Various Composers - Persia & Baroque (Hamburger Ratsmusik; Neoclassical Ensemble of Tehran)

Information

1. George Frideric Handel - Siroe: Ouverture
2. George Frideric Handel - Siroe: Allegro
3. George Frideric Handel - Siroe: Jigg
4. Anonymous - Pishrow in maqâm Neyshabur & osul Chanbar
5. Marin Marais - IV. Livre (Paris 1717): L’Arabesque
6. Anonymous - Pishrow Golestan in maqâm Panjgah & osul Doyek
7. Farid Kheradmand - Tombak improvisation
8. Georg Philipp Telemann - Miriways TWV 21:24 (Scena XII): Marche en Persien
9. Demetrius Cantemir - Pishrow in maqâm Bozorg & osul Zarbeyn
10. Joseph-Nicolas-Pancrace Royer - Pièces de Clavecin (Paris 1746): Zaïde, reine de Grenade
11. Arash Mohafez - Maqam Hejaz-Ozzal (Improvisation)
12. Anonymous - Pishrow in maqâm Ozzal & osul Fakhte
13. Marin Marais - V. Livre (Paris 1725): Marche Persane dite la Savigny
14. Marin Marais - IV. Livre (Paris 1717): Le Tourbillon
15. Nima Noury - Taqsim in maqam Nahavand-e Kabir
16. Abdolqader Maraghi - Naqsh in maqam Nahavand-e Kabir & osul Dowr-e Ravan
17. Henry Purcell - Distressed Innocence or The Princess of Persia Z. 577: I. Overture
18. Henry Purcell - Distressed Innocence or The Princess of Persia Z. 577: II. Air
19. Henry Purcell - Distressed Innocence or The Princess of Persia Z. 577: III. Slow Air
20. Henry Purcell - Distressed Innocence or The Princess of Persia Z. 577: IV. Air
21. Henry Purcell - Distressed Innocence or The Princess of Persia Z. 577: V. Hornpipe
22. Henry Purcell - Distressed Innocence or The Princess of Persia Z. 577: VI. Rondeau
23. Henry Purcell - Distressed Innocence or The Princess of Persia Z. 577: VII. Air
24. Henry Purcell - Distressed Innocence or The Princess of Persia Z. 577: VIII. Minuet

Hamburger Ratsmusik

Simone Eckert, viola da gamba & direction

Neoclassical Ensemble of Tehran

Arash Mohafez, direction

Date: 2025

Label: Christophorus

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In the Baroque era, European interest in foreign cultures, especially those of the Orient, grew significantly. Persia in particular captured the imagination—not through anthropological study, but as a symbol of the exotic. This fascination was often used as a literary and artistic device to critique European society, such as in Montesquieu’s Lettres Persanes (1721), which employed Persian characters to challenge absolutism and promote Enlightenment ideas.

In music, however, the interest in Persia was more aesthetic than philosophical. Persian themes were used to add exotic color to operas and instrumental works. On the album Persian & Baroque, gambist Simone Eckert and her ensemble Hamburg Ratsmusik explore this intersection of cultures by collaborating with the Tehran-based Neoclassical Ensemble, led by musicologist Arash Mohafez. While traditional Persian ensembles typically perform music passed down orally from the 19th century onward, the Neoclassical Ensemble focuses on classical Persian compositions preserved in manuscripts from the 17th and 18th centuries.

Together, the two ensembles perform a unique program that combines European Baroque music and classical Persian pieces. The collaboration results in a musical fusion where Baroque compositions take on Persian qualities, and Persian pieces gain a European flavor—creating a compelling and innovative dialogue between two rich musical traditions.