Monday, October 09, 2006

Cal Performances offers one-world vision

By Sam Prestianni - Sentinel correspondent
Santa Cruz Sentinel - March 9, 2006

Cal Performances celebrates its 100th anniversary this year as one of the San Francisco Bay Area's top promoters of the performing arts. Since its inception with a high-profile benefit gig for victims of the 1906 earthquake, featuring the superstar French actress Sarah Bernhardt, the UC Berkeley-based presenting organization has advocated a global vision.

Today, this includes productions by musicians, dancers, writers and theatrical performers from every continent save Antarctica. Upcoming concerts by the Masters of Persian Classical Music, Cesaria Evora and Ladysmith Black Mambazo exemplify Cal Performances' commitment to showcasing the planet's dynamic music-making traditions.

The appearance of the Persian Masters, arguably Iran's premier cultural ambassadors to the United States, couldn't come at a more crucial time. After all, an ancient people's sacred art provides a welcome alternative to the chest-thumping politics of the day. The internationally renowned combo of Kayhan Kalhor on kamancheh spiked fiddle, Hossein Alizadeh on tar long-necked lute, Mohammad Reza Shajarian vocals, and his son Homayoun on tombak hand drum has already proven to be a hit among U.S. audiences: The quartet sold out a string of shows on the first leg of its recent Stateside tour and its two recordings, 2001's "Without You" and last year's "Faryad," were both nominated for Grammy awards.

Not unlike the Indian classical repertoire, traditional Persian music derives its power from improvisations on precise scales, rhythms, and phrases, which provide a common language pool for all the bandmates to draw from. The virtuosic instrumentalists of the Masters take their cues from the subtly shifting melodies of the singer Shajarian, who combines the rich meters and passionate verses of both ancient and modern Sufi poetry. Thus, the band's original voice is deeply tied to the mystic fringe of Islam in a spellbinding update on a very old-school sound.

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Monday, October 09, 2006

Cal Performances offers one-world vision
By Sam Prestianni - Sentinel correspondent
Santa Cruz Sentinel - March 9, 2006

Cal Performances celebrates its 100th anniversary this year as one of the San Francisco Bay Area's top promoters of the performing arts. Since its inception with a high-profile benefit gig for victims of the 1906 earthquake, featuring the superstar French actress Sarah Bernhardt, the UC Berkeley-based presenting organization has advocated a global vision.

Today, this includes productions by musicians, dancers, writers and theatrical performers from every continent save Antarctica. Upcoming concerts by the Masters of Persian Classical Music, Cesaria Evora and Ladysmith Black Mambazo exemplify Cal Performances' commitment to showcasing the planet's dynamic music-making traditions.

The appearance of the Persian Masters, arguably Iran's premier cultural ambassadors to the United States, couldn't come at a more crucial time. After all, an ancient people's sacred art provides a welcome alternative to the chest-thumping politics of the day. The internationally renowned combo of Kayhan Kalhor on kamancheh spiked fiddle, Hossein Alizadeh on tar long-necked lute, Mohammad Reza Shajarian vocals, and his son Homayoun on tombak hand drum has already proven to be a hit among U.S. audiences: The quartet sold out a string of shows on the first leg of its recent Stateside tour and its two recordings, 2001's "Without You" and last year's "Faryad," were both nominated for Grammy awards.

Not unlike the Indian classical repertoire, traditional Persian music derives its power from improvisations on precise scales, rhythms, and phrases, which provide a common language pool for all the bandmates to draw from. The virtuosic instrumentalists of the Masters take their cues from the subtly shifting melodies of the singer Shajarian, who combines the rich meters and passionate verses of both ancient and modern Sufi poetry. Thus, the band's original voice is deeply tied to the mystic fringe of Islam in a spellbinding update on a very old-school sound.

No comments: