“With indisputable craftsmanship, Nemāno Gaona should be considered an important part of the contemporary canon. The concept of the collection — the exploration of Iranian musical traditions within a contemporary classical framework, or vice versa — is effective, interesting, and extremely well done. But divorced from that context, these are works that are intellectually and emotionally effective entirely on their own”.
-Clover Nahabedin, I Care if You Listen
Take Effect Reviews, Tom Haugen
The Iranian violist Kimia Hesabi offers us a debut album of tracks by Iranian Diaspora composers, where voice, electronics, and viola explore a wide expanse of sounds, colors, stories, memories and identities that stem from the distinct and unique ways by Iran.
Gity Razaz’s Song And Whispers opens the listen with much atmosphere, as the carefully manipulated strings are both soft and intense and with a unique melody, and Variant op. 139, no. 2, by Alireza Mashayekhi, follows with the strategically bowed strings emitting a rich and introspective tone.
In the middle, Niloufar Nourbakhsh’s Veiled relies heavily on the swirling electronics and stirring viola for an intimate landscape, while Mozhgan Chahian’s Hani And Sheh Mureed lands in Balochi Folklore for the poetic strings that you can’t help but admire.
Mashayekhi’s work appears again at the end, where Ying-Shan Su’ piano illuminates Sonata For Viola And Piano, which can rumble with mystery and also find fuller places to reside.
A very cultured listen that explores folk, classical and contemporary music of Iranian culture, Hesabi’s musical language is one that’s fascinating, authentic and timeless.
