I am taking pleasure in releasing this album on CD aimed at encouraging the interested people. My gratitude is not only for the increasing tendency among the young people to learn radif, but also for the fact that unlike a cassette, the tuning of performance is maintained on CD. The present album is the first performance of the radif of Mirza `Abdollah by kamanche, endeavoring the fretting, the intervals, the rhythm, the tempo and the form to correspond closely to both the music of Qajar and the original version of Nur-Ali Borumand. Above all, the performance has attempted to reveal the thoughtfulness hidden in every single gushe.
All of the gushes poly-rhythmically represent a certain form with a totally diverse expression which is thought to be rare in music of all nations. Those involved in radif know that when a musician begins learning radif and discovering new aspects of it, she/he is dramatically challenged and refined. In other words, it happens that the musician is somehow `played' by radif. This involvement with radif, though replete with bitterness, is so appealing that resembles the twilight world of mysticism of a kind. That's why the experience of playing radif varies from musician to musician. Rhythm in some gushes such as Kereshme, Naqme, Bastenegar and some other ones is so prominent that many are under the impression that other gushes are void of rhythm and dynamics. But the fact is that almost all of the gushes in radif are inherently and diversely poly-rhythmic. The sequence of these internal, flowing rhythms can also be found in the Persian modern poetry. The influence of the rhythms in tasnifs and melodic pieces in Iranian music on radif is so significant that one may get the impression that rhythm in Iranian music boils down to nothing but radif. Undoubtedly, the variations in the rhythms of gushes bear the fact that both the music and the rhythm in radif have been revolutionized long before the appearance of persian modern poetry. Undoubtedly if the poly-rhythmic gushes of radif were void of rhythm, it should be impossible for an ensemble to perform them. Thus, I do appreciate the poly-rhythmic attribute of gushes as one of the main pillars of radif. That's why it is too difficult to deliver a flawless performance of these gushes. Kamanche has been tuned E-A-D-G since the appearance of violin in Iran, and all of the methods for violin and kamanche were compiled to the same tune as well, while in order to perform radif or even improvise on that, without any compelling reason, professional players have changed the tune of kamanche to D-A-D-G and still they do so. This change of tune has certainly been made to follow the principles of radif. It is worth mentioning that the structure of gushes in radif consists of various and at the same time consecutive tetrachords. For instance, in G Mahur, the rising arrangement of gushes from low to high produces EÛ in Delkash and Rak. If you perform these gushes in E-A-D-G, even if played at the third or fourth position on A string, it produces a kind of harsh sound. The reason for such a harsh sound is the simultaneous presence of the first string E and the third position E on A string. Although kamanche and violin in ensemble playing with setar, tar and santur are tuned a single pitch lower than diapason, which means C-G-C-F, the strings are still called D-A-D-G. This controversial issue needs to be analyzed and resolved by the professors. It is highly recommended that the beginners, before making use of this album, learn how to play a number of dastgahs so that they can take full advantage of the forms of gushes.

Ali-Akbar Shekarchi

Ali-Akbar Shekarchi was born in 1949 in Lorestan. He began playing kamanche all by himself under the influence of local musicians. In 1975, he was educated at the Faculty of Fine Arts, Tehran University. During his studies, he became a member of the Centre for Preservation and Promotion of Persian Classical Music. In 1976, he won the first place in kamancheh in Barbad's competition. He has
served as professor for two years in the Faculty of Fine Arts and for eight years in Sureh University. Now it is about six years that he teaches both graduate and postgraduate courses at the University of Arts. He has enjoyed working with prominent maestros such as Ali-Asqar Bahari, Nur-Ali Borumand, Daryush Safvat, Sa'id Hormozi, Yusef Forutan, Mahmud Karimi, Jalal Zolfonun, etc. He has given numerous concerts both in Iran and abroad in different parts of Europe and some other countries like Australia, Colombia, etc. Of his major works are Jaras, Pieces of Lori Music, Kuhsar, Karevane, a five-cassette album of the Radif of Mirza Abdollah, etc; also a number of compositions for film music; and some books on related fields of music including a two-volume text entitled Vazn-khani.