Tehran, IRNA – Mohammad-Reza Shajarian was the most prominent Persian classical music artist, who invented some musical instruments and his efforts made him popular among Iranians and other nations throughout the world.
Shajarian was so famous and admired that many great artists praised his songs. Contemporary poet Amir Houshang Ebtehaj said that some of his songs were masterpieces, so even if Hafez were alive, he would stand up and kiss him for his unique songs.
Rabbanaa (Our Lord) prayer song has been one of the most well-known Islamic songs by Shajarian; therefore, the Cultural Heritage Organization of Iran enlisted the song as one of the significant national artworks.
Among the great maestro’s students, there are famous singers such as Iraj Bastami, Hesamoddin Seraj, Hamid-Reza Nourbakhsh, Ali Jahandar, and Homayoun Shajarian (his own son).
Shajarian was of the opinion that music has extraordinary impact on human-beings, other creatures, and even plants. Music in every territory comes from the soil and people of that land and is mixed with their historical developments, so music has always been entangled with ups and downs of human lives.
The prominent maestro believed that there are a few singers who could present good songs in the ancient country.
Shajarian once opined that music should be able to meet all spiritual and emotional needs of listeners because it comes from developments of lands and histories.
According to the great singer, an effective music is the one that makes human think. He thought that Isfahan School of music field pays more attention to singing details, articulation, and tools. Great singers of Isfahan School have been Hossein Taherzadeh and Taj Esfahani.
Most of songs performed by Shajarian have their roots in poems of great Persian poets such as Sa’di, Hafez, Rumi, Baba Taher, Khayyam, and Attar.
He also used some modern Persian poems from poets such as Fereydoun Moshiri, Nima Yushij, Sohrab Sepehri, Shafiei Kadkani, Mehdi Akhavan-Saless, and Houshang Ebtehaj.
Mohammad-Reza Shajarian was born on September 23, 1940 and passed away on October 8, 2020. He is an internationally acclaimed Persian classical singer, composer and master of Persian music. When alive, he was called Iran’s greatest living master of traditional Persian music. Shajarian has been also prominent for his skills in Persian calligraphy.
Source: Islamic Republic News Agency – IRNA
