Mir Farsad Maleknia

Mir Farsad Maleknia, born in 1973 in Tehran, is a composer and a player of the tanbur, the daf (frame drum), the santur (hammered dulcimer), the tombak (goblet drum) and the divan (a long-necked lute). Years ago he played in the Baba Taher Ensemble alongside Seyed Khalil Alinejad, and he also appeared as tanbur player on the album Ayin-e Mastan (“The Rite of the Enraptured”). In 1993 Maleknia founded the ensemble “Hafez Tanbur Players” (Qavvalan-e Iran, “Iran’s Sufi Singers”) and himself took on the role of driving force and leader of the group.

Through numerous concerts in Tehran and other cities and appearances at prestigious festivals in Iran and abroad, the Hafez Ensemble presented Kurdish and Persian maqam music, music built on the traditional melodies known as maqams. His works include the album Zekr-e Jali (“Audible Remembrance”), made in collaboration with Radmehr Alipour, and the album Ali al-Ala (“Ali the Most High”), with Hafez Imani.

Besides maqam music, Maleknia has also been active in cinema and has composed the music for works such as the documentary Kasi ke Mesl-e Hichkas Nist (“Someone Like No One Else”), directed by Amir Hadi Malek Esmaeili.

Works of Mir Farsad Maleknia

The book Khorshid-e Eshgh (“The Sun of Love”) contains a collection of solo daf pieces in a variety of rhythms and was published together with a CD. The collection is regarded as a suitable resource for daf students, especially those interested in solo playing and in independent pieces for the instrument.

In Mir Farsad’s view, with the spread of daf playing and the passage of this spiritual instrument from gatherings of dhikr (the ritual remembrance of God) and mysticism into the realm of Iranian music, new teaching materials had become essential. In this spirit, Khorshid-e Eshgh, which he wrote, has been made available to students and teachers in this field as a valuable resource.

After the publication of this book and of his enduring tanbur albums, the title “Mir-e Tanbur” (“Lord of the Tanbur”) became firmly attached to him among tanbur players. With this book he set out the mystical style of daf playing in clear, accessible language, and today many daf students and teachers regard it as one of their main teaching resources.