s lives.
Kourosh teaches setar and voice throughout California, as well as lecturing, composing original music for plays and pieces based on contemporary Iranian poetry, holding music workshops, and recording. These and numerous other endeavors are expressions of his passionate quest to promote Persian classical music. As a San Diego State University faculty member, Kourosh taught a course in Persian classical music and oversaw a related thesis. His ongoing collaboration with the Center for World Music as a teaching artist in residence brings Persian music to schools across San Diego through weekly classes and occasional performances.
Kourosh is also a founding member of Namaad Ensemble, with which he has toured throughout the US, Europe, and Asia. His collaborations with renowned master artists such as Hossein Omoumi, poets Robert Bly and Coleman Barks, and prestigious cultural organizations such as the Konya Mystic Music Festival (Turkey), the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the San Diego Museum of Art, and the Carlsbad and Del Mar Music festivals are a few highlights of his efforts to introduce Persian classical music and poetry to a broad audience.
A parent of two children, Kourosh recognizes the significance of music in early childhood education. Fatherhood inspired Kourosh to explore and compose music for the youngest of audiences, as captured in the album Epiphany by the Namaad Ensemble.
Pejman Hadadi Pejman Hadadi is a highly innovative Iranian percussionist renowned for his expertise in tombak and daf, traditional Persian percussion instruments. His musical journey began at the age of 10 under the guidance of the masters Assadollah Hejazi and Bahman Rajabi. Immigrating to the US in 1989, Hadadi embarked on a professional career in 1991, collaborating with various ensembles and ultimately joining the acclaimed Dastan Ensemble in 1995. In 2000, he co-founded ZARBANG, the first Iranian percussion ensemble, which received international recognition.
Hadadi’s collaborations extend globally, including performances with renowned musicians and exploration of rhythms from diverse cultures. His distinct contributions to tombak playing include innovative techniques and the creation of custom frame drums. Notable achievements include a collaboration with REMO, enhancing the popularity of the daf worldwide. Beyond his performing career, Hadadi is an accomplished teacher, receiving the Durfee Foundation Master Musician Award twice. He founded the Neyreez World Music Institute in 1999 and currently serves as a visiting professor at UCLA’s Department of Ethnomusicology.
Saeed Kamjoo
Saeed Kamjoo, a skilled composer and kamanche player, adeptly merges tradition with innovation in his music. While deeply rooted in Persian classical music, Kamjoo explores new realms, uncovering fresh possibilities in his kamanche playing. He trained rigorously under masters like A. Kamkar, A. Shekarchi, and Ustad A. Bahari.
Having graduated from the University of Tehran, he delved into the study of old Persian musical manuscripts and ancient rhythmic modes. Kamjoo has showcased his talents in international festivals across North America and Europe, including appearances at Sound Symposium in Canada and Sacra Musica Festival in Germany. Since immigrating to Montreal in 1997, he has collaborated with creative ensembles worldwide and received grants from the Canada Council for the Arts and the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec.
This is the second concert of the series Mesmerizing Melodies from Three Ancient Lands.Click here to join our newsletter for more information about upcoming concerts.
Financial support was provided by the City of San Diego Commission for Arts and Culture.
https://centerforworldmusic.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Namad-Ensemble1.jpg6711200Edoardo Cavallerohttps://centerforworldmusic.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/logo_w_red_type_52.pngEdoardo Cavallero2023-12-20 15:15:352024-02-29 16:11:12Namad Ensemble: A Performance in Dastgâh Segâh and Dastgâh Nava
