Music Without Borders: Mohsen Namjoo with Al-Bustan Takht Ensemble

October 18 2014

Al-Bustan opened its Fall 2014 concert series with Iranian singer/songwriter/composer/setar player Mohsen Namjoo at Trinity Center for Urban Life. The repertoire was contemporary and energetic, featuring Namjoo's compositions for 13th century poetry combined with his take on western rock artists such as David Bowie, The Doors and Tangerine Dream.

The concert began with Zolf ("Beloved Hair"), one of Namjoo's most popular songs from 2007. The lyrics of Zolf are a Persian love poem (by Hafiz) that Namjoo set to music. Next was Hoosham Bebar ("Steal My Consciousness"), a song about spiritualism and mysticism, with lyrics by Saadi (13th century Persian poet). Other songs included Shirin ("Sweetie"), a love song Namjoo sang in Kurdish; and Shams ("Sun"), the song that earned Namjoo a five-year prison sentence in his homeland of Iran. Levantine Medley, featuring three songs from Lebanon.

Many loyal Al-Bustan patrons remarked on how very different the concert was from other music events they have attended with Al-Bustan, but all enjoyed the evening immensely. Many patrons also noted that Master Percussionist Hafez Kotain was not present at the concert. Hafez was in China for a week-long music engagement, so recommended the talented Tareq Rantisi to fill in. The concert reached a large portion of the Iranian community, thanks (in part) to outreach to local organizations such as Shabahang, but also due to Namjoo's popularity, particularly among Iranian youth. Mohsen graciously received fans for nearly an hour after the concert, taking photos and signing autographs and posters. Concert patrons also enjoyed a reception with tea and cookies provided by Al-Bustan's Board of Directors immediately following the show.

This concert event was also notable in that it marked the debut of Al-Bustan Takht Ensemble's RIHLA: Live in Philadelphia, a promo album featuring live tracks with the Ensemble and three guest artists.* * *Mohsen Namjoo's Philadelphia Residency Namjoo spoke to a large crowd of students and academics on Thursday October 18 at The Rotunda in West Philadelphia. While his talk started with a more academic focus, explaining the differences between the western and Iranian music scales, Namjoo eventually shared personal accounts of discovering western music and incorporating it into the Iranian folk and classical music he was studying. He played one of his compositions and eventually fielded questions from the audience.

After a Sunday-evening rehearsal with Al-Bustan Takht Ensemble, Mohsen was interviewed by Al-Bustan volunteer Nikki. Read her blog post with the interview here.

* * * Some comments from our patrons:

Emotionally transcendent

Moving and classy

Mohsen Namjoo sings with such passion and urgency, exhorting you not to sit back or be passive!