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Klankcast: Music with a Heartbreaking Message

Writer's picture: Ramin Amin TafreshiRamin Amin Tafreshi
Klankcast - Nederlands Philharmonisch Orkest

It couldn't have been more special and memorable to join Botte Jellema for the 100th episode of my favourite Dutch podcast, Klankcast.


To celebrate the premiere of my Confessions of the Mulberry Tree with the Nederlands Philharmonisch Orkest on February 1st and 2nd, I had the pleasure of joining the Klankcast podcast! In this episode, I discuss the inspirations behind the piece, the creative process, and the stories that shaped my music. It’s an exciting conversation, and I’d love for you to join me in exploring it. Tune in on Spotify or your favourite digital platform!


Klankcast: Muziek met een hartverscheurende boodschap - Ramin Amin Tafreshi, Botte Jellema.

An Elegy for Withered Flowers - Baktash Abtin

Confessions of the Mulberry Tree


In this podcast, I talk about my recent work "Confessions of the Mulberry Tree" which I composed for the Nederlands Philharmonisch Orkest. The piece is inspired by the final poetry collection of Baktash Abtin (1974–2022), an Iranian poet, filmmaker, and 2021 PEN/Barbey Freedom to Write Award recipient. After his tragic death, the poems he wrote during his imprisonment were published in his own handwriting in a book titled An Elegy for Withered Flowers, released in 2024 in Sweden.

The poems are published in Baktash Abtin's own handwriting. (An Elegy for Withered Flowers, Baran Publishing.) The painting in the top right corner is by Rashin Teimouri.


The Mourning Ceremony I discussed on this podcast


In the podcast, I shared how I drew distant inspiration from certain mourning religious ceremonies, known as Dammam Zani, which are particularly prominent among Shias. In southern Iran, these ceremonies are particularly special because of the special folk music traditions they incorporate. On the podcast, I talked about this folk music in more detail, but here are some beautiful examples of such ceremonies.

As shown in the videos above, these ceremonies feature a group of percussionists (drumming groups of Dammām, and hand cymbals called Senj) playing syncopated rhythms, accompanied by a trumpet. Depending on the region, the type of trumpet varies. In cities like Bushehr, instruments such as the Sheypoor Shâkh (or a conical, long trumpet known as the Buq) are often used as the trumpet, crafted from the antlers of African deers (called Kudu, as demonstrated in the second video).¹ The history of this folk music dates back over 4,000 years. Ethnomusicologists suggest that, over time, these instruments were imported from countries like India and Africa, while evolving and transforming into this musical tradition in Iran.¹


My inspiration from this folk music came solely from its syncopated rhythms, the often loose and irregular execution of those rhythms, and the intense energy they create. Consequently, I have not directly used these rhythms in my piece. However, I felt it would be nice to introduce and discuss them in the podcast.


 

Klankcast shares all the behind-the-scenes stories of the Nederlands Philharmonisch Orkest where many artists, composers, and musicians join the conversation about their upcoming programs.

Learn more on Klankcast.

 

Reference: 1. Ashrafi, Jahangir Nasri (Editor). A Collection of Articles on Iranian Ritual, Philosophical, and Religious Music (From the Research Collection of the 15th Festival of Zekr and Zakirin Music). Volume 2. Tehran: Iranian Music Association, 2005. Electronic resource, 237 pages. Available at the Specialized Library of Islamic and Iranian History.



© 2025 | Ramin Amin Tafreshi
Portraits by Hermien Buyse kirsten van Santen 

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