Last night at the Centre des musiciens du monde in Montreal, we heard almost 90 uninterrupted minutes of sublime music performed by one of the world’s greatest musicians, Kayhan Kalhor, master of the kamancheh. I’m not just talking about his status in Persian classical music, for which he is certainly THE musician of his time, and perhaps of all times, but about his genius as a musical artist in all genres. Kalhor is a virtuoso and performer in a class of his own.
Yesterday, he was on stage to give the final concert of an extensive tour for the Chants d’espoir (Songs of Hope) programme. He was joined by Montrealers Kiya Tabassian on setar and Hamin Honari on tombak, as well as his compatriot Hadi Hosseini on vocals.
Paris concert (without Hadi Hosseini) :
An artistic tour de force in which instrumental improvisation sits naturally alongside classical Persian poetry (that of Saadi, who lived in the 13th century) rendered with brio by Hosseini, one of the most assertive and accomplished voices in classical Persian singing today. Long, skilfully ornamented melodies intermingled with the comments of the instrumentalists, linking contemplative, introspective episodes with others that were more energetic and lively. The tunes, which flowed into one another without pause, were partly drawn from the scholarly repertoire, but mostly from the spontaneity of the musicians on stage, all of whom are remarkable improvisers. It was a sold-out concert, attended in large part by members of the Iranian community, but not exclusively. A very attentive and respectful audience, from which I didn’t hear a single unexpected phone ring! Symphony audiences should learn a few lessons from this…
Concert on December 16 in Montreal :
Montreal can be proud of this kind of event, because it’s partly thanks to this city that it exists. Kiya Tabassian, of the Constantinople ensemble, is a former student of Kalhor, who himself lived close to the metropolis for a time (he has a Canadian passport as well as an Iranian one), and Hamin Honari moved from Vancouver here to Montreal to take advantage of the artistic opportunities offered here. And in the midst of it all, the Centre des musiciens du monde, which continues to impress with the quality of its projects and the growing influence it exerts on the non-Western scholarly music scene, is actively helping to build Montreal’s reputation as one of the best cities for world music in the West, perhaps the best in America.
