''Persian Trilogy'' is a set of three

orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * String instruments, such as the violin, viola, cello, ...

l works composed by

Iranian Iranian () may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Iran ** Iranian diaspora, Iranians living outside Iran ** Iranian architecture, architecture of Iran and parts of the rest of West Asia ** Iranian cuisine, cooking traditions and practic ...

classical musician,

Behzad Ranjbaran Behzad Ranjbaran (; born 1955, in Tehran, Iran) is a Persian composer, known for his virtuosic concertos and colorful orchestral music. Ranjbaran's music draws from his cultural roots, incorporating Persian musical modes and rhythms. Life and car ...

. All three works were inspired by stories from the ''

Shahnameh The ''Shahnameh'' (, ), also transliterated ''Shahnama'', is a long epic poem written by the Persian literature, Persian poet Ferdowsi between and 1010 CE and is the national epic of Greater Iran. Consisting of some 50,000 distichs or couple ...

'' ("The Book of Kings"), the Persian epic poem written by

Ferdowsi Abu'l-Qâsem Ferdowsi Tusi (also Firdawsi, ; 940 – 1019/1025) was a Persians, Persian poet and the author of ''Shahnameh'' ("Book of Kings"), which is one of the world's longest epic poetry, epic poems created by a single poet, and the gre ...

in 11th century. Ranjbaran developed a lifelong fascination about

("The Book of Kings") from his childhood growing up in Iran. Ranjbaran used three episodes from this epic as the basis for his music: *''Seemorgh'' (also "Simorgh"): a

tone poem A symphonic poem or tone poem is a piece of orchestral music, usually in a single continuous movement (music), movement, which illustrates or evokes the content of a poem, short story, novel, painting, landscape, or other (non-musical) source. T ...

in three movements describing the fabulous magical bird

Simorgh The simurgh (; ; also spelled ''senmurv, simorgh, simorg'', ''simurg'', ''simoorg, simorq'' or ''simourv'') is a benevolent bird in Persian mythology and Persian literature, literature. It bears some similarities with mythological birds from di ...

in her involvement with humankind and the natural elements surrounding her: the mountain, the moonlight and the sunrise. *''The Blood of Seyavash'': conceived as a

ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...

in seven movements, relating the story of Prince Seyavash as young prince and heir, his seduction and betrayal, his trial by fire, his tormented loyalties, the seeds of envy, his idyllic love, and the prophecies fulfilled. *''Seven Passages'': derives its inspiration from an episode in the ''Shahnameh'', titled "The Seven Trials of

Rostam use both this parameter and , birth_date to display the person's date of birth, date of death, and age at death) --> , death_place = Kabulistan , death_cause = With the conspiracy of his half-brother Shaghad, he fell into a we ...

". In 2008,

Toronto Symphony Orchestra The Toronto Symphony Orchestra (TSO) is a Canadian orchestra based in Toronto, Ontario. Founded in 1906, the TSO gave regular concerts at Massey Hall until 1982, and since then has performed at Roy Thomson Hall. The TSO also manages the Toron ...

performed a multimedia version of Persian Trilogy, which included the music, the

naqqali Naqqāli (), or Persian epic storytelling, is the oldest form of narrating tales in Iran and has long played a significant role in society. A naqqāl is a storyteller who recites epic tales, primarily revolving around the stories of Persian mythol ...

, the traditional Persian theatrical storytelling, and the projection of

Persian miniatures A Persian miniature (Persian: نگارگری ایرانی ''negârgari Irâni'') is a small Persian painting on paper, whether a book illustration or a separate work of art intended to be kept in an album of such works called a ''muraqqa''. The ...

for the related episodes. ''Persian Trilogy'' was recorded by

London Symphony Orchestra The London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London. Founded in 1904, the LSO is the oldest of London's orchestras, symphony orchestras. The LSO was created by a group of players who left Henry Wood's Queen's ...

, conducted by

JoAnn Falletta JoAnn Falletta (born February 27, 1954, in Queens, New York) is an American conductor. Biography Falletta was raised in the borough of Queens in an Italian-American household. She was educated at the Mannes College of Music and The Juilliard Sch ...

Notes

See also