Country : Canada Label : Indépendant Genres and styles : Classical / Contemporary Year : 2020

Mosafèr

· by Michel Rondeau

Portishead’s “Sour Times”, from their 1994 debut album (yes, it’s been over 25 years!), with its sample from Lalo Schifrin’s soundtrack to an episode of Mission: Impossible, was the first time many people discovered the santur, an Iranian instrument with a unique sound, its 72 strings played with two small hammers. One of its sonic peculiarities is that it has a “sustain”, a very long hold which makes it suitable for modal music and improvisation. Thanks to its polyphonic effect, it sometimes sounds as if several instruments are being played at the same time.

Mosàfer is the second album from Farhad Khosravi, an Iranian-born santurist who’s been living in Alberta since 2012. The fruit of a long journey, it’s inspired by the life of his mother and the writings of the Iranian poet Sohrab Sepehri, and focuses on the stages of life, its challenges and torments.

Of the seven pieces on the programme, Khosravi is accompanied only by a lone percussionist, so he has all the latitude he needs to display the timbral possibilities of his instrument in a dense, sometimes poignant framework, as in the two-part piece “Day of War”. 

With its long notes that stretch and rise in the night like sparks from a campfire, Mosafèr makes an excellent soundtrack for contemplating the Perseids, and watching for shooting stars.

Latest 360 Content

FIJM | Men I Trust brille de tous ses éclats sur la place des Festivals

FIJM | Men I Trust brille de tous ses éclats sur la place des Festivals

FIJM | Anomalie and Lettieri: A New Musical Friendship, Developing in Real Time

FIJM | Anomalie and Lettieri: A New Musical Friendship, Developing in Real Time

FIJM | Linda May Han Oh, A Role Model for Female Double-Bass Players

FIJM | Linda May Han Oh, A Role Model for Female Double-Bass Players

Nuits d’Afrique | La Chiva Gantiva As Seen by Rafael Espinel

Nuits d’Afrique | La Chiva Gantiva As Seen by Rafael Espinel

Suoni | The Spiritual Quest, The End in Transcendence

Suoni | The Spiritual Quest, The End in Transcendence

FIJM | Thundercat, A Feline on The Loose

FIJM | Thundercat, A Feline on The Loose

FIJM | Bill Frisell, Thomas Morgan and Rudy Royston Exposed

FIJM | Bill Frisell, Thomas Morgan and Rudy Royston Exposed

FIJM | Branford Marsalis Among Four MF’s Playin’ Tunes… Live!

FIJM | Branford Marsalis Among Four MF’s Playin’ Tunes… Live!

FIJM | About Derrick Hodge’s Idea of the Color of Noize

FIJM | About Derrick Hodge’s Idea of the Color of Noize

FIJM | Queen of Afrobeats, Ayra confirms her status as a Global… Starr

FIJM | Queen of Afrobeats, Ayra confirms her status as a Global… Starr

FIJM | Black Jazz by Marquis Hill

FIJM | Black Jazz by Marquis Hill

Festival de Lanaudière | Leonardo Garcia Alarcon/Monteverdi’s Coronation of Poppea: being marketwise

Festival de Lanaudière | Leonardo Garcia Alarcon/Monteverdi’s Coronation of Poppea: being marketwise

FIJM | Nate Smith and his Supremely Talented Quartet

FIJM | Nate Smith and his Supremely Talented Quartet

Nuits d’Afrique 2025 | Tyrane Mondeny Presents Her Mandingo Soul

Nuits d’Afrique 2025 | Tyrane Mondeny Presents Her Mandingo Soul

FIJM | Nai Palm? Creature of Exception! Hawa B? Future Star!

FIJM | Nai Palm? Creature of Exception! Hawa B? Future Star!

FIJM 2025 | Funky funky, Trombone Shorty

FIJM 2025 | Funky funky, Trombone Shorty

FIJM | Nubya Garcia Becomes a Star in MTL

FIJM | Nubya Garcia Becomes a Star in MTL

FIJM 2025 | Symphonic Avishai Cohen: Bewitching magic

FIJM 2025 | Symphonic Avishai Cohen: Bewitching magic

King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard – Phantom Island

King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard – Phantom Island

Common Holly – Anything glass

Common Holly – Anything glass

FIJM I Hanorah Sets the TD Stage Ablaze with Soulful R&B

FIJM I Hanorah Sets the TD Stage Ablaze with Soulful R&B

FIJM | Jeff Goldblum: Storyteller, Comedian and Pianist

FIJM | Jeff Goldblum: Storyteller, Comedian and Pianist

FIJM I Still Taking Us There, Mavis Staples Electrifies Montreal JazzFest

FIJM I Still Taking Us There, Mavis Staples Electrifies Montreal JazzFest

FIJM | Gabriella Olivo, Musical Journey in Three Languages

FIJM | Gabriella Olivo, Musical Journey in Three Languages

Subscribe to our newsletter