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Why there are no great Iranian choirs . . .

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Ever wondered why there are no great choirs from Iran?
 
This story from the Wall Street Journal will help you understand:
Advice to music lovers: Stay the hell out of Iran. According to the Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s maximum politico- spiritual leader, the promoting and teaching of music—not just Western music, but any kind whatsoever—is “not compatible with the highest values of the sacred regime of the Islamic Republic.” He “suggests” that Iranian youth should instead “spend their valuable time in learning science and essential and useful skills and fill their time with sport and healthy recreations instead of music.” Those Iranians who prefer to do as they please run the risk of getting themselves stoned, by which I don’t mean high.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Friends in music,
     
    It’s a bit troubling to me – and clearly illustrative of the power of political correctness – that the first reaction to a straightforward posting of a cultural reality is to question the agenda of the one posting it. Would it be better to remain ignorant of this aspect of a particular world-view? Must we sanitize our discourse so that disturbing stories – or those that don’t serve our own “agendas” –  are not permitted to be told?  What kind of disturbing stories *should* be told?  Only those that reflect negatively on those groups that “we” love to hate? (i.e. “Nigerian Muslims have been influenced by misguided teachings of Christian evangelists” posited above)
     
    Even if Dr. Copeland had *intentionally* posted this item on 9/11, why would that be wrong?  As mentioned above, it illustrates the kind of thinking that  – when enforced by a group’s highest leaders and taken to its most horrifying extreme –  results in 9/11.  It is a powerful story to tell because it makes a connection that I think some of us have known intuitively; disdain for the human expression of beauty has some sort of cause/symptom relationship to more tangibly dark consequences.
     
    I do appreciate the reference to the choir from Teheran. It shows that beauty will find a way, even when it is forbidden, and I pray that it is a glimmer of hope for Iran that nobler thinking will some day prevail.  Notice, however, the comment at the bottom of this story: http://edition.presstv.ir/detail/135852.html.
     “rezvan
    7/28/2010 4:51:41 PM
    my maulana in the mosque says music is haram*. how come iran is islamic and has lots of music?”
    *forbidden

  2. This is important information for every music teacher. Thank you for bringing it to our attention. I, too, was unaware that some Muslims judge music in this way until I encountered a student in my music appreciation class who developed a moral conflict. He explained that he had become a Muslim, and that attending a concert was against his religion. (A concert report was one of the class requirements.) He said that satan invented music, and it was wrong to listen to music. He told me that one of his goals is never to listen to music for the rest of his life. I asked, “So, I have dedicated my life to making music, and you feel that I am serving satan in this?” He answered, “Yes.”

  3. Perhaps the ultimate outcome of reading this article is to affirm that the arts thrive in a free and democratic society void of state control or censorship by a political leaders OR ecclestiastical authorities. Hugo Distler’s death at his own hands bears witness to the control of the state (in Distler’s case, a totalitarian government controlled by the Nazis) over the individual to think, create and express. The article has made me think and appreciate my own situation.

  4. Thanks for the clarification on the coincidental timing of this post, Philip, as the timing was my primary complaint. The author’s conjecture that Iranians who choose to participate in musical activities “run the risk of getting themselves stoned” appears to be Islamophobic hyperbole, in that the only “crime” that can result in a sentence of stoning in the few countries whose defective interpretation of Sharia Law have led them to hand out such sentences is adultery (although Nigeria has apparently also included homosexuality, which sounds like the Nigerian Muslims have been influenced by misguided teachings of Christian evangelists who have greatly increased homophobia in Africa). So the author seems to have thrown that in for the shock value, which was unnecessary and unfortunate, IMO.
     
    I appreciate, as I’m sure do many others, the effort that goes into providing relevant and interesting topics in the Blog, so a big THANK YOU to ChoralNet’s bloggers is indeed in order.
     
    Peace,
    David T

  5.  

    All,

    I have a few goals with this choir blog:

    1.  to keep it fresh daily (and there have been over two years of consecutive daily posts)
    2.  to keep the readership informed of current happenings in music, technology, and items of interest to choral directors
    3.  to tie these events to choral music if I can

    I log these blog posts in a week ahead of time if I can.  I found this news story last weekend and put it in line, not paying attention to the date.  To me, it is a compelling story because it has to do with violence towards musicians – the fact that the blog post appeared on September 11 was coincidental.

    philip

  6. I imagine that Philip Copeland’s agenda was to report the news as reported in the Wall Street Journal.  It is important to know how Iran treats it’s citizens.  Jennifer Cooper

  7. This is very interesting.   Perhaps it is another indication that what goes on in daily life in Iran is not always the one that gets aired in the media.  
     
     The fact that this Tehran Vocal Ensemble has done so well is obliterated by what the so-called spiritual leaders want to bang on about, and even the Wall St Journal misses a fantastic story.
     
    On the other hand: at schools here in Australia where music is a big part of the curriculum, we invariably have parents of the immigrant  Iranian students show up  at the school office demanding that their children be taken out of music because it is a “waste of time” , “immoral”  and other such descriptions.        Because of the legal requirements for a balanced curriculum, the children are not taken out.
     

  9. I don’t believe, Karen, that this is stirring up anti-Iranian feelings, it is part of a larger picture of trying to understand other cultures, and to make sense of cultures in comparison to our own.
     
    I have Iranian students in my choral groups. They are uncomfortable about talking about their culture of origin, sometimes to the sadness of their parents.  Political challenges are difficult to negotiate.  In addition, I try to celebrate the diversity of my choral groups by doing music from their cultures.  We need to have a starting place for our discussions.  “Did you read the Wall Street article?  Do you feel this accurately reflects your culture as it is now?  If so or if not, how can you inform me about the music of your culture?”  My Iranian students (who prefer to be called Persian) are part of this conversation so that we all understand. In addition, we begin to understand our individual students on a deeper level.
     
    Thanks Philip, for posting.  This will give me another springboard for discussion, so that I can understand my students and their parents even better.

  10. I find the timing of this post, as well as the choice of image (yes, I get that it’s to illustrate the “risk of getting themselves stoned” remark) rather unfortunate. While they might not qualify as a “great choir,” there’s a group from Tehran that has participated in major international choral events, such as Interkultur’s “Canto sul Garda” and the most recent World Choir Games. Here’s a link to the webiste of the Tehran Vocal Ensemble:
     
     
    and a YouTube video:
     
     
    Peace,
    David T

  11. Our main traditions/psalms promote worsh[p- naming all the instruments. the temporary ban was due to despair over destruction of the Temple. This is arguably temporary.
    SIR

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