After a fairly long period of silence -- since the publication of his Gham-e Ziba (Beautiful Sorrow) album in the spring of 2004 -- {Shahram Nazeri} has come out with a new work. Loulian was received with little fanfare, in spite of much anticipation, probably because unlike his previous albums, Safar Be Digar Soo (Journey to the Other Side) and Leyli & Majnoon, the latest album of Nazeri and Dastan Ensemble was not published or promoted by SOROUSH Recording Studio (a subsidiary of the state radio and television, IRIB) and its marketing campaign, but was instead released by AVA-YE NOVIN-E ESFEHAN Cultural Organization.

"Loulian" is the plural form of Louli, meaning gypsy or a street musician. "Lyre" is also derived from this word. We recognize the composer, whose name appears on the cover, next to Nazeri’s. {Hamid Motebassem} was born in Mashad in 1960. He has played tar and setar for ensembles such as AREF and DASTAN, is a cofounder of the "Iran Tar and Setar Foundation," and is an organizer of the annual "Seminar on Tar and Setar." His long cooperation with Nazeri has produced many a renowned work, such as Saz-e No Avaz-e No, and Safar Be Digar Soo.

The artistic direction of the new album is a continuation of the effort that the two, especially Nazeri, have been working on since their previous release. One can observe, in all these works, a persistent search for the inner music of a poem, as well an effort to bring to foreground some of the more under-utilized, and therefore unfamiliar, pieces of Iranian modal music, all composed and arranged with simplicity and intricacy. Nazeri is seemingly endeavoring to convey the sense of the lyrics through musical manipulation of instruments and vocal dynamics and timbre. This effort is not lost to the multitude of listeners that fill his concert halls both inside and outside the country.

The album is made up of two songs, two vocal pieces, and three instrumental ones. The opening song, and the namesake of the album, is a new composition based on a poem by {Rumi}, in which the recurring, rhythmic and richly emphasized chorus line, “Oh gypsies, oh gypsies, one gypsy has gone mad...” creates an original and rhapsodic ambience for the entire album. A solo performance of tanbur by {Hossein Behruzinia}, leads to a short but highly ornate vocal piece that showcases Nazeri’s mastery of this natural instrument. This relationship between the musician and his instrument of choice is the focal point of many memorable occurrences throughout the album, specially when accompanied by {Saeed Farajpouri} on kamancheh, such as in the piece "Sarmast" ("Elated").

The famous quatrains by {Abu Saeed Abelkheir}, “Oh you, with a hundred broken vows, cometh to me now,” may sound familiar or even repetitive at first, but has been rearranged so delicately and skillfully that the meaning of each word dances in front of your heart’s eyes.

Interestingly, the instrument that attracted my attention most in this album was tonbak, played by Nazeri’s long-time collaborator, the masterful {Pejman Haddadi}. His rhythmic accompaniments sound novel and exciting, and yet blend nicely and harmoniously with everything else. This is a new interpretation of the instrument and not something I have heard done quite so skillfully in the past.

The calls and answers between different instruments, their timely unions and then passionate dissociations throughout the album, specially during the faster chaar-mezraab segment, displays the dexterity of every musician in the small Dastan Ensemble. At the end, a peaceful, unaccompanied piece by the kamancheh, brings the album to a serene conclusion.

Snippets
1 Loulian.01
2 Loulian.02
3 Loulian.03
4 Loulian.04
5 Loulian.05
6 Loulian.06
7 Loulian.07
8 Loulian.08