‘Iran: Mahsa Vahdat & Marjan Vahdat’

Vocalists Masha and Marjan Vahdat studied music at university in Teheran before spending more than twenty years performing on major international stages. Their concerts are nourished by spirituality, a spirituality that is inherent to the poems of the great Persian masters such as Rumi, famous 13th century figure of Sufism, and the mystical 14th century philosopher and poet Hafez, but can also be found in contemporary poets. For them it is a way of keeping the tradition of the twelve ‘dastgahs’ alive; of sharing the intensive experience of a tradition which is to the Persian repertoire what the maqam is to Arab music: a succession of complex melodies which can include subtle variations and improvisations. The result is a moment of musical grace in which the sweetness of the ney and the scansion of the percussion respond to the voices.