Blog posts of '2011' 'July'

Dastgah and avaz are the major components of radif. As we noted earlier, diverse modes of Persian music are classified as dastgah or avaz. Thus dastgah and avaz should be considered as suites comprising of relatively short pieces that mostly are in a definite mode and make a reasonable sequence. Each dastgah or avaz benefits from a ‘’principal’’ mode.

It gives its name to dastgah or avaz (e.g. principal mode of dastgah-e Mahur is again called Mahur). This mode makes the commencement of each suite. After is being introduced, suit modulates to other modes in a well-defined order and again returns back to the compared to avaz which is actually in all cases related to certain dastgah and derived from it.

The Persian classical music comprises of seven dastgahs and fives avazes. Shur, Nava, Segah, Chahagah, Homayun, Mahur, Rast-panjgah are the names of dastgahs, and Abu ata, Bayat-e Tork, Dashti, Afshari (all related to shur) and Esfahan (related to Homayun) are avazes. Now referring again to dastgah and avaz, radif might well be described as a model repertoire comprising of seven dastgahs and five avazes.

To be continued

Source:  An Introduction to Iraninan music booklet from Mahoor Institute of Culture and Art

Radif is the model repertoire with modal, rhythmic and melodic potentialities anticipated for the Persian classical music.

As a matter of fact, the repertoire, while being extremely flexible, is used as a model for improvisation and composition . Almost all genres of Persian music are found in radif, including reng, chaharmezrab and tasnif , as well as rhythmic and melodic patterns.

More importantly radif contains all musical modes of Persian music, classified in larger units known as dastgahs and avaz. There are two types of radif: instrumental and vocal, with the former much longer than the letter.

Radif is by no means a unique repertoire. Expert musicians of late Qajar and early Pahlavi period (1925-1979) performed their own versions of radif. However, all versions are similar in general aspects, differing only in details. Instrumental radifs of Mirza Abdollah and Aqa Hoseyn-Qoli, and vocal radifs Mahmud Karimi and Abdollah Davami are the most important.

There are also other instrumental radifs like those by Neydavud, Shahnazi, Yusef Froutan and Sa'id Hormozi.

Nowadays, most radif versions, specially the reference ones, are transcribed.

Source: An Introduction to Iraninan music booklet from Mahoor Institute of Culture and Art

Like other Middle Eastern music, the music of Iran is modal in nature. Initially (before the Qajar era) each of the major modes had an associated formula for melodic invention (mayeh). The mayeh included rules for cadences, a hierarchy of tones, and acceptable melodic patterns. Using the mayeh as a guideline, the musician was expected to improvise within a single mode for the duration of the performance, much as is done with Indian raga. Gradually, this method became cumbersome for the musicians and for the listeners.

As a result, during the Qajar dynasty, the old modes and mayehs were restructured and the dastgah system was developed. The modes were replaced by the seven dastgahs and five avazs. The names of these dastgahs are: shur, mahur, rast panjgah, segah, chargah, nava, homayun. The avazs are: abuata, bayat-e turk, afshari, dashti and esfahan. In studying Persian music theory this point should be taken into consideration that in Persian music like some other modal musical systems, tetrachords and penatchords are more important than scales.

Persian music is a modal music in which different combinations of tetrachords and pentachords make its modes. As mentioned, all of these modes are categorized into a large repertoire known as the radif, classified in large units known as dastgahs and avaz. In fact, the radif is the model repertoire with modal, rhythmic, and melodic potentialities anticipated for Persian classical music. As a matter of fact, the repertoire, while being extremely flexible, is used as a model for improvisation and composition. 

The radif itself has smaller parts which are dastgah, avaz, and gushe. In fact, the dastgah also has its own repertory of modes and melodies, each of which is called an avaz and gushe. Avaz is a sub-dastgah whose structure is very similar to that of a dastgah but in smaller scope.

For more information's about theory of persian music see the link below:

http://www.farabisoft.com/Pages/FarabiSchool/TheoryDetails.aspx?lang=en&PID=6&SID=36