Nowruz is also known as Persian New Year and dating back over 3000 years. It falls exactly on the day of the Spring Equinox. And its message is international: we celebrate new life, awakening of nature, new beginnings and the end of the winter. More than 300 million people of various nations celebrate Nowruz worldwide. Among them are countries such as Iran, Afghanistan, Albania, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and many more.
The organizer of the festivities in Prague Mr. Shahab Tolouie points out: “To mark the 10th anniversary of the official recognition and inclusion of Nowruz in the immaterial UNESCO Cultural Heritage, from this point on we want to organize more events around this date such as seminars, workshops and concerts to transform the event into a true multicultural festival.”
This year’s celebration is enriched with a number of lectures: traveling in Iran, demonstration of Persian traditional instruments and Nowruz celebration in Turkic and Tajik countries. The seminars are (for the first time) organized in cooperation with the Department of Middle Eastern Studies, Charles University.
The culmination of the celebrations will be an evening concert of two internationally renowned Iranian musicians: Shahab Tolouie with his band, which is known mainly for their distinctive style (EthnoFlamenco or Persian-Spanish fusion), Mr. Tolouie is also known for playing a unique three-necked instrument Fusetar. The other musician, Mr. Kioomars Musayyebi, is a player on the stringed Persian string instrument Santur. It is an old trapezoid instrument from which dulcimer comes. And as before, the festival has also invited a prominent Czech guest of the evening. This time the Czech guest of the festival is the leading Czech guitarist Mr. Stanislav Barek.
Program:
3:00pm. – Tajikistan and Nowruz celebration
4:00pm. – Music and instruments of Iran
5:00pm. – Unknown Iran
6:00pm. – Nowruz and the Turkic people
7:00pm. – concert of Shahab Tolouie band and guests Kioomars Musayyebi and Stanislav Barek
The evening will be enriched by traditional Persian dance performed by “Shirin dance ensemble”, joint preparation of the festive table “Haft Sin” and also Persian traditional food, drinks and sweets.
Venue:
Lectures – Club of the Municipal Library in Prague
Concert – Main Hall of the Municipal Library in Prague (Mariánské nám. 98/1, 110 00).
Admission:
All lectures are open to the public free of charge.
Concert tickets are available for CZK 290 at the Municipal Library box office or online.
Performers:
SHAHAB TOLOUIE – three-necked guitar, flamenco guitar, vocals
Shahab belongs to a group of musicians who draw inspiration from the traditional music of their native land. His distinctive musical style is best classified as “world fusion”, he himself calls it Ethno-Flamenco or Persian Flamenco fusion.
Group:
GAVRILO ALEXIČ – bass
PETR HÁDR – drums
CARLO ZEGARRA ABANTO – percussion
Guests:
KIOOMARS MUSAYYEBI – Persian Santur.
He has been playing Santur from the age of eight and soon became interested in new influences that went beyond the traditional framework of his training in Tehran. He was fascinated by the combination of different styles of music. In 2015 he founded the Kioomars Musayyebi Quartet with three other musicians from Germany and Iran.
STANISLAV BAREK – guitar.
Leading Czech guitarist. He plays solo and in other music projects, e.g. in the group Njorek, Arionas, with guitarist Adib Ghali and also has performed with prof. Jiří Jirmal. Occasionally he plays with other guitarists such as Tommy Emmanuel, Peppino D´Agostino etc. He is known in the Czech cultural circles as the artistic director and organizer of the festival with 22 years history “Guitar Across Genres”.
Persian food: chef Ata Alipour
Seminars:
Tajikistan and Nowruz celebration
Tajikistan is considered as part of Turkestan – an area north of Amu Darya. However, the Tajiks retained their own version of Persian language and culture. And Nowruz is one of Tajikistan’s greatest holidays. Its roots date back to the time of Alexander the Great’s move to Central Asia. The Tajik celebrations of Nowruz resemble the holiday of Nowruz in Iran, but there are some differences stemming from different local developments. You will learn about them from L´ubomír Novák, Ph.D.
Unknown Iran:
Contemporary Iran is a country that has been much talked about lately, but which is also unknown to most people. The reality of everyday life is different from that presented by the mainstream media. Uncover the face of this ancient country along with a Persian living in Prague, Mona Khademi, get to know its inhabitants, traditions and culture, and discover ancient monuments referring to rich history.
Music and instruments of Iran:
Iranian musician Kioomars Musayyebi introduces the structure of Persian traditional music, forms, scale and traditional Persian instrument Santur.
Another topic will be the current situation of music in Iran, its position and potential globally and demonstration of fusion of Persian and Spanish music. The lecture will be led by Czech-Iranian musician and composer Shahab Tolouie which also presents the triple-neck guitar.
Nowruz and Turkic Nations:
In this lecture you will learn what Nowruz means for the Turkic peoples. Why Azerbaijanis celebrate Nowruz, but the Turks aren’t much familiar with it? How Nowruz is celebrated in Turkic nations (Azerbaijan, Turkey, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, and the Tatars). The lecturer will be led by the chair of the KITAP association: Elmira Lyapina, Ph.D. Azerbaijani music performed by young artist Andrey Abubekir. Kemal Deniz plays on Turkish Saz.