Dastgah

Dastgāh ( fa, دستگاه) is the standard musical system in Persian art music, standardised in the 19th century following the transition of Persian music from the Maqam modal system. A consists of a collection of musical melodies, . In a song played in a given , a musician starts with an introductory , and then meanders through various different , evoking different moods. Many in a given are related to an equivalent musical mode in Western music. For example, most in Dastgāh-e Māhur correspond to the Ionian mode in the Major scale, whilst most in Dastgāh-e Šur correspond to the Phrygian mode. In spite of 50 or more extant , 12 are most commonly played, with Dastgāh-e Šur and Dastgāh-e Māhur being referred to as the mother of all .

Summary

Each consists of seven basic notes, plus several variable notes used for ornamentation and modulation. Each is a certain modal variety subject to a course of development () that is determined by the pre-established order of sequences, and revolves around 365 central nuclear melodies known as s (each of these melodies being a ), which musicians come to know through experience and absorption. This process of centonization is personal, and it is a tradition of great subtlety and depth. The full collection of s in all s is referred to as the ''radif''. During the meeting of ''The Inter-governmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Heritage'' of the United Nations, held between 28 September – 2 October 2009 in Abu Dhabi, ''radifs'' were officially registered on the UNESCO List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

The system of twelve s and s has remained nearly the same as it was codified by the music masters of the nineteenth century, in particular Mîrzā Abdollāh Farāhāni (1843–1918). No new or large has been devised since that codification. When in the modern times an or a has been developed, it has almost always been through borrowings from the extant s and s, rather than through unqualified invention. From this remarkable stability one may infer that the system must have achieved "canonical" status in Iran.

Terminology

The term has often been compared to the musical mode in Western musicology, but this is inaccurate. A is usually the name of the initial mode of a piece, which the music returns to—and moreover, a identifies a group of modes grouped according to tradition. In short, a is both the collective title of a grouping of modes ''and'' the initial mode of each group.

According to musicians themselves, the etymology of the term is associated with "the position () of the hand () n the neck of the instrument. The Persian term can be translated as "system", and is then "first and foremost a collection of discrete and heterogeneous elements organized into a hierarchy that is entirely coherent though nevertheless flexible."

In conventional classifications of Persian music, Abū ʿAṭā, Daštī, Afšārī, and Bayāt-e Tork are considered sub-classes of Šur . Likewise, Bayāt-e Esfahān is a sub-class of Homāyun, reducing the number of principal to a total of seven. A sub-class in the conventional system is referred to as .

Distinguished pitches

A is more than a set of notes, and one component of the additional structure making up each is which pitches are singled out for various musical functions. Examples include:
* ''Finalis'', so named because it usually functions as the goal or destination tone that melodic cadences end on when they have a conclusory feel. This is also sometimes referred to as "tonic" but some authors avoid that usage because "tonic" is associated with Western tonality.
* ''Āghāz'', meaning "beginning", the pitch on which an improvisation in a usually begins. In some it is different from the ''finalis'' while in others it is the same pitch.
* ''Ist'' ("stop"), a pitch other than the ''finalis'' which often serves as the ending note for phrases other than final cadences.
* ''Šāhed'' ("witness"), a particularly prominent pitch.
* ''Moteghayyer'' ("changeable"), a variable note – one that consistently appears as two distinct pitches, which can be used alternately in different contexts or at the performer's discretion.

The Seven Dastgahs

Most scholars divide the traditional Persian art music to seven s, although some divide them into 12 s (by counting Abu Ata, Dashti, Afshari, Bayat-e Kord and Bayat-e Esfahan as separate s rather than subcategories of other s). Those who categorize the traditional Persian art music into seven often also list seven ( fa, آواز, which means ''songs'') in conjunction with these s. The following is a list of the seven s and seven s:

List of common Dastgah and Avaz

''Listed in order as per the Radif_(music) of Mirza Abdollah. Flats are shown with a ׳b׳, and koron (half flats) are shown with a ׳p׳.''

* Shur شور (C^a D^f Ep F G A/Ap^m Bb C)
**Bayat-e-tork بیات ترک (C^a,i D Ep F^f,ŝ G A Bb C)
** Dashti دشتی (C D^f Eb F^a G A/Ap^m,ŝ Bb C)
**Abu-ata ابوعطا (C D^f Eb^a,i F G^a,ŝ Ap Bb/Bp C)
** Afshari افشاری (C^f D Ebⁱ F G^a,ŝ Ap/A^m Bb C)
*Segah سه‌گاه (C D/Dp Ep^a,f,ŝ F G Ap Bb C)
* Nava نوا (C D Epⁱ F^a G^f A Bb C)
* Homayun همایون (C D Eb^a Fⁱ G^f Ap^ŝ B C)
**Bayat-e-Esfahan (also called simply Esfahan) اصفهان (C D Epⁱ F# G^a,f,ŝ A Bb C)
* Chahargah چهارگاه (C^f Dp E F G Ap^a B C)
* Mahur ماهور (C^a,f D^ŝ E F G A B C)
*Rast-Panjgah راست‌ پنجگاه (C D E F^a,f G A Bb C)

Less common:
*Bayat-e-kord (C D Eb F G Ap Bb C) (Sometimes included as an Avaz under Shur)
* Shushtar (Sometimes included as an Avaz under Homayun, but usually just as a gushe)
Note that in some cases the sub-classes (s) are counted as individual s, yet this contradicts technicalities in Iranian music.

See also

* Dastgah music
* Mugam
* Persian traditional music

References

Sources

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Further reading

* Hormoz Farhat, ''The Dastgāh Concept in Persian Music'' (Cambridge University Press, 1990). , (first paperback edition, 2004). For a review of this book see: Stephen Blum, ''Ethnomusicology'', Vol. 36, No. 3, Special Issue: Music and the Public Interest, pp. 422–425 (1992)
JSTOR

* Ella Zonis, ''Classical Persian Music: An Introduction'' (Harvard University Press, 1973)
* Lloyd Clifton Miller. 1995. ''Persian Music: A Study of Form and Content of Persian Avaz, Dastgah & Radif'' Dissertation. University of Utah.
* Bruno Nettl, ''The Radif of Persian Music: Studies of Structure and Cultural Context'' (Elephant & Cat, Champaign, 1987)
* Ella Zonis, ''Contemporary Art Music in Persia'', The Musical Quarterly, Vol. 51, No. 4, pp. 636–648 (1965)
JSTOR
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External links

* A sample of solo music on '' Setār'' by Master Ahmad Ebadi in the following Dastgahs
''Segāh''''Chahārgāh''''Homāyoun''''Esfahān''''Afshāri''

{{Musical radif

Modes (music)
Persian classical music
Persian words and phrases