The music of Iranian composer Behzad ABDI fuses dastgah (the Iranian modal system) with Western classical forms. He wrote Iran’s first national opera, Rumi (Naxos 8.660424-25), and Hafezalso exemplifies his approach to the medium. The opera’s subject is the great Persian poet and mystic Hafez, whose sonnets and poetry are still widely read across the Persian-speaking world today. Behrouz Gharibpour’s libretto traces the poet’s tribulations, memories of keeping his poems from being destroyed by a despotic government, and subsequent exile. ABDI’s polytonal technique serves to reflect the unique concepts of Hafez’s 14th-century poetry with passion, lyricism and power.

Tracklist:

1. Hafez, Act I Scene 1: Sultan Mobarezedin’s Attack
2. Hafez, Act I Scene 2: Disaster And Killing Sultan Abu Eshaq
3. Hafez, Act I Scene 2: Elegy
4. Hafez, Act I Scene 3: Pub And Obeid Zakani
5. Hafez, Act I Scene 4: Saqinameh
6. Hafez, Act I Scene 5: Prison Of Sultan Mobarezedin
7. Hafez, Act I Scene 6: Hafez’s Aria I
8. Hafez, Act I Scene 6: Obeid And Sultan Mobarezedin
9. Hafez, Act I Scene 7: Hafez’s Aria II And Arrest Hafez
10. Hafez, Act II Scene 1: Revolt
11. Hafez, Act II Scene 2: Victory
12. Hafez, Act II Scene 3: Departure Of Hafez
13. Hafez, Act II Scene 3: Dialogue
14. Hafez, Act II Scene 4: Shakh-E Nabat
15. Hafez, Act II Scene 5: Death
16. Hafez, Act II Scene 6: Final