MIRSAEED HOSSEINY PANAH (IRAN/NORWAY)
WORLD PREMIERE
SHUR GASHTI
in three movements for soprano, santur, and saxophone quartet
31.08
Majorstuen Kirke 19:00
Amalie Kongssund – soprano
Mirsaeed Hosseiny Panah – santur
Here the composer explores different sounds of the Iranian instrument santoor and builds bridges between santoor, saxophones and voice. For this purpose he uses the voice as an instrument without having a word for it. His reinterpretation of the shur (one of the most important Persian modes) and its traditional ornaments were the main tools for this composition, along with the use of a spectromorphological approach for the selected sounds.
Strax Saxophone Quartet:
Soprano saxophone - Mats Kirkebø
Alto saxophone - Astrid Jenssen Solstad
Tenor saxophone - Annie Eline Lundgreen
Baritone saxophone - Eivind Holmboe Leifsen
Meet The Artists
Mirsaeed Hosseiny Panah is an Iranian composer and musician whose main instrument is the santoor. His curiosity about different genres of music motivated him to study classical music and jazz in addition to his heritage of Iranian classical music. Due to his diverse background, he believes that despite the contrasts between these musical genres, there is still a musical language that is a combination of all three.
Strax saxophone quartet was established in 2020 with the goal of playing music with great variety on a high musical level. The quartet's members all come from the classical saxophone program of the Norwegian Academy of Music and their focus has been on playing and performing new music, as well as commissioning and performing new works for the saxophone quartet. During the last years, they have worked with composers such as Henrik Hellstenius and Cecilie Ore. They have also premiered works composed by Mirsaeed Hosseiny Panah and Åsmund Perssønn Ødegaard.
Amalie Kongssund is a soprano from Oslo. She is educated at the Norwegian Academy of Music and is a widely used singer in choirs and smaller ensembles. She has for several periods been a substitute in the Norwegian Opera Choir and has also been a soloist for smaller choirs.