On November 3-4, 2007, the Persian
Ney master Khosrow Soltani and the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, conducted by
Jeffrey Kahane, will perform the west coast premiere of Toward that Endless
Plain, Concerto for Persian Ney and Orchestra by the Persian composer and
Carnegie Mellon University professor Reza Vali.
Reza
Vali
Toward that Endless Plain, Concerto
for Persian Ney and Orchestra was written for Khosrow Soltani and
dedicated to the memory of Mr. Soltani's wife, Farzaneh Navai who passed away in
2004.
The title and the content of the
work are inspired by a poem by the 20th century Persian mystic poet
Sohrab Sepehri:
I must depart
tonight.
Taking a
suitcase
the size of my
loneliness,
I must go
where the mythical trees are in
sight.
Toward that endless
plain
that
always
is calling me to
itself.
The concerto consists of a prelude
and three movements. The
second and the third movements are connected through an interlude. Throughout the concerto, the solo Ney
characterizes "the seeker" (Sâlek or Rá hro in Persian), while the orchestra
embodies the environment of the seeker (Vâ di in Persian).
The musical material of the
composition is entirely derived from Persian traditional music. The tuning,
rhythm, form, as well as polyphonic constructions relate to the Persian modal
system, the Dástgâh.
persian
treasure
Saturday, November 3,
2007
8:00 P.M.
Alex Theatre
216 North Brand
Boulevard
Glendale, CA 91203
Sunday, November 4,
2007,
7:00 P.M.
Royce Hall
Royce
Dr. & Sunset
Blvd.
Westwood, CA 90024
For ticket information please
contact Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra:
707 Wilshire Blvd
#1850
Los Angeles, CA 90017
213 622 7001
tickets@laco.org
http://www.laco.org/performances
About the Persian ney:
A forerunner of the modern flute, the ney
has been played continuously for 4,500-5,000 years, making it one of the oldest
instruments still in use. Depictions of ney players appear in wall paintings in
the Egyptian pyramids, and actual neys have been found in the excavations at
Ur.
The ney consists of a hollow cane or reed (Ney is the old Persian word for
reed)with finger holes. More modern neys may be made of metal.
Its compelling sound, unlike that of any other wind instrument, comes from
the unique way it is blown. The upper edge of the ney is placed between the two
upper front teeth,
inside the mouth. A small stream of air is directed with
the tongue, and the upper lip surrounds the upper part of the ney.
Moving the lip and tongue changes the pitch and tone quality. This technique
is very difficult to learn, but once mastered, gives great control over the
timbre.—Kees van den Doel
... Payvand News - 10/26/07 ...
