The Iranian singer Mahsa Vahdat sings timeless Iranian poetry imbued with serenity and melancholy. Two female Iranian composers have created new works for Amsterdam Sinfonietta and Pärt also bridges the East-West divide.
Mahsa Vahdat sings timeless poetry by Rumi, Hafez and contemporary Iranian poets. Famous in her homeland and known throughout the world, Vahdat is not permitted to perform in her own country. The ancient poems are still relevant today with their entreaty to look beyond borders and lay aside political divisions.
The intimate strings sound reinforces the serenity and melancholy expressed in her songs. Alongside Vahdat’s songs, we hear new works composed for Amsterdam Sinfonietta by the Iranian female composers Aftab Darvishi and Niloufar Nourbakhsh. Pärt also bridges the East-West divide. His Orient & Occident constantly alternates between the West’s warm harmonies and the glissandi and augmented seconds that typify Middle-Eastern music.
