Seyed Yahya Ranaei

Seyed Yahya Ranaei was born in 1962 in Sahneh. At the age of 12 he learned authentic tanbur playing with the late Master Seyed Amrollah Shahebrahimi, and after completing the maqams (the traditional melodies of the tanbur repertoire) of the Sahneh tradition, he became a student of Master Abedin Khademi in order to master the playing of the Guran maqams as fully as possible.

He learned the sacred (Haqqani) and ancient maqams of the Sahneh tradition from him, the maqams of the Guran region from Master Abedin Khademi, and traditional Persian music and setar playing (the setar is a small long-necked lute) from the masters Jalal Zolfonun and Hossein Alizadeh. He also benefited from the guidance of masters such as Hossein Ruhtani, Seyed Ayaz Ghazvinei, Darvish Amir Hayati, Seyed Nemat Zolnuri, Seyed Nur-Mohammad Zakiabadi and Seyed Ezzat Yari in Sahneh, and Seyed Vali Hosseini, Taher Yarveysi, Seyed Mansour Yari and Kiumars Khaledpour in the Guran region.

After nearly fifty years of activity and research in this field, having received various awards and achieved many successes, he was able to play an effective role in introducing this instrument and making it better known, by forming various music groups, including the Ranaei Family Ensemble, and through successful performances in Iran and abroad, including in France, Norway, Sweden, Japan and Turkey.

His compositions include Motreb-e Tanbur (“The Tanbur Minstrel”), Bani Adam Aza-ye Yekdigarand (“The Children of Adam Are Limbs of One Another”, dedicated to the survivors of the tsunami in Japan), Rotl-e Geran (“The Brimming Goblet”), Yavaran Mastam (“Friends, I Am Drunk”), Fada-ye Dust (“A Sacrifice for the Beloved”) and Badeh-Nushan (“The Wine Drinkers”), as well as other works that will be released on the albums of Daftar-e Motreb-e Tanbur (“The Book of the Tanbur Minstrel”). Today he remains active in music, giving concerts, composing, making instruments and teaching music.

Maqamat-e Kohan-e Tanbur 5 is the fifth disc in the series Maqamat-e Kohan-e Tanbur (“Ancient Tanbur Maqams”), released with research and tanbur playing by Yahya Ranaei and vocals by Pouyan Ranaei. Yahya Ranaei says of this collection: “The tanbur is one of the oldest and richest treasures of Iran’s culture and art. The magnificent presence of the tanbur throughout the history of this land moved me to collect the sacred (Haqqani), devotional and ancient maqams of the Yarsan people (followers of the Yarsan or Ahl-e Haqq faith, a mystical religion of western Iran). These maqams were composed and shaped in the Sahneh region and around Lakestan from about the 10th century to the middle of the 17th century.”

Seyed Yahya Ranaei was a member of the ensemble Hamnavazan-e Tanbur (“The Tanbur Ensemble”) – led by Seyed Amrollah Shahebrahimi – and has given many performances, both with the ensemble and as a soloist:

• Performance at the Festival of Culture and People in Isfahan

• Performances at Vahdat Hall and on IRIB (the Iranian state broadcaster) in 1976–1977

• First place at the school students’ festival and an honorary diploma in music

• Member of the tanbur ensemble of the Centre for the Preservation and Propagation of Music, Kermanshah province

• Concerts in Iran and abroad

• Teaching tanbur and setar