[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V4Sa5foH_78?rel=0&w=480&h=390]
Yes, well, maybe this is a gratuitous excuse to listen to one of our favourite Persian musicians playing our favourite Persian musical instrument.
Parviz R. Panah is an ostad (that’s maestro to you) of the TAR, a strange double barrelled lute with three double sets of strings. It is very pretty and made of mulberry wood.
When Mrs. Shopkeeper picks it up and tries to play it it only offers what sounds like a Klingon dirge – but in the right hands, as above, it is quite the most heart-trilling instrument on earth. It is very popular in Sufist music: you can see it played rather well but in a more traditional, classical setting by the ‘sufist’ musician Davood Azad here.
Yes, we sell CDs, and tars, and sheet music for that matter. But this is not just about shops and sales and things. Just for a few minutes, switch off, take the phone off the hook, and lose yourself in the music. You may thank us next time you see us.