saturday 30th march
6.30 pm “Percussion from Persia” a workshop by Fakhroddin Ghaffari
In the 16th century the music of North India was heavily influenced by Islamic influences. From this emerged the Hindustani style which separated from the Carnatic style. This new style may be thought of as a mixture of traditional Indian musical concepts and Persian performance practice. This new musical synthesis led to new the forms of qawwali and khayal.
Fakhroddin Ghaffari will start the workshop with an introduction to Persian music especially the Tombak drum. This is the classical Persian percussion instrument in Persian music very much like the tabla. He will relate how the Tombak has become one of the most difficult percussion instruments in the world and will talk about the school of Tombak playing where he comes from.
He will then introduce the Daf, a large Persian frame drum used in popular and classical music. It’s frame is usually made of hardwood with many metal ringlets attached, and a membrane of goatskin. It is mostly used in the Middle East, Kurdistan, Iran, Armenia, Pakistan, Turkey, Tajikistan and Azerbaijan, and usually accompanies singers and players of the tambura and other Middle Eastern instruments.
He will then talk about the khanqaah tradition – a khanqaah is a building designed specifically for gatherings of a Sufi brotherhood, or tariqa, and is a place for spiritual retreat and character reformation. In the past they often served as hospices for Sufi travelers (salik) and Islamic students (talib). Khanqahs are very often found adjoined to dargahs (shrines of Sufi saints), mosques and madrasas (Islamic schools). They are found throughout the Persian-influenced Islamic world, especially Iran, Central Asia and South Asia.
Fakhroddin Ghaffari's has shared the stage with such famous artists as Abida Parveen and Hansraj Hans. His performances have won him critical acclaim across the country.
Born in the Kurdistan region of Iran, he began studying Tombak and later the Daf.
He moved to India in 2002, after working with several Persian classical ensembles in Iran. He completed his M.Phil degree in Hindustani Classical Music.
He founded a Persian sufi and classical music ensemble (the Baran Music Ensemble), with whom he has participated in major festivals in India. In 2009, he merged his ensemble with Pt. Shubhendra Rao’s East Marries West ensemble and formed the Vessal Ensemble.
He teaches percussion at The Lancers International School. He has conducted workshops on music therapy and percussion as well as seminars in Iran on Indian music theory and the Raaga-Taal system . He has also written many articles and translated several books on Indian music from English to Farsi.