Baharan-E Abidar – V by Bijan Kamkar

This is one of my favourite pieces from ‘Baharan-E Abidar’, an album by Bijan Kamkar, Pashang Kamkar, Shahram Nazeri, and the Tehran Symphony Orchestra. Bijan and Pashang Kamkar are two brothers from the Kamkar Family, a Kurdish ensemble of seven brothers, a sister, and one daughter. This group is renowned for their contribution to classical Kurdish and Persian music. Shahram Nazeri is a Kurdish tenor most famous for his musical translations of Rumi’s poems.

‘Baharan-E Abidar’ translates to ‘The Springs of Abidar’. Abidar is a mountain range that surrounds the city of Sanandaj (Sine), capital of Iran’s Kurdistan Province. Sanandaj is the Kamkar family’s home town. I love this album for it has managed to mix classical (Western) and traditional Kurdish music very well. This piece in particular is intense, yet delicate at times. In fact, I find the piece a bit confusing, as if it isn’t really sure what direction it wants to go.