Sirventès: Iranian Female Composers Association

by Abbasi / Arissian / Barzegar

Overview

This intriguing project brings together unusually diverse stands of musical influence. The album is spearheaded by Cleveland Orchestra cellist Brian Thornton, who plays throughout except on the string quartet The Maze by Niloufar Iravani. The members of the Iranian Female Composers Association referred to in the graphics have mostly studied in the U.S. or Canada in programs oriented toward Western contemporary music, but one and all, they maintain a strong sense of Persian origins in their music. The interplay is different in each case and consistently fascinating. Consider the title track by Anahita Abbasi for cello and percussion, which draws a comparison between the named medieval musical storytelling genre from the south of France and old Persian "myth-telling," with the composer unfolding a kind of dialogue between two figures. Also notable is Mahdis Golzar Kashani's And the Moses Drowned, dedicated to children lost in the Syrian civil war. Another major draw is the sound, mostly from Cleveland's Severance Hall, which helped producer Elaine Martone earn a 2023 Grammy Award nomination for Classical Producer of the Year. She uses the hall's resonance to suggest the spiritual, meditative quality of many of the pieces. The performances are unified by Thornton's manner, and one supposes that the composers were pleased by these realizations. Especially recommended for those interested in the intersections between non-Western traditions and Western modernism. ~ James Manheim

Product Details

Release Date:	04/21/2023
Label:	New Focus Recordings
UPC:	0690277901133
Rank:	130203

Tracks

1. And the Moses Drowned  - Katherine Bormann  - Robert Friedrich  - Mahdis Golzar Kashani  - Alicia Koelz  - Thomas C. Moore  - Eliesha Nelson  - Brian Thornton
2. Vulnerable for solo cello  - Nina Barzegar  - Robert Friedrich  - Thomas C. Moore  - Brian Thornton
3. Growth for string trio  - Katherine Bormann  - Robert Friedrich  - Nasim Khorassani  - Thomas C. Moore  - Eliesha Nelson  - Brian Thornton
4. The Maze for string quartet~I. Energetic  -  Callisto Quartet  - Robert Friedrich  - Niloufar Iravani  - Thomas C. Moore
5. The Maze for string quartet~II. Lyrical  -  Callisto Quartet  - Robert Friedrich  - Niloufar Iravani  - Thomas C. Moore
6. The Maze for string quartet~III. Mysterious  -  Callisto Quartet  - Robert Friedrich  - Niloufar Iravani  - Thomas C. Moore
7. Sirventès for cello and percussion  - Anahita Abbasi  - Amahl Arulanandam  - Ian Dobie  - Robert Friedrich  - Nathan Petitpas  - Ron Searles
8. Suite for Cello~I.  - Mina Arissian  - Robert Friedrich  - Thomas C. Moore  - Brian Thornton
9. Suite for Cello~II.  - Mina Arissian  - Robert Friedrich  - Thomas C. Moore  - Brian Thornton
10. Suite for Cello~III.  - Mina Arissian  - Robert Friedrich  - Thomas C. Moore  - Brian Thornton

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Katherine Bormann   Violin
Callisto Quartet   String Quartet
Alicia Koelz   Violin
Amahl Arulanandam   Cello
Brian Thornton   Cello
Nathan Petitpas   Percussion
Eliesha Nelson   Viola

Technical Credits

Mina Arissian   Composer,Liner Notes
Nasim Khorassani   Composer
Niloufar Iravani   Composer
Nina Barzegar   Composer,Liner Notes
Mahdis Golzar Kashani   Composer
Erin Purdy   Text Editor
Deniz Khateri   Cover Art
Dashaunae Marisa   Photography
Anahita Abbasi   Composer
Brian Thornton   Executive Producer
Ian Dobie   Editing
Thomas C. Moore   Producer,Editing
Roger Mastroianni   Photography
Robert Friedrich   Editing,Mixing,Engineer,Mastering
Marc Wolf   Design
Elaine Martone   Recording Producer
Ron Searles   Engineer