An 81-year-old music book republished

According to Iran Book News Agency (IBNA), the book ‘Twenty-six Songs, Chahārmezrāb for Violin, Radif I and II’ by Ghasem Nikpour was republished by Khonyagar Publications, with computer rewriting and compilation of the author’s biography and works by Shahab Mena.

This book includes twenty-six Chahārmezrābs for violin (fifteen Chahārmezrābs in left-hand tuning and eleven Chahārmezrābs in right-hand tuning) composed by the author, which was previously published in 1323 SH (1944 AD).

In the promotion of the work in ‘Iran Music Magazine’, August 1338 SH (1959 AD), it states: “The book ‘Twenty-six Famous Chahārmezrāb Pieces’, by Ghasem Nikpour, contains the best rhythmic pieces that the late master Abolhasan Saba recommended his students to play.”

Some of the Chahārmezrābs in this book contain the author’s specific and unique bowings and techniques, while others are exactly similar to Abolhasan Saba’s violin Chahārmezrābs; playing them is challenging and practicing them is engaging, such that they deserve to be reintroduced into the Iranian violin teaching repertoire.

Now, after eighty-one years, this work has been republished by Khonyagar Publications with computer notation, editing and reviewing of the notes, and the addition of the author’s biography, documents, and images.

The author, Ghasem Nikpour (1296-1355 SH / 1917-1976 AD), benefited from the Darvish Khan school and studied at the State Conservatory of Music from 1309 to 1318 SH (1930-1939 AD) under the directorship of Master Alinaghi Vaziri. After two years of music instruction in Tonekabon (Shahsavar) and receiving a scientific medal and commendation for his activities and aptitude in teaching new students, he was appointed as an instructor for the first, second, and third intermediate classes of the Higher Conservatory of Music in 1320 SH (1941 AD). From the same year, he began collaborating and playing on the radio, becoming one of its soloists. He participated in most artistic activities of the National Music Association, of which he was a founding member, playing first violin. On the radio, he was one of the great and influential musicians of the ‘Golha’ and ‘Nakisa’ orchestras and conducted various radio orchestras, including ‘Orchestra No. 1’, ‘No. 2’, ‘No. 3’, ‘No. 6’, and so on, playing violin and piano in these orchestras.

He composed one hundred and twenty songs and spent his free time studying the vocal Radifs of Iranian music masters, such as Agha Mirza Abdollah, Esmaeil Khan, and Darvish Khan. The result of this was the preparation of a Radif of Iranian vocal pieces arranged for violin, which has not yet been published.

The editing of the notes in this book was done by Behrang Azadeh, and its cover was designed by Zahra Nazyar.