VIDEOS
ABOUT
Iranian Sufi/mystical music composer, master of the Tanbour, and vocalist, former student of Master Seyed Amrollah Shah Ebrahimi and Master Taher Yarveysi, he has been composing, researching, teaching, and performing Persian spiritual music and ancient Maghams of Tanbour for almost 25 years.
His mastery of instrumental technique and Persian musical language, his original creativity, and the deep knowledge of Magham repertoire have helped him create a new and distinct style in Persian mystical music by blending emotion and spirituality with innovative techniques of composition and performance.
Rooted in a rich and ancestral heritage, his music—profound, spiritual, compelling, entrancing—draws inspiration from the poetry of great mystical poets Mawlana Jalaludin Rumi and Ain-al Quzat Hamedani. Skillfully combining ancient Maghams of Tanbour, complex free-flowing melody lines, and soul-stirring poems sung in a soft yet powerful and deep vocal style, he creates tapestries of sound, word, and emotion that touch the heart and inspire contemplation and meditation.
As a solo artist, accompanied by his ensembles or joined on stage by some exceptional foreign musicians, he performed in Turkey (Konya) in 2009 (Mawlana’s Commemoration Festival), the UK (London) in 2011, Nepal (Kathmandu) in 2011 (Osho Tapoban Commemoration Concerts), Turkey (Konya) in 2011 (Mawlana’s Commemoration Festival), Lebanon (Beirut) in 2012, Romania (Bucharest) in 2013, Russia (Saint Petersburg) in 2014, Nepal (Kathmandu) in 2014 (Osho Tapoban Commemoration Concerts), Romania (Bucharest & Brasov) in 2017, Morocco (Rabat) in 2017 (Visa For Music Festival), Romania (Bucharest) in 2018, Qatar (Doha) in 2018, Romania (Rasnov, Brasov - Film and Histories Festival #10 FFIR & Cluj Napoca) in 2018, Finland (Helsinki) in 2018 (Sacred Music Festival), Romania (Bacau - 24th National Symposium of Aesthetics & Bucharest - European Cultural Center for UNESCO) in 2019, as well as in major festivals and cultural events in Iran.
“Invisible Fire,” “Shams and Tanbour,” “Death to Birth,” "Sound of Rumi,” “Chants of Light”—five of his spiritual music projects—have been internationally acclaimed.
“Bangi Ajab” (music, tanbour – Ali Asghar Rahimi, lead vocals – Shahram Nazeri)—a project supported by UNESCO which combines video images of the most beautiful heritage sites in the city of Esfahan with traditional Iranian music—is to be released soon.
“Ancestral Dialects” (music, tanbour, vocals – Ali Asghar Rahimi, seaboard – Mircea Kiraly, cello – Attila J. Szabo) was released in 2019 and is available for purchase/streaming on digital music stores (https://ffm.to/ancestraldialects).
He made his film debut in 2018 when he composed the music for SIMIN, an Iranian film directed by Morteza Atashzamzam, and signed the arrangement and orchestration for the theme song of NIRVANA, an Iranian-Bengali co-production by the same director.
He is a member of the Committee for the Registration of Spiritual Music of Iran in UNESCO's World Heritage, Head of the Tanbour Association of Esfahan, Member of the House of Music of Iran, Founder and Music Director of Roohafza Ensemble (1999-2016) and Yasna Ensemble (2016-present), and Founder of Yasna Production Co.
His mastery of instrumental technique and Persian musical language, his original creativity, and the deep knowledge of Magham repertoire have helped him create a new and distinct style in Persian mystical music by blending emotion and spirituality with innovative techniques of composition and performance.
Rooted in a rich and ancestral heritage, his music—profound, spiritual, compelling, entrancing—draws inspiration from the poetry of great mystical poets Mawlana Jalaludin Rumi and Ain-al Quzat Hamedani. Skillfully combining ancient Maghams of Tanbour, complex free-flowing melody lines, and soul-stirring poems sung in a soft yet powerful and deep vocal style, he creates tapestries of sound, word, and emotion that touch the heart and inspire contemplation and meditation.
As a solo artist, accompanied by his ensembles or joined on stage by some exceptional foreign musicians, he performed in Turkey (Konya) in 2009 (Mawlana’s Commemoration Festival), the UK (London) in 2011, Nepal (Kathmandu) in 2011 (Osho Tapoban Commemoration Concerts), Turkey (Konya) in 2011 (Mawlana’s Commemoration Festival), Lebanon (Beirut) in 2012, Romania (Bucharest) in 2013, Russia (Saint Petersburg) in 2014, Nepal (Kathmandu) in 2014 (Osho Tapoban Commemoration Concerts), Romania (Bucharest & Brasov) in 2017, Morocco (Rabat) in 2017 (Visa For Music Festival), Romania (Bucharest) in 2018, Qatar (Doha) in 2018, Romania (Rasnov, Brasov - Film and Histories Festival #10 FFIR & Cluj Napoca) in 2018, Finland (Helsinki) in 2018 (Sacred Music Festival), Romania (Bacau - 24th National Symposium of Aesthetics & Bucharest - European Cultural Center for UNESCO) in 2019, as well as in major festivals and cultural events in Iran.
“Invisible Fire,” “Shams and Tanbour,” “Death to Birth,” "Sound of Rumi,” “Chants of Light”—five of his spiritual music projects—have been internationally acclaimed.
“Bangi Ajab” (music, tanbour – Ali Asghar Rahimi, lead vocals – Shahram Nazeri)—a project supported by UNESCO which combines video images of the most beautiful heritage sites in the city of Esfahan with traditional Iranian music—is to be released soon.
“Ancestral Dialects” (music, tanbour, vocals – Ali Asghar Rahimi, seaboard – Mircea Kiraly, cello – Attila J. Szabo) was released in 2019 and is available for purchase/streaming on digital music stores (https://ffm.to/ancestraldialects).
He made his film debut in 2018 when he composed the music for SIMIN, an Iranian film directed by Morteza Atashzamzam, and signed the arrangement and orchestration for the theme song of NIRVANA, an Iranian-Bengali co-production by the same director.
He is a member of the Committee for the Registration of Spiritual Music of Iran in UNESCO's World Heritage, Head of the Tanbour Association of Esfahan, Member of the House of Music of Iran, Founder and Music Director of Roohafza Ensemble (1999-2016) and Yasna Ensemble (2016-present), and