Khorasan Music in Iran

Due to its ethnic variety and the existence of different languages and religious observations the musical tradition of Khorasan is very rich. From the north to the south, the music scene differs greatly. In the north of Khorasan, one can find the bakhshi narrating and singing, among other things, "daastans" (stories in Old Persian), while they can also sing in Kurdish about the historical deeds of local figures. They followed themselves on the dotar a leading exponent of this type is the late Haj Ghorban Soleimani. One can also find in the north, the Asheq who play "dohol" (double-faced drum), the "sorna" (a kind of oboe-like reed instrument) and the "qoshme" (double clarinet made of the central nervure of the plumage of birds tied together). The Asheq are specifically associated with the Kurds and play at wedding dances and village feasts. In the East of Khorasan, near Torbat Jam, the main instrument is the dotar with some modifications, but there are no Bakhshi and the music is different. Here, the music takes the form of "ghazal khani'" and is performed by singers of quatrains and "ghazals" – lyric poems based on the prayers of mystic poets such as Rumi, Attar and Sheikh Ahmad Jami. Purely instrumental pieces also figure in the list.

source of picture: persiatours.com

More towards the south, in the areas of Birjand and Qa'in, the musical culture changes again: the dotar is no longer present (although it seems that in the past, it was played). The songs are also known as "sotak" and are accompanied on the "dayereh" (tambourine). (Ameneh Yousefzadeh – Musicologist)