Reza Vali

Shemshal

SHEMSHÂL (REALITY MUSIC No. 3) draws inspiration from Kurdish music and introduces the instrument Shemshâl, a metal Ney (Persian vertical flute). The performance, skillfully executed by the esteemed Shemshâl master Ghaleh Mareh, is presented through both audio and video projections. The flute soloist, accompanying this audio/video rendition of the Shemshâl performance, mimics the instrument's sound using an extended technique that involves simultaneous singing and playing. This technique alters the flute's overtone spectrum, allowing the harmonics to resonate alongside the fundamental note, thus producing a sound closely resembling thatof the traditional Kurdish Shemshâl. Throughout the piece, the flute player recites poems by Hafez (1325-1390), while singing and playing the piece. Each poem is associated with the Persian Dastgaah (loosely translated mode) of Nava. Singing of the poetry is a traditional pedagogy tool to teach the melodic contours of the mode using the words so the students of Dastgaah music can remember the weekly lessons. In addition to the use of extended techniques, Vali uses microtones throughout the range of the instrument to get even closer to accurately recreate different scales (area) of Nava.