Writing this work for the Silk Road music project associated with cellist Yo-Yo Ma, Iranian composer Kayhan Kalhor, who alternates his time between America and Iran, composed this work according to traditional principles of Persian music, although its main instrumental body is a small Western string ensemble. It is a work in a Persian nocturne form called the chahargah, a melodic formula that belongs to the night -- specifically, to the "fourth time of the day," that between deep night and the beginning of dawn. Even so, it contains a constantly rising level of rhythmic involvement and excitement, much similar in shape and means to an Indian raga performance. It has the mood of a mysterious, scented evening in a Turkic, Arabic, or Persian setting. Kalhor was born in Tehran and is one of the country's leading players of the kemancheh, or spike fiddle, which is found in Iranian and Turkic music. He is the leader of his own instrumental ensemble and is a master composer, performer, and improviser in the Classical Iranian style. He has written vocal works for leading singers of the country. However, he also had a strong Western musical education at the Academy of Santa Cecilia in Rome, and has frequently worked in the West. Having received a commission to write a work for the Silk Road Project, Kalhor reflected on the history of that fabled caravan route between Venice and ancient Peking. It passed through thousands of miles of desert and mountains and included on its routes some of the most fabled cities of the world. This commission pays tribute to one of them, Neyshabur, a seat of Persian culture located in the far northeast of Iran, near the meeting of the borders with Afghanistan and Turkmenistan. It was the home of Omar Khayyam and was famous for its turquoise. In addition to a six-part string ensemble (two parts each for violins and violas and single parts for cello and bass), the work calls for solo cello, kemancheh, ney (the traditional Persian bamboo flute), santur (hammered dulcimer), and tabla (tuned pair of Indian drums). (Stephen Prutsman also participated in the arranging of the string ensemble part.) It is a work of around 16 minutes. Its opening sections are unmeasured and semi-improvisatory, and therefore could extend the length of the piece by a few minutes. The opening mood is calmly dark, with rich arabesques to the main melodies. This section is in the style of a Ghazal, an improvisation form in Persian music that corresponds to the unmeasured opening sections of an Indian raga performance. The other instruments add their tone colors to this section, then the drums enter. In a typical Indian/Middle Eastern fashion, the rhythmic pulse of the piece continues to quicken and the forcefulness and passion of the playing increases, though without contradicting the nocturnal mood. ~ All Music Guide
