Persian classical music

Persian classical music is an Iranian art-music tradition organized around the radif repertory and dastgah modal system. Performers shape melodic improvisation through inherited patterns and individual interpretation.

Radif: A repertory of melodies and melodic figures transmitted through Iranian classical music, usually organized by dastgah. Its inherited materials supply the tradition’s principal melodic vocabulary.
Improvisation: The creation of music in performance rather than the complete reproduction of a fixed composition. Performers use radif materials as a basis for invention rather than a fixed score.
Qajar dynasty: The Iranian dynasty that ruled from 1789 to 1925, during which courtly musical practices were documented and reshaped. Qajar-era musicians helped transmit and organize repertories later associated with the radif.
Abolhasan Saba: An Iranian violinist and teacher who adapted the instrument to Iranian classical music and trained generations of musicians. His teaching connected the radif tradition with the violin.
Persian music notation: Systems for representing Iranian music in written form, including adaptations of staff notation and other symbolic methods. Notation made repertory easier to teach and preserve beyond oral instruction.
Dastgah: A modal framework in Iranian classical music, comprising characteristic melodic materials, pitches, and expressive conventions. Dastgahs organize the radif and shape the course of performance.
Modal music: Music organized around modes, characteristic pitch collections, and melodic behaviors rather than major-minor tonality alone. The dastgah system belongs to a broader family of modal musical practices.
Mirza Abdollah: A late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century Iranian musician whose radif became a major source for later transmission. His repertory is among the most influential recorded versions of the radif.
Mahmoud Karimi: An Iranian vocalist and teacher known for transmitting an influential vocal radif. His recordings and teaching preserve vocal approaches to the repertory.
Phonograph: An early sound-recording and playback device that stores audio on a rotating medium. Recordings allowed performances and interpretations to circulate beyond live teaching.

Linked from 16 pages