Fonotopia Shorts: Yahya Zarpanje
The sitar and the guitar derive their names from the Persian word Tar, which means “string.” Tar is also the name of a Persian stringed instrument. Ian likens the guitar pyrotechnics of Django Reinhardt and Jimi Hendrix to the virtuosity of tar player Yahya Zarpanje, the subject of this Fonotopia Short. We think you’ll agree.
You might be interested to know that Zarpanjeh means Gold-handed in Persian. He defenitly was a great Tar player.
AN UNNECESSARILY LONG SPOKEN INTRO – (WHICH COULD HAVE BEEN WRITTEN) ESPECIALLY WHEN THE SPEAKER ATTEMPTS TO DESCRIBE THE STYLE INSTEAD OF ALLOWING US TO HEAR IT!
BUT STRIKING PLAYING BY YAHYA ZARPANJE WHEN IT EVENTUALLY ARRIVED.
“attempts” is right! If old Persian music listening with minimal yakking is what you’re after, try the first real episode of Fonotopia and the Taj Isfahani performance toward the beginning.
If you just want great, old Persian performances, go to http://www.mahoor.com/cds.aspx?gid=24 where you can get all you could ever want. And for ninety-nine cents you can get the performance played here without all the talk talk talk…
I’m just about bursting at the seams for fonotopia to start up again! Where are we at with finding a station to air it? (& where are you with the Fall tour out West you’d been planning?)
for what it’s worth, it’s your long discoursing that takes the show to a new level for me and differentiates it from all the other ear-fluff I find myself inundated by… not that I’m enveloped in too much Persian music in my day-to-day.