Pakistan National Council of the Arts (PNCA) is has arranged an Iranian Traditional Music Festival and
Cultural and Art Exhibition on January 31.
The event is being organised in collaboration with the Cultural Consulate Embassy of Iran, in connection with the 38th anniversary of the victory of the Islamic Revolution of Iran.
The history of musical development in Iran dates back to the prehistoric era, with King Jamshaid being credited with the invention of music.
Persian traditional music relies on both improvisation and composition and is based on a series of modal scales and tunes which must be memorized. Apprentices and masters have a traditional relationship which has declined during the 20th century as music education moved to universities and conservatories.
The common repertoire consists of more than two hundred short melodic movements called gusheh, which are classified into seven dastgah or “modes.”
Two of these modes have secondary modes branching from them called avaz. Each gusheh and dastgah has an individual name. This whole body is called the Radif of which there are several versions, each in accordance with the teachings of a particular master or ustad.
