Garoon Garoon (tr. Spring), Armenian song.

The "Voice of the Santur" concert series was launched by Peyman Heydarian in July 2010 at the School of Oriental and African Studies [SOAS, University of London] and since then, has toured concert halls and festivals in European cities such as London, Oxford, Cambridge, Athens and Padova, with a remarkable presence at the rising stars of Asia festival in Hong Kong. 

This year we are focusing on Armenian and Iranian Music which share a very similar modal structure. This is why we feel very privileged to have talented Armenian vocalist Rita Movsesian whose mystic oriental Voice fits perfectly with the sound of Santur.

The santur originated in Iran and is played in different musical traditions. Santur is referred to as a hammered dulcimer in English. The "Voice of the Santur" programme is a bridge between different cultures beyond the borders and contributes to the understanding of people from other cultures.

Next concert: www.thesantur.com


Garoon Garoon

Dle Yaman (A masterpiece by Armenian composer Komitas), Introduction and Santur improvisations by Peyman Heydarian, sung by Rita Movsesian
--

The "Voice of the Santur" concert series was launched by Peyman Heydarian in July 2010 at the School of Oriental and African Studies [SOAS, University of London] and since then, has toured concert halls and festivals in European cities such as London, Oxford, Cambridge, Athens and Padova, with a remarkable presence at the rising stars of Asia festival in Hong Kong. 

This year we are focusing on Armenian and Iranian Music which share a very similar modal structure. This is why we feel very privileged to have talented Armenian vocalist Rita Movsesian whose mystic oriental Voice fits perfectly with the sound of Santur.

The santur originated in Iran and is played in different musical traditions. Santur is referred to as a hammered dulcimer in English. The "Voice of the Santur" programme is a bridge between different cultures beyond the borders and contributes to the understanding of people from other cultures.

Next concert: www.thesantur.com

Dle Yaman

Resonance FM Radio 104.4  programme, Global instruments with Sofia Gaetani Morris is a show that looks at instruments from around the world - each month we choose one instrument to unpack with guest-musicians, academics and enthusiasts, to understand its historical, geographical and cultural importance and its role in different musical traditions around the world. This month's instrument is the Santur, and joining us live is award winning music scientist and santur player Peyman Heydarian, to share his music, as well as his knowledge and journey of playing the santur.  Follow Sofia on Instagram @global_instruments_fm_ . Follow Peyman on Instagram @santurista and find out more about his work at https://www.thesantur.com/home.html .

Resonance FM Radio 104.4 - Global Instruments - Santur

Peyman Heydarian [santur, dayreh]
Sass Hoory [darbuka]
Jamie Le Mercier [kaman-tar]

Website: thesantur.com

Improv "broken santur" 16 - 11 - 16

Scottish piece Earl of Jura with Persian/Kurdish additions.
Peyman Heydarian [santur]
Ewan Macdonald [violin]

Website: thesantur.com

Earl Of Jura and deylaman.WAV

Armenian Folk song, arranged by Peyman Heydarian.

Henry Ashworth [guitar]
Sulaiman Haqpana [tabla]
Peyman Heydarian [santur]

04 Khio Khio (Խիո խիո)

Track 1: A musical journey from Tehran to Herat

Sulaiman Haqpana [tabla]
Peyman Heydarian [santur]

From the concert at the School of Oriental and Africa Studies [SOAS], University of London (22 February 2019).

Website: thesantur.com

01 A musical journey from Tehran to Herat

Track 2:  The mighty River

Sulaiman Haqpana [tabla]
Peyman Heydarian [santur]

From the concert at the School of Oriental and Africa Studies [SOAS], University of London (22 February 2019).

Website: thesantur.com

02 The Mighty River

شوخی با مرغ سحر!

Being in quarantine for over a month, during coronavirus pandemic, I decided to digitally increase the tempo of a serious historical political song "Morgh-e Sahar" (tr. dawn bird). It is like a dance piece now!
Original Morgh-e Sahar was composed and played by ustad Neydawood, sung by the legendary qamar.

Henry Ashworth [guitar]
Sulaiman Haqpana [tabla]
Peyman Heydarian [santur]

From the concert at the School of Oriental and Africa Studies [SOAS], University of London (22 February 2019).

Website: thesantur.com

03.1 Upbeat Morghe Sahar! شوخی با مرغ سحر

"Morgh-e Sahar" (tr. dawn bird)
Composed by ustad Neydawood, originally, sung by the legendary qamar.


Henry Ashworth [guitar]
Sulaiman Haqpana [tabla]
Peyman Heydarian [santur]

From the concert at the School of Oriental and Africa Studies [SOAS], University of London (22 February 2019).

Website: thesantur.com

03.2 Morghe Sahar - instrumental

Kurdish prelude (pishdaràmad in mahur, Dubadu and improvisations
Scottish tune: John Ryan's Polka

Henry Ashworth [guitar]
Sulaiman Haqpana [tabla]
Peyman Heydarian [santur]
Lucie Treacher [nickelharpa]

From the concert at the School of Oriental and Africa Studies [SOAS], University of London (22 February 2019).

Website: thesantur.com

05 A musical journey from Kurdistan to Scotland

Track 6 of 9 - Bisotun
Kurdish and Persian medley with improvisations

Henry Ashworth [guitar]
Sulaiman Haqpana [tabla]
Peyman Heydarian [santur]

From the concert at the School of Oriental and Africa Studies [SOAS], University of London (22 February 2019).

Website: www.thesantur.com

06 Bisotun

In the Hall of the Mountain King composed by Edvard Grieg from "Peer Gynt"
(1843-1907AD)

Played as a surprise entertainment by Henry, when the band leader left the stage briefly for an urgent matter!

Henry Ashworth [bouzouki]

07 Henry's Entertainment when Peyman had to leave stage!

Simin and Shur - Bakhtiary  Improvisations (22 - 2-2019)

Henry Ashworth [bouzouki]
Sulaiman Haqpana [tabla]
Peyman Heydarian [santur]

From the concert at the School of Oriental and Africa Studies [SOAS], University of London (22 February 2019).

08 Simin

The Voice of Santur was featured on BBC Radio 3 programme "Music Planet", presented by Lopa Kothari.

Peyman Heydarian [santur]
Sulaiman Haqpana [tabla]
Henry Ashworth [bouzouki]

Full one-hour programme  on BBC with exciting music by talented musicians:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m000jvb3

Peyman Heydarian - Shur-e Simin In Bakhtiary 06 - 06 - 2020

Peyman Heydarian, music scientist and santurist.
Enjoys playing music of a variety of cultures including Persian, Kurdish, Azari, Turkish, Arabic, Greek and Celtic music and has toured the world with the multicultural programme “The voice of santur”.
Has also developed  DSP and AI algorithms for music analysis. See website for more details: thesantur.com

Peyman Heydarian

Popular tracks