When my best friend, Primo, somewhere around 2020, for the very first time, shared his ideas about starting a new project that later became "Toonzetters," it felt like an impossible kind of mission. The idea for its kind was on a big scale, involving so many distinguished composers, musicians, and artists, and above that requiring a mind-blowing amount of technical equipment and preparations, and then an extraordinary amount of organization and planning - Let alone all the thousands of euros that were needed to finance the project!! It truly felt impossible to me..!!
Now, as I am writing this blog, the project, Toonzetters, has not only started successfully with many successful performances, but it is already published as an album under the label 7 Mountain Records with many upcoming concerts around the Netherlands, Italy, and Portugal.
And it all started with the beautiful mind of Primo Ish-Hurwitz, composer and entrepreneur and the artistic director of Toonzetters, and his incredible ability to organize, produce and curate. But above that: TO IMAGINE AN IMPOSSIBLE..!!
Toonzetters is a multidisciplinary project in collaboration with twenty Dutch composers, musicians, and a filmmaker. Each composer composed a new music piece for any combination of piano, percussion, and electronics. "Filmmaker Bowie Verschuuren, director Jos van Kan, pianists Ramon van Engelenhoven and Shane van Neerden, and percussionists Agostinho Sequeira and Arjan Jongsma turn the concert into a very special kaleidoscopic experience."*
The result is a mesmerizing concert experience full of new sounds, new aesthetics, and diverse music in combination with multimedia artworks.
"Out-of-the-box thinking peaks in the twenty-something brain, says science. Developments on the musical front lines are moving fast, both artistically and technologically, while 20th-century taboos (tonality!) are no longer an issue. The result: a steaming cocktail of colorful and diverse music, which is also accessible to a large audience. With this concert experience they designed themselves, the twenty-somethings point the way to the future." from Toonzetters' Official Website
Philosophy Behind My Piece: Soorbâng
When I started to brainstorm my ideas for this project, there were many important questions that I had to answer while composing the piece: What am I going to tell with the piece? What should be the aesthetics of the piece? Where do I see myself, or how do I define my role as an active Iranian composer living and based in the Netherlands?
Answering such questions was extremely important to me. Not only for the sake of writing the piece but for connecting it to the statement of the project itself:
What do the twenties of today sound like? Toonetters is a kaleidoscopic concert by twenty young Dutch composers. Different styles and characters, from neo-romantic to indie rock on piano or jazzy electronics, are reviewed at a rapid pace. During one hour, a lively portrait of music today unfolds, performed by four great young musicians with hypnotic film images by Bowie Verschuuren and direction advice by Jos van Kan. from Toonzetters' Official Website
During the past years, there has been a strong side of me that loves intercultural/cross-cultural engagements in the context of art and music. I have always been fascinated by the vast expression possibilities in folk music. And getting inspiration from my cultural background has been a strong motive for many of my works, including "Negarehaye Rangin", "Miniature for String Quartet", and "Lost in an Eternal Mirage."
In Toonzetters, as a composer from a non-European culture, I felt the urge to create a cross-cultural artwork that blends the expressive folk tunes and vivid rhythms of Iran with the style of contemporary Western classical music. Such a vision was an important statement as well. If we are symbolically showing the future of contemporary music in the Netherlands, I would love to compose new music that connects those two beautiful and distinctive cultures together. Furthermore, this ideology works beautifully in a country like the Netherlands, where people are curious about new experiences and, beyond that, welcome other cultures with an open arm.
The Fascinating World of Persian Folklore Culture
There are very rare moments when the idea of a new artwork comes to mind in a blink. For me, sometimes, it takes ages. But, the moment I heard about writing a piece of music for piano and percussions I immediately thought of mesmerizingly beautiful folk dances called Choub Bazi (Stick Play) from Torbat-e Jām, a city in the eastern province of Iran, Khorasan. These folk dances continue the ancient sword dances from Persia. The wooden sticks symbolize swords, and the dances represent power, bravery, and strength. In these dances, the performers move around a circle where the central axis symbolizes existence, similar to the philosophy and rituals of Sama's Dance. These dances are often accompanied by Sornâ and Dohol.
While working on this project, I had the great honour and opportunity to get to know an Iranian painter and filmmaker, Maryam Iranpanah, who has created many beautiful films and documentaries about the unique culture of the province of Khorasan. In one of her recent works, "Poozhgan," she captured mesmerizing footage of the "Stick Dance" performed by a professional dance ensemble called Poozhgan, directed by Mahdi Delpazirfar. The Poozhgan dance group is a well-known ensemble in Iran that plays a crucial role in preserving the traditional dances of this region. By performing these dances on different stages both domestically and abroad, they are significantly contributing to the preservation of these cultural traditions.
Thanks to Maryam Iranpanah, and the Poozhgan Dance Group, I had the privilege of including a small clip of their dances in the official video clip for Toonzetters.
Take a look at this stunning preview of the documentary "Poozhgan" created by Maryam Iranpanah in partnership with the Poozhgan Dance Group. The film dives into the music and folk dances of Torbat-e Jâm.
In my piece, Soorbâng, these folk music and dances became my main inspiration throughout the entire process. In the piece, the piano is mainly considered as a harmonic and melodic instrument, while the two percussion parts are split into two sections. One section contains melodic and harmonic material, while the other contains only non-pitched percussive sounds. This combination of four-hand piano (played on four staves), marimba, and the rhythm section created by the non-pitched percussion results in a rich polyphonic and polyrhythmic texture throughout the piece. Additionally, the melodies are created using influences from the Persian dastgâh system, along with other influences from folk dances. ¹
"Soorbâng" is ready to be brought to Life. Scores and parts are available on demand. More information about the piece:
References:
Amin Tafreshi, Ramin. 2024. "INTERWEAVING CULTURES: A Study of Intercultural Engagements with Emphasis on Persian Classical and Folk Music." Unpublished Master Research Thesis.
Concert Tour
Check all the dates on the Events page.