Love Songs and Dance Music from Loristan

Recordings of Iranian regional music released outside Iran have become rather sparse in recent years, so this new album by Norway-based vocalist brothers Heshmatollah and Nezam Rajabzadeh is a welcome addition to the available recordings. The music of Loristan is closely related to that of neighbouring Kurdistan; it’s an ancient tradition, as indicated in the liner notes, which also include photographs of archaeological finds from the region. The cover photograph of a rustic Lori woman might lead the listener to expect raw field recordings, but what we get are in fact polished concert arrangements of traditional Lori songs by trained musicians. The music is competently performed with a very tight ensemble feel and the sound is reminiscent of the Kamkar family’s renditions of Kurdish pieces, particularly in the livelier dance numbers such as the instrumental ‘Geteye Sama Be Kalam’.

The pieces range from contemplative songs to energetic dances, with the vocalists accompanied by a small band of musicians playing an assortment of percussion and stringed instruments, including the bowed fiddle kemancha, with its distinctive and haunting nasal quality, and various long-necked lutes. The two CDs come nicely packaged with liner notes in English, French and Persian. The notes are informative but poorly edited; some translations of song lyrics would have been welcome.