In the Mirror of the Sky
The origins of ancient Persia's (i.e., modern-day Iran's) secular classical canon and parallel Islam-based Kurdish tradition both reach back hundreds of years. Each depends on the memorization of complex scales and disciplines, which paradoxically provide an ideal firmament for intricate, feverishly sensual flights of modal-flavored improvisation. Kayhan Kalhor plays the kamencheh, a spike fiddle ancestor of the medieval rebec and modern violin. A member of the Persian/Indian ensemble Ghazal, he was nominated for two Grammys in 2003. His collaborator, Ali Akbar Moradi, is a singer, teacher, composer and renowned exponent of the Kurdish tanbur, a long-necked pear-shaped lute with 14 gut frets. Accompanied by the tombak (goblet drum) virtuoso, Pejman Hadadi, the two explore a repertoire associated with the Yarsan people of Kurdistan. Western early music fans will notice certain haunting similarities to surviving Crusades-era works, but even total neophytes will be transported by the performers' passion and finesse.--Christina Roden