1(Photo Kerry McGovern)

Brisbane couple Persian Poet and Musician Siyavash Doostkhah and Greta Kelly wove the music from the tanbur and shah kaman with the mystical poetry of Attar Nayshapuri, Hafez and Rumi and others to provide a Sufi-inspired evening of deep connection.

Last night, a large audience visited the Brisbane Multicultural Arts Centre (BEMAC) at Kangaroo Point. The Iranian diaspora, professional musicians, and the general Brisbane public were in the audience. It was friendly. People introduced themselves to those seated beside them and chatted amicably. This wasn’t a normal entertainment.

Hannah Attwood, Director of BEMAC, introduced “Rhyme and Reason” as “part of the intersection among cultural traditions and as an event transcending music and poetry and embracing deep spiritual connection”.

It met those expectations.

Greta Kelly has been studying Persian music for decades. Siyavash migrated to Australia from Iran in the 1980s and brought with him a love of poetry and music. He now shares that love with Australian audiences. Together they are Zemzemeh, which “juxtaposes ancient Persian music with modern electronica, creating a rich, contemporary, cross-cultural zeitgeist.” (https://zemzemeh.au/)

Against a multimedia background of rotating tiles from the Imam Mosque in Estafan, the words from the ancient poets, translated in English, kept the audience mesmerised as the music held our hearts.

 

2 (https://surfiran.com/mag/shah-mosque-isfahan/)

The Program was a small poetry book of the poems in Farsi and their English translations.

Zemzemeh means “whisper” with more connotations in Farsi than the English translation. I was struck by the whisper of Rumi’s verse:

“Whoever strays from their essence /Longs for the day of reunion”.

“Rhyme and Reason” ended with an Elder-blessed collaboration between Zemzemah and Yuggera / Quandamooka Greg Tyson and Rhys Monaghan, and Sama Dancer Nadia Milford with Daf players Arash Zangeneh and William Kane-Potaka.

A serene event that left the audience happier, calmer and more inclined to appreciate the beauty of a Spring evening in Brisbane. We caught the ferry home, delighting in the 50-cent fare, the lights on the river, and the happiness of the many celebrating couples and groups in other venues in Brisbane.

Kerry McGovern