

Destinations
9 Tracks1 HR50 MIN2008
℗ Le Chant du Monde — Harmonia Mundi
This two-volume CD of Ostad Elahi’s compositions, modes, and improvisations on the tanbur begins with one of the most captivating and meditative pieces in the whole of Ostad’s repertoire, the Sheykh Amīrī Suite, of which all seventeen variations are featured here, each expressing his intimate relationship with the Beloved while revealing his musical talent and finesse. The second CD presents, among other suites, the story of Ābedīn, a devout theologist and scholar who derides the mystical path as heresy until he undergoes a mystical transformation himself that opens his inner eyes and fills him with divine love.
Tarz
This ancient tune from pre-Islamic times enables us to understand the amazing powers of expression reached in a tessitura as concise as a tone and a half. Indeed, the suite of three sustained semitones acting as an ostinato that this short piece gradually builds generates a tension that is truly unheard of. The apparent lack of movement is the pretext for Ostad to install the dynamics of his music, using changing rhythms and a profusion of subtle embellishments that endow each note with unusual depth and relief. The listener is not accustomed to this, but anyone who is willing to let oneself be guided by the sounds will find they touch both mind and soul alike. It is as though a mere few notes hold both a time and a place immemorial condensed within them. The tension is somewhat relieved when a diminished fourth is reached, then right at the end of the piece, when the perfect fourth bursts through to introduce the following key, the space opens up as though suddenly filled with light.
Tracklist
CD 1
CD 2
Tarz
Destinations
Tarz
DestinationsCD 2