hamid khezri music from khorasan

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http//:hamid-khezri.com REFERENCes Opera of Lyon, France Ethnographic Museum of Dahehe Festival Fadschr of Geneva, Switzerland Teheran, (1st prize) SargFabrik, Vienna, Austria Sima Bina tours, in North America (Los Angeles, Moving Cultures Festival, New York, Washington, Atlanta, Nuremberg, Toronto, Ottawa...), Theater Odeon, Paris, France and Europe (Les Bouffes du Nord Theater in Paris, London Gasteig, Munich, Germany Royal Festival Hall, Sociological Institute of Brussels ...) International Festival of Louvre Museum, Paris, France ancient music from East and West, Tartu, Estonia Opera of Lille, France Estivada Festival, Rodez, Espace Vitré, Brittany, France France

House of Cultures of the France World Fair of tale, World, Paris, France Montbéliard, France

With his dotârs (two-string lute), Hamid Kezhri perpetuates the tradition of the bakhshis who were bards and eastern epic storytellers, playing traditional music from Khorasan. As a soloist or with different ensembles he always captivates with his virtuosity, his musicality, his strong and varied rythms and his touching melodies. With his deep knowledge of music and his roots in tradition, Hamid Khezri has developed his own playing technique, his own unique dotâr style. In the tales, he mixes French and German translations with original texts and music: he interprets Sam & Zal’s story, taken from Shah Nâmeh (Book ofKings) by Ferdowsi.

Born in Quchan (), Hamid Khezri began learning the dotâr from a very young age and visited such great masters like Hâ Hossein Jeganeh, Hamrah Bakhshi, Mohammad Yeganeh. He became inte- rested in Central Asian music at an early age, especially in Uzbek and Uighur dotâr. After collaborating with the singer Simâ Binâ du- ring her European and American tours from 1988 to 1995, he settles to Europe, first in Germany when he gt the german citizenship, then in France, pursuing a solo career.

Hamid Khezri, affected by the conditions of artistic production in Iran, makes a point of honour highlighting the benefits of inter- cultural exchanges for a better understanding between peoples and cultures. When he moved to Toulouse, in France, he discovered the Occitan lyric of the troubadours and of traditional music: the parallel with the bards of Central Asia inspired him to create an original musical encounter between the Orient and the West. 2/8 discography

Hamid Khezri is one of those ‘‘ musicians whom openness and artistic integrity lead to the renewal of instrumental language without renouncing the tradition that has nourished them: the result is an elegance in intention, a

virtuosity without fussiness

and especially a nesse of the melodic line that are ‘‘ the marks of a true master.

Musée Guimet

Musique du Monde : Le dotâr du Khorasan. Music of Northern Khorasan Music of North Khorasan VDE-Gallo/Archives Khezri, Hamid Khezri, Hamid / Sima Bina Internationales de musique (Regional , Vol.61) 1994 populaire, Musée Mahoor Institute of Culture, d’ethnographie de GENEVE, 2016 Suisse, 2005 3/8 Music and songs of Khorasan

Hamid Khezri offers us a walk through the cradle of Persian culture, in music, in Persian,Kurmanji or Tajik language. Accompanied by his dotârs, he sings secular stories and wartime epics, in going through the spiritual airs of the desert regions of the South, and transports its audience through a mythical and immemorial Orient. The music of the Bakhshis of Khorasan listed in the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity since 2010. In , the Bakhshis are kwon for their talent in playing the dotâr player, a long-handled lute with two strings. They recite The king instrument of Khorasan Islamic and Gnostic poems and epics on mythological, historical is the dotâr, (literally: «two or legendary topics. Their music, called maghami, consists ‘‘ strings»), whose origin dates of instrumental and / or vocal pieces, interpreted in Turkish, Kurdish, Turkmen and Persian laguage. Navayi is the most back to antiquity. It is a long- widespread magham: it is extremely varied, vocal, devoid of handled lute, widespread in the rhythm, accompanied by gnostic poems. Others examples include Middle East, Central Asia and the Tajnis Turkish maghams and Gerayeli, the religious themes of Shakhatayi, and the Loy, a former romantic magham of the Chinese Turkestan. Its two strings, Kurdish Kormanj of the North of Khorasan. For the Bakhshis, one traditionally silk or gut, are today of the the dotâr’s rope is male and the other female; the male

almost everywhere replaced by rope remains open, while the female rope is used to play the

steel strings. Each region boasts a main melody. The bakhshi music is transmitted either according to the traditional direct teaching method master to student, stamp, a form,‘‘ a specific playing a method reserved for men of the family or neighborhood, or technique. according to methods where a teacher trains several students from both genders and various backgrounds. The music transmits history, culture, ethical and fundamental religious rules. That’s why the social role of Bakhshis is not limited to that of a simple narrator, but makes them judges, mediators and healers, as well as guardians of ethnic and cultural heritage of their community. 4/8 From unesco.org Sam & zal

Extract from Shâh Nâmeh

The «Shâh Nâmeh» (Book of Kings), written by ‘‘ Ferdowsi, is an epic poem recounting the history of the world from its creation to the arrival of the

best-known literary work in Iran and Afghanistan,

with the Khamsa of Nizami, who is inspired by it. The language has not aged‘‘ much and this «historic text» constitutes an essential base for reciters and poets still today.

