Parisa; "O, Sage" (Ala Ey Pir-e Farzane)

Parisa Vaezi

Fātemeh Vā'ezi (Persian: فاطمه واعظی‎) (born 15 March 1950 in Tonekabon, Iran), commonly known by her stage name Parīsā (Persian: پریسا‎), is a Persian Classical vocalist and musician.

A student of maestro Mahmoud Karimi, Parisa has published several albums and performed numerous concerts throughout the world, sometimes with Dastan ensemble. Her major debut in Tehran was a concert at the Iran-America Society arranged by Lloyd Miller, a disciple of Dr. Daryush Safvat. After that concert, Miller, through writing reviews and other articles in various Terhan newspapers and magazines, was able to influence the Ministry of Culture to allow Parisa to be transferred from there to Dr. Safvat's Center for Preservation and Propagation of Iranian Music where her skills as a purely traditional dastgah vocalist would enhance their excellent instrumental ensemble.

After she was established at the Center, Miller convinced the CBS Iran A & R person to produce tapes of Parisa with the Center's instrumental ensemble the most sought after being in Dastgah-e Mahur and Dastgah-e Nava. These became hit releases and Parisa was invited to perform Chahargah at the famous Shiraz Arts Festival and other major venues. Her best work was with the Center where now famous virtuosi such as Dr.Dariush Talai (Tar (lute), Setar), Hossein Alizadeh (Tar,Setar), Jalal Zolfonun (Setar)and Majid Kiani (Santour) were established. (From Wikipedia)

The following YouTube includes her "O, Sage," a golden classic which gave momentum to her popularity. "O, Sage" is performed in Nava, a challenging mode in Iranian traditional music.

The Radif

Radif (Persian: ردیف, meaning order in Persian) is a collection of many old melodic figures preserved through many generations by oral tradition. It organizes the melodies in a number of different tonal spaces called Dastgah. The traditional music of Iran is based on the Radif, which is a collection of old melodies that have been handed down by the masters to the students through the generations. Over time, each master's own interpretation has shaped and added new melodies to this collection, which may bear the master's name.
The preservation of these melodies greatly depended on each successive generation's memory and mastery, since the interpretive origin of this music was expressed only through the oral tradition.

To truly learn and absorb the essence of the Radif, many years of repetition and practice are required. A master of the Radif must internalize the Radif so completely to be able to perform any part of it at any given time.

The Radif contains several different dastgahs which are distinguished from each other by their relationship of note intervals and the form of the movement of the melodies within them. A dastgah portrays a specific sonic space. A dastgah may contain approximately from 10 to 30 goushehs (melodies). The principal goushehs of the dastgah specify the different scales within that dastgah. The note, upon which the gousheh is based and often is the center of the gousheh, is called the shahed. The shahed moves when we modulate between principal goushehs, and this movement creates a new sonic space. Rhythm in these melodies takes three different forms: symmetric, asymmetric (lang), and free form. The rhythm is greatly influenced by the rhythm and meter of the Persian poetry. The instrumental and vocal Radif are different from the rhythmical point of view; however, their melodic structures are the same.