Shahram Nazeri born in a Kurdish musical family in Kermanshah, west of Iran. He started studying music at an early age. His musical talents were first nurtured by his mother at a very young age. Throughout his childhood, he was under the tutelage of the most renowned masters of Persian music including Abdollah Davami, Nour Ali Boroumand and Mahmood Karimi. Besides, has studied playing Setar with masters of Setar such as Ahmad Ebadi, Bigjeh-Khani, and Jalal Zolfonoun. He is said to have started singing in public at the age of eight. At eleven, he performed on television for the first time. By twenty-nine, he had gained a loyal fan base. He has continued to perform in Iran and abroad.
Shahram Nazeri has been accompanied by some of the authorities of Persian traditional music such as Jalil Shahnaz, Hossein Alizadeh, Jalal Zolfonun, and Faramarz Payvar. He has also worked with some of the best Persian traditional ensembles such as Aref ensemble, Dastan ensemble, The Kamkars, and Shams Ensemble.
Besides Persian traditional music and Kurdish folk music, Shahram Nazeri specializes in the rich tradition of Sufi music, which turns to song the mystical poetry of Rumi, Hafiz, Attar, and others. Nazeri is known particularly for several decades of works on Rumi poetry. From early on, Nazeri was a pioneer in singing and composing music to the poetry of the greatest Persian poet and mystic, Mawlana Jalal ad-Din Rumi, Iran's most cherished poet. He was the first vocalist to set Rumi's poetry to Iranian music thirty-five years ago, thus establishing a tradition of Sufi music within both Iranian classical music and his music was instrumental in introducing Western musical audiences to both Sufism and to the poetry of Rumi. He is also working on the composition and arrangement of a symphony on Firdowsi's masterpiece Shāhnāmeh.
Nazeri has released over forty recordings to date. His Gol-e Sadbarg (The One-hundred-petalled Rose) is among the best-selling albums of Persian classical music and Sufi music in the history.
He has performed at major venues worldwide, including The Festival of Aix-en-Provence, The festival of Avignon, Théâtre de la Ville in Paris, The Tokyo Summer festival, The Kodak Theatre (Oscar ceremony) in Los Angeles, the Royal Albert Hall, the Festa del Popolo in Italy, The Beiteddine Festival in Lebanon, the Kölner Philharmonie in Germany, Asia Society, World Music Institute and Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) in New York, the Roma Europa Festival in Rome, São Paulo Music Festival in Brazil and Fes Festival of World Sacred Music in Morocco and many others.
The New York Times has dubbed him the Persian Nightingale and the Christian Science Monitor has called him Iran's Pavarotti.
On September 28, 2007 he was presented France's most prestigious award the "Chevalier des Arts et Lettres" Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, List of members of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres for his lifetime achievements in Persian Classical music.
More recently, the Ministry of Culture in Iran named him the Best Singer of Classical Persian and Sufi Music. UCLA has honored Shahram Nazeri with the Living Legend Award. The United Nations has honored Nazeri with a recognition award for his legendary contribution to the revival of Iranian Classical Music. The Irvine City Hall Award of Distinction in Persian music was given to Shahram Nazeri for his contributions in spreading Rumi's spiritual message of peace through the language of music.
February 25, 2006 was named "Shahram Nazeri Day" in San Diego County by the Mayor and the Chairman of San Diego's Board of Supervisors. Soon after this date Shahram Nazeri also received a recognition award from the Congress of the United States and was invited to perform and lecture at Stanford University, Columbia University, University of California Berkeley, University of California Los Angeles UCLA, Emory University in Atlanta and Harvard University, where he was recognized for his pioneering efforts in introducing Rumi to the West as well as for his innovations in Persian music.
Official website: www.nazerismusic.com.
Dusk
Shahram Nazeri Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
با این غروب از غم سبز چمن بگو
اندوه سبزه های پریشان
به من بگو
اندیشه های سوخته ارغوان ببین
رمز خیال سوختگان
بی سخن بگو
شوق جوانه رفت
یاد درخت پیر
ای باد نوبهار
زعهد کهن بگو
از ساقیان بزم طربخانه صبوح
از ساقیان بزم طربخانه صبوح
با خامشان غمزده ی انجمن بگو
زان مژده گو که صد گل سوری به سینه داشت
وین موج خون که می زندش در دهن بگو
سرو شکسته نقش دل ما بر آب زد
سرو شکسته نقش دل ما بر آب زد
این ماجرا به اینه ی دل شکن بگو
آن آب رفته باز نیاید به جوی خشک
با چشم تر ز تشنگی یاسمن بگو
آن سرخ و سبز سایه بنفش و کبود شد
سرو سیاه من ز غروب چمن بگو
ز غروب چمن بگو
ز غروب چمن بگو
The lyrics of Shahram Nazeri's song "Dusk" begin with a command that asks the green grass to speak up about the grief that it carries during this particular dusk. The singer then expands on this idea, asking the restless grass to talk to them about the sorrowful state of the greenery. They also ask to see the burnt thoughts of the purple flowers and the secret musings of those who have been consumed by fire. The singer urges their audience to express their pain without words and talk about how the longing for a return of youth has passed and been replaced by the memory of an aging tree. They then appeal to the spring breeze to speak of the promises broken by the old covenant, the celebration and morning banquet.
The second stanza continues with an invitation to talk about the grief of those who have been left silent in the society of those who still have voice, referring to the bittersweet message that a hundred red roses carried within them as they bled. The singer concludes with a reflection on how the broken image of our hearts can often be seen reflected upon the water where a broken cypress tree is standing. They mention that this story is one that is heartbreaking, and nowhere near its conclusion, as they bid the fading colors of the blue and purple shadows a farewell with a tap on the tree's dissolving root.
Line by Line Meaning
با این غروب از غم سبز چمن بگو
Tell me about the sadness of the green grass in this sunset
اندوه سبزه های پریشان به من بگو
Tell me about the grief of the broken grass to me
اندیشه های سوخته ارغوان ببین
See the burnt thoughts of the red flowers
رمز خیال سوختگان بی سخن بگو
Speak without words of the burnt imaginations of the burnt ones
شوق جوانه رفت یاد درخت پیر
The desire to grow was lost and the old tree is remembered
ای باد نوبهار زعهد کهن بگو
Oh spring breeze, tell me of the ancient covenant
از ساقیان بزم طربخانه صبوح
From the cupbearers of the joyful tavern of morning
با خامشان غمزده ی انجمن بگو
Speak to the silent, sorrowful members of the society
زان مژده گو که صد گل سوری به سینه داشت
Tell of the good news that a hundred red glories were carried on the chest
وین موج خون که می زندش در دهن بگو
Speak of the wave of blood that strikes on the mouth
سرو شکسته نقش دل ما بر آب زد
The broken cedar has reflected the image of our heart on the water
این ماجرا به اینه ی دل شکن بگو
Tell of this heart-breaking story
آن آب رفته باز نیاید به جوی خشک
The gone water will not come back to the dry river
با چشم تر ز تشنگی یاسمن بگو
Tell of the thirsty jasmine with eyes full of tears
آن سرخ و سبز سایه بنفش و کبود شد
The red and green shade has turned purple and blue
سرو سیاه من ز غروب چمن بگو
My black cedar, speak of the sunset on the grass
ز غروب چمن بگو
Speak of the sunset on the grass
ز غروب چمن بگو
Speak of the sunset on the grass
Contributed by Jake F. Suggest a correction in the comments below.