Maryam Tazdeh is a Montreal-based musician of Iranian origin who masters the tar, a traditional Persian lute. I had spoken to you about her previous album right here in 2023, a greatly appreciated offering at that time.
READ THE REVIEW OF THE ALBUM HEZÂR ÂVÂ, RELEASED IN 2023
What Remains is the first album that the lady fully and completely creates on American soil. It is first and foremost magnificent, sumptuous, and richly displayed like Isfahan fabrics in the art of Persian carpets. And like mina khani, the style of intertwined floral patterns, Maryam Tazdeh’s themes blend with elegance, but also with a pleasant simplicity. In this music, one can sense a clear intention to open this ancient art to the greatest number of first listeners, while maintaining the rigour and subtlety of a millennia-old creativity.
Roots deep emotions
In several of the traditional dastgahs of Persian music (a total of twelve musical modes, including seven “fundamental” and five “auxiliary”), Tazdeh constructs scores that are alternately evocative of nostalgic feelings (Khoroush, in the Homayun mode, which has a rather melancholic character) and festive (Henabandan, which depicts a pre-wedding ceremony in the Chahargah mode, recognised as exciting and passionate). One is sometimes surprised by the rather sunny use of the Nava mode, known for its serene and contemplative nature, as in the piece Dance of the Sun, joyful and welcoming.
It continues like this throughout the seven compositions of the album, which ends with a bittersweet look at a house left behind in the homeland, filled with memories and ghosts of another life : Unit 88.
Striking vocal flights
Let’s highlight the occasional but striking vocal flights of Nasim Siabi, alongside the very polished instrumental performances of the crème de la crème of Persian music based in Montreal.
If I must compare it with the previous album, I would say that this time, Maryam Tazdeh seems to have made her harmonies and soundscapes in general even more velvety and appealing to a wide audience. While Hezâr Âvâ had a more academic and rigorously scholarly character, this What Remains paints equally intelligent panoramas but on canvases with bright, full, rich, and warm colours.
I’ve been listening to it on repeat for a few days. A beautiful feast for the spirit and the hearts of music lovers.
Musicians:
Ziya Tabassian — Tombak
Didem Başar — Kanun
Nasim Siabi — Voice
Zaman Kheiri — Ney
Saeed Kamjoo — Kamancheh
Maryam Tazhdeh — Tar, Tar Bass
