A Century-Old Legacy Revived: The 2024 Release of Dastgaah-e Homaayoun

In the Spring 2024, Payvar Foundation published the first installment of a two-volume brand new publication of Mirza Abdollah’s (1843-1918) Radif. This new account of Radif is the result of years of scholarly work on a recently discovered manuscript of Mirza Abdollah (Abdollah Farahani), notated by his prominent student, Abolhasan Saba (1902-1957).

The very first thing that immediately impresses the readers is the physical quality of the volume, including the details and intricacies that has gone to publish such a phenomenal edition. In addition, everything from the paper quality to the quality of the photos and the graphic design and layout of this publication makes it unique and outstanding in the most literal sense.

Distribution and availability are one of the ongoing problems of publishing music, and in general, books, in Iran. Currently, even books that have been published over the past 10 to 20 years can be considered as “rare” due to the nature of the market. Given the importance of accessibility for future generations of scholars, we can be sure that this will be regularly available for generations to come, in Iran and abroad.

The volume opens with an extended Introduction and multiple articles about the process of the publication. The reader can access full information about the background of the documents, the volume’s authenticity, tracing the dates of the manuscript and other historical facts. Next, we have a detailed comparative study, cross-examining the other versions of this Radif at the time of the manuscript, and throughout the rest of the author’s life. This will help tracing the originality of this edition using Saba’s own artistic trajectory.

Clearly, the authors knew the importance of clarity, transparency and artistic integrity, as we see multiple detailed reports on the process of notation and the methodology of the interpretation of Saba’s handwriting. This includes the hard, but necessary decisions that is required to prepare a performance ready edition.

At the end, after the 24-page long notated Homayoun, we can see the original manuscript’s facsimile. In my opinion, this is the most important aspect of this volume. The history of Iranian music in 20th century lacks a devastating continuity of knowledge because of the forced silence of post-1979 revolution and the overall lack of archives and accessibility that followed. In addition, there is a cultural inclination not to make important documents readily available. This volume generously puts the complete manuscript out there for the use of scholars so they could reach their own conclusions. In addition to absolute artistic honesty and clarity, this also lifts the burden from the scholars who have tirelessly prepared this edition. If the manuscript is available at the end, their efforts, although legitimate and extremely well-researched, won’t be the only narrative about the current version of this Radif.

“Payvar Foundation” was established at the end of 2017 to organize and preserve a massive collection of handwritten works by Iranian musicians that exclusively existed under dust in various drawers and shelves for decades. This very first volume of what might be the most important documents held by the center simply moves the needle of printing and scholarly publication in the history of Iranian music; putting Payvar Foundation’s Press quality along those European counterparts who have had hundreds of years of music printing heritage.