How can I explain what the heart would will itself, with an exception that positive energy surrounds the inner depths of my being; that I am currently able to gain the beautiful things I so desire, of the simple, lovely and heartfelt.
Possibly, in this very season of a destiny, that I am now engulfed in. It really is all happening for me and so my foes will flee the glittering shore that feeds my toes with a tender caress or two.
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I had made up my mind in the last few days that I would follow a deep intellectual call with which to specialise in some of my most adored cultural reads - the Arabic, Old Persia and the Far East.
All at once, everything is made easy for me.
I am suddenly drawn with a deeper spiritual need to embrace the softly-calling ghazals, that would so bestow me, to the inviting resonance, of their adept stage presence. And in this respect, I presently hearken like a child would for its mother's voice, towards wistful classical notes, from the Middle-East, Persia, Malaysia and India.
I bought the above compact disc, highlighting Iranian classical music, by performers like Ahmad Ebadi on the setar, Houshang Zarif on the tar and singer Khatereh Parvaneh in her lullaby voice; excelling in recognition, before the 1979 revolution would march in and through a forced intimidation; condemn many of the talented, to the West.
The tracks themselves stay tender to caution in that tranquil meandering way as they offer subdued and plaintive lamentations, that both soothe and mesmerise my spirit.
The Dastgah System is made up of a 12-tone set, featuring the tar, santur, drum, flute, violin and the voice. There is a marvellous accompanying booklet, compiled and edited by Dr. Ella Zonis Mahler, who also takes pains to explain the principles of the musical forms, describe each instrument for the eager listener and present the poetic disclosures of vocal performances, both in the Arabic and English translations.
Captions: Paintings of women, performing on the tar & santur, at the Hasht Behesht (Eight Paradises), Palace in Isfahan, Iran, 1669.
As such, I adhere to the fallacies of my sentiment, paying close attention to the hushed imploring cries of the singer, as an operatic aria would grace the atmosphere of a subdued mood, while locked in a watchful room, on a rainy afternoon.
All the time, I am lost in the loving glance of a favourite book, the swift turning of a few hurried pages here and there, or else with the novel then left on my lap, simply engaged in wishful thought.
This is the kind of music that often hums up the right signature tune to a modern Iranian film or which may add a melancholic poignancy as a decorative element, to any serious read. I recommend stories that feature lovers making arrangements to meet or racing with a strange intensity, designed to fringe romantic feelings, in the face of conflicts and contradictions. And so the melodies that befit these classical tracks would themselves, marry such a plot. And in the face of a worshipped silence, such tunes may also align themselves to the subject of history and legendary faraway tales.
Here is a similar example of the classical renditions in my collection:
