"fasli sard" (a cold season) by Morteza

This piece was completely improvised. I played both of the setar tracks once and never wrote (notated) the piece. It was inspired by Yadollah Royaee’s poem, which is recited by Elaheh Akhondi in this recording. A rough translation of the poem is “On the stairs of the sea; there is the walking [literally behaviour] of the waves. I wish I were the music (sound/melody) of the behaviour/walking of the waves.” This piece is dedicated to my master, friend, and colleague, Michael Frishkopf, who is “the music of the waves.” lyrics Yadollah Royaee credits from On the Eve of a Thousand Tunes, released August 26, 2021 morteza (setar), Elaheh Akhondi (recitation), Paul Johnston (editing and mixing), Guy Hebert (mastering)

“Khazän” means ‘the Fall’ in Persian. In this piece I have drawn tremendously on Hossein Alizadeh’s style in setar playing and melody making. The piece is dedicated to him, a master who has influenced my approach to music and music making more than anyone else. In this piece Gabriel has played percussion. credits from On the Eve of a Thousand Tunes, released August 26, 2021 morteza (setar), Gabriel (percussion), Paul Johnston (mixing and editing), Guy Hebert (mastering)

“Az har zabän” means ‘in any language/tongue’. Hafez, the renown Persian poet of the 14th century, has a verse where he says that although the core theme of love is the same in all love stories, it’s never repetitive to hear it ‘az har zabän.’ In this piece, Abtin Ghafari has played tombak, and Hannah Gobbett has performed clarinet. Hannah has played the main theme once exactly as it was written for the clarinet and a second time with a beautiful improvisational approach. credits from On the Eve of a Thousand Tunes, released August 26, 2021 Morteza (setar, composition), Abtin Ghafari (tombak), Hannha Gobbet (clarinet).