Through Windows of Desire

Through Windows of Desire for Soprano and Orchestra is a new composition commissioned by Nesko Chamber Orchestra. The piece is written on a translated poem by Forough Farrokhzad (1935 – 1967), a famous, influential and prominent Iranian poet, filmmaker and director.

In this work, Ramin is reflecting and expressing the inner emotions and strong thoughts of Forough Farrokhzad who fought for women’s freedom and women’s rights throughout her whole professional life. Back in history, women have always been a very common subject of Persian poetry but not more than a handful of women’s names appear in the list of influential artists and poets in the history of Iran. Hence, It was for the first time that Forough spoke about her inner emotions, and her desires as a woman in an extremely traditional and religious society. Her poems are autobiographical and from a feminine perspective that has not existed in Persian literature before and contains many cultural references that make those poems connected to the society and her surroundings.

But on the contrary, “Through Windows of Desire” is not just only about the time of Forough Farrokhzad right before the Iranian revolution nor about women’s rights, particularly in Iran’s society, but is a reflection of universal issues that are still happening all around the world. It is about unheard voices and untold stories. Voices that have tried to speak out but never got an opportunity. It is about the unreachable desire for equality in society. Consequently, in his new composition, Ramin created a multi-textural orchestration and multi-layered music world that symbolically confront the singer as a lonely woman with a chaotic society while she is searching for “a window to a moment of comprehension, perception, and silence.”

This piece has been recorded at Muziekgebouw aan 't ij, May 2022