Bijan Maysami, Iranian Dulcimer Santoor, Composer; Greg Goldenberg, Guitars; Anastassiia Alexander, Flamenco dancer
“7”
This concert is based on the concept of 7 main scales and 7 sub scales in Iranian music.
The number seven symbolizes spiritual and material perfection, and in the ancient Iranian belief, it represented the entirety of the cosmos. Throughout history, it held significant importance shared by both Iranians and Indians.
In the ancient Iranian religion of Mithraism, seven stages of behavior were observed in the pursuit of the secrets of Mithraism, involving a struggle against evil. Rituals included seven doors to enter shrines with seven altars, corresponding to the seven stages of prayer, and seven ladders to ascend from the world and attain perfection
The Gathas (Zoroastrian poems) refer to seven booms, signifying seven countries that later transformed into seven climates. The Brahmins’ book recognizes these as the seven divisions of the earth. The seven hymns in the Gathah, known as the seven Haata, involve prayers for good thoughts, good deeds, and good words.
In the Mazdisna religion, seven immortal gods—Bahman, Ordibehesht, Khordad, Amrdad, Shahrivar, Esfandarmaz—headed by Mazda, served as the seven guardian gods of the world. The seven Sepehr created by Jupiter guarded the Haft-Orang (seven brothers) and seven fixed and mobile stars from evil, each with a specific domain.
The seven countries or climates include the first countries in the west (Arzeh), the second in the east (Sooh), the third in the southeast (Fardazfash), the fourth in the southeast (Viddfshu), the fifth in the north of Farbi (Voshtbarshti), the sixth in the northeast, and the seventh the central country (Khunirs).
Iranian mysticism integrates the concept of seven stages of enlightenment, possibly derived from ancient teachings. Attar al-Tair’s logic suggests traversing seven valleys to reach enlightenment. Nezami correlates this journey with the colors of the rainbow and celestial bodies. Azna consciousness starts with black and Saturn, progressing to gold (sun), green (moon), sandal (Jupiter), azure (Mercury), red (Mars), and culminating in white, light, and brightness (Venus), symbolizing perfection.
Performers:
Bijan Mysami, Iranian Dulcimer Santoor, Composer
Greg Goldenberg, Guitars
Anastassiia Alexander, Flamenco Dance
Bijan Maysami started playing music under the tutelage of his uncle Master DR. Hossein Meysami and after 4 years went to Master Majid Kiani classes and had been his student for 16 years. He is the winner of the Iranian student music festival (2002 at Amir Kabir Univesity) and formed the Hoorami music band. Since 2006, I have been living in Calgary Canada and had several performances in multi-cultural events and festivals such as TEDxCalgary, Silk Road, Global Festival, and road cross festival. I am recently working on fusion music with Iranian and non-Iranian musicians. In 2015 I have formed Hymmmelodies Fusion music band in Calgary.
Anastassiia Alexander is a Russian-born, Mexican flamenco dancer who trained in Madrid, Spain. Her artistic practice is rooted in tradition, yet explores the boundaries and the intersection of flamenco with contemporary performance. She has integrated her work into a variety of genres, including opera, spoken word, and media art.
Greg Goldenberg was born and raised in Moscow, Russia, where he had lived for his whole life until moving to Calgary in 2011. In the musical part of his life, Greg has been influenced by various cultures – Russian, Jewish, Francophone, Scandinavian, and, many others, classical, jazz, and folk music, but mainly – British/North American pop and rock. Greg has been involved with a few bands as a bass and guitar player. He is also a singer/songwriter in his own right.
This concert is a proud Community Co-Presentation with the High Performance Rodeo, Calgary’s International Festival of the Arts
