Iran-Quintett

‘The Iran Quintet (flute, clarinet, piano, violin, and cello) is the chamber music version of my Iran Lamento for octophonic recording. The Iran Lamento belongs to the circle of the Iran Triptychon for three female voices and orchestra, which is currently in development. It is composed almost exclusively with recordings of real instruments (kanun, cimbalom, daf, oud, percussion, voice). The consistently slow lamento is represented by the microtonal downward scale of all notes on the canon, counterpointed by the first ascending, then descending notes of the cimbalom. In the Iran Quintet, the recording, now stereophonic, is reduced to cimbalom and kanun, with five tombak improvisations and, at the end, crotales sounds.
The musicians usually play episodes individually, tracing the narrative structure. Only in a few places do they combine into sustained chords or a wild polyphonic intermezzo. The violin frequently appears, playing gentle melodies whose individual notes tend slightly downward, almost like a lament.
The piece is dedicated to women in Iran.’ (Claus-Steffen Mahnkopf)