In a German translation by Adolph Friedrich von Schack (18th century), Hamid bring back to life Sam and Zal, the proud father and the rejected son, in music and brings them to the middle of the auditorium. These heroes are both Persian and German, as well as the artist who brings them to light. Because Hamid Khezri has this desire to put together what must be together. He sings and tales, in German and Persian, in a simply charming way. He connects these two cultures by mixing irony and winks, with seriousness and dedication. In this way, he introduces us to the world of Count von Schack, a man fascinated by the cultures of the Orient, and conjures up images of ancient Persia.

The concert was recorded at the Gasteig in Munich on 15.12.12 and broadcast on 03.02.13 by Bayerische Rundfunk (Bavarian Public Radio).

In German and Persian

5/8 Tales of Khorasan

Hamid Khezri was trained in the purest tradition of bakhshis, the multilingual bards of Central Asia, depositories of all collectives memories. With nesse and sincerity, in Persian and in French translation popular legends and war epics of nomadic peoples and of the steppe cities of the Silk Road .The music of the Khorasan bards is above all vocal, and more speci cally focused on the versi ed partsdâstân (story, tale). Hamid thus knows a great number of dâstân type: epic, mystical and religious, or romantic, which alternate passages in spoken prose and sung verse episodes. The passages in prose form long declaimed speeches where the plot of the story is laid out. The passages in verse are sung with dotâr accompaniment.

In French and Persian 6/8 musical projects

KNS Electro Persian

A Franco-Iranian trio combining traditional music, drums and machines, crossing cultures and mixing musical genres.

This trio is the result of the friendship between two Frenhmen and one Iranianman whose goal is to unite their in uences in the perspective of a festive and poetic music. KNS offers you a predominantly dancing music while clearly expressing what they care about: intercultural exchanges are essential to the success of a better understanding between peoples. KNS advocates tolerance by ghting against this current media supremacy which regularly seeks to oppose the lifestyles of different cultures.

Hamid Khezri : dôtars Neirda : keyboard, machines Loïc Schild : drums

Bab al Corassan

Former project

An original troubadour musical encounter between the Orient and the West

The eastern gate of Baghdad, the city of a thousand and one nights, was called Bab al Khorasan: several times mentioned by the troubadours, it was opening towards this fabulous country, cradle of famous poets, scientists, philosophers or doctors, stage of the Silk Road. Bab al Corassan, it’s a today musical encounter between Occitan song and the music of this mythical orient, between bards and troubadours, voices and dotâr: an invitation to a journey full of elegance and virtuosity from Toulouse to Samarcand.

In Persian and Occitan 7/8 german press review

BERLINER MORGENPOST, 2001 «...Hamid Khezri is the only virtuoso DACHAUER SZ NR.278 / SEITER 3, in Europe who knows how to play this 2001 instrument...» “...With the first sounds, we felt carried away in the fabulous world of SÜDDEUTSCHE ZEITUNG “thousand and one nights...” NR.260 / SEITE 21 “...Hamid Khezri started a seven-year MURNAUERTAGBLATT,2001 collaboration: with a very popular “...Hamid Khezri has become singer in Iran, Sima Bina, who could ambassador of his culture. It has led only play abroad...” auditors to travelling in the philosophy and music of his thousand-year-old LANDSHUT HEUTE, 2001 traditions..” “...In Iran almost nobody plays dotâr – and not in public at all.Indeed, since MURNAUER TAGBLATT, 2001 the revolution in 1979 secular music is «...Hamid Khezri has become no longer accepted. However, Hamid ambassador of his culture. It has led has succeeded in safeguarding the auditors to travelling in the philosophy traditions of the northern shamans and music of his thousand- year-old and those of soufis from South traditions...» Khorassan and in this wayin keeing them for posterity...” RADIO OCCITÀNIA, FEB 2013

DACHAUER NACHRICHTEN, 2001 BAYERISCHE RUNDFUNK (BAVARIAN “...Hamid Khezri has learned the PUBLIC RADIO) instrument of tradition and its different playing techniques with the masters of the dotâr...”

8/8