Persian Poetry & the Shahnameh
Modern Persian is written with the Persian alphabet, which is based on a modified form of the Arabic script. Loanwords from Arabic also constitute around 30% of the language. This transition to the modified Arabic script symbolised the transfer from Middle Persian to Late Persian during the Arab conquest of Persia during the 7th Century AD.
Persian Poetry has always been a significant cultural and political means of one-to-many communication. The specific calligraphy and illustrations that accompany Persian poetry embellish the rhyme and flow of the text.
Ferdowsi’s epic poem, the Shahnameh, is one of the longest pieces of poetry written by a single poet. Ferdowsi starkly opposed the Arab conquest of Persia, and he wrote the poem over a 30 year period to strip the language used of any Arabic influence: Thus writing it in “pure” Persian. The text has served as one of the pillars of the modern Persian language, and as a result, modern Farsi is still strikingly similar to it.
After the Shahnameh, Persian poetry became a particular form of artistic expression, with specific rhyming schemes following the distichs, or bayt. Till the present day, Persian poetry is infused with a manner and mystical character that is easily identifiable.
References:
- https://archive.org/details/PersianSufiPoetryAnIntroductionToTheMysticalUseOfClassicalPoemsByDeBruijn/page/n39
- https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/606299.pdf
The Oud
The Oud is the quintessential instrument in Arab music. Believed to have evolved from the Barbat, a lute-style instrument from pre-Islamic Persia, it has become most popular in Arabic and Turkish musical history. The Oud allows for twice as many notes as modern Western music, as most maqams, or melodic modes, allow for quarter tones in between that of Western music. This allows for much more variation in musical expression, where different countries or tribes have their own styles of Oud playing.
The Oud is often the central element of an ensemble and lends itself to improvisation, which is a manner of communication that allows for deeper, unplanned expression, compared to the recital of notes. The Oud is currently a staple instrument in Emirati Folk music, and it is often played in social functions that have a traditional setting.
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