Radio Radif Thursdays: Transcriptions of the Mousa Maroufi’s Radif

The inaugural session of the Document Reading Series was held at the Payvar Foundation. This initiative was established to “introduce and make accessible the historical music documents of Iran,” which have often remained out of reach for the music community, with few aware of their existence. Beyond professionally preserving these treasures, the Payvar Foundation is committed to raising awareness and sharing them. These documents can shed light on parts of our music history that have been neglected or filled with speculative narratives, revealing the historical facts instead.

A Brief Report on the First Document Reading Session at Payvar Foundation

The first session focused on a highly significant document from Faramarz Payvar: his handwritten transcriptions of the Radif by Mousa Maroufi. This Radif, published by the Ministry of Culture and Arts during the 1960s, is a “composite Radif” largely compiled from various narratives. However, the printed book did not clearly indicate the origins of these sections. Payvar’s document identifies these sources, giving them immense historical importance. This manuscript acts as a bridge, linking the earliest notes of Mousa Maroufi to his final printed versions.

In this session, two experts, Mr. Mohammadreza Sharayeli and Mr. Ali Samadpour, presented their perspectives and research findings.

A Review of Mousa Khan Maroufi’s Recorded Works

In the first part of his talk, Mr. Sharayeli examined “the recorded works of Mousa Khan Maroufi” on gramophone records. He noted that in addition to being a Tar teacher and Radif compiler, Maroufi engaged in other musical activities. He was a student of Darvish Khan and completed training with him. Despite having studied music notation and theory for two years at the Vaziri Higher Music School, he was already an experienced musician before entering this institution. Sharayeli pointed to an important document showing that in 1930, Maroufi applied for permission to establish a “secondary school of music called Dar-ol-Elme Musighi.” In this application, Maroufi stated that he had “compiled a Radif in notation, which is a mixture of the Radifs of the masters Mirza Abdollah, Mirza Hossein-Qoli, and Darvish Khan.” This document shows that this initial compilation was completed at least before 1930. He also mentioned Maroufi’s diverse compositions, including waltzes and anthems, reflecting his openness to contemporary music and modernity alongside tradition.

Next, the session examined Maroufi’s gramophone recordings, including solo tar performances and collaborations with vocalists from early or mid 1929 to 1933. Maroufi’s name was sometimes downplayed in these recordings due to his personal preferences. It was also noted that many of Maroufi’s compositions, especially vocal pieces, were recorded during this period. After 1933, no personal performances by Mousa Khan Maroufi are known on gramophone records, but he was a key collaborator at the early Iranian radio station, often working as a composer, examiner, or in administrative roles. Some of his compositions were performed on the radio and later recorded during Mr. Badi’zadeh’s trip to India in 1940.

Musi Maroufi’s Radif: A Comprehensive Radif

Mr. Samadpour opened his remarks by discussing Mousa Khan Maroufi’s goal of compiling a “comprehensive Radif.” He emphasized that until these documents became accessible, details of this compilation and the various narratives used were unclear. A letter of complaint by Maroufi after the book’s publication—especially the “abridged version by Mr. Payvar” held at the Payvar Foundation—shed more light on this issue. Faramarz Payvar likely prepared this version, perhaps with guidance or recommendation, to indicate the origin of each gusheh (melodic section). Mousa Maroufi rewrote his Radif several times. His sources included the Radifs of Darvish Khan, Mirza Abdollah, Mirza Hossein-Qoli, and later, the Radif of Montazam-ol-Hokama, compiled by Mahdiqoli Hedayat. According to Payvar’s transcription, in the current Radif of Mousa Maroufi, a substantial portion (around 44%) comes from Montazam-ol-Hokama’s Radif, a significant portion (around 17%) from Darvish Khan’s Radif, around 13% from Mirza Hossein-Qoli’s, and a tiny portion (around 1%) from Mirza Abdollah’s. A large part (around 16%) remains unidentified.

Ali Samadpour also mentioned Lotfollah Mofakham Payan’s account, which in his introduction describes Saba’s motivation for compiling a comprehensive Radif and the difficulty of collaborating with other masters, noting that only Mousa Maroufi was willing to cooperate and share his written Radif. Another key point from Samadpour’s talk was the existence of “abbreviated source indicators in Maroufi’s original manuscript,” which Payvar faithfully copied; Payvar did not initiate these indicators. Their omission in the published version may have resulted from disputes and debates among the Ministry’s review board at publication. Mr. Samadpour also highlighted the difference between Mofakham Payan’s handwritten version—blended with poetry—and the later published version. He concluded by emphasizing the tremendous research potential of these documents, including comparative studies of Maroufi’s Radif with other versions and analyzing his methodology in compiling and rewriting the Radifs.

The first Document Reading session was a significant step towards introducing these “unique documents” to the music community and researchers and will pave the way for deeper discussions and studies in the history of Iranian music.