In this improvisation, Ostad Elahi directly ties the present suite—comprised of eight distinct parts—to the previous one with a linking passage. Tarz is a generic term that means “manner” or “rule”, but it also has a more specific musical meaning, that of a mode.

At the beginning of its quest for the Divine, the soul becomes conscious of its neglect and mistakes and thus of the gulf separating it from the Beloved. Although the pain of this awakening is at times quite deep, it purifies the heart and causes the blossoming of virtues that will prove indispensable on its spiritual path. It is this very quest that is evoked with great intensity in this suite, which is less epic but more internalized than the preceding one.

a. Tarz-e Jafarī

b. Tarz-e Khān Bābā Khān

c. Tarz-e Leylī o Majnūn
This sequence refers to the pure love—first passionate and then sublimated—of Leylī and Majnūn, whose story is recognized as a parable of mystical love as recounted by the Persian poet Nezāmī (1140-1209).

d. Tarz-e Mūye
“Mūye” means lamentation.

e. Tarz-e Arke Abbāsī (Arkeh Bāzī)
An ancient courtly melody transformed into the tanbur repertoire.

f. Tarz-e Marhūm-e Seyd Brāka (Tarz-e Sūz o Godāz)
This piece is dedicated to Seyd Brāka, a 19th century saint whose generosity and chivalry were especially praised by Ostad. Quite lyrical, it is rendered as a song. “Sūz” here means an inner burning, the torment of one separated from the Beloved, a suffering that awakens and purifies the soul. “Godāz” signifies that this burning is so intense that one’s state can be likened to that of molten metal.

g. Tarz-e Teymūrī
The final sequence is dedicated to Teymūr, a great saint martyred in Kermānshāh in 1865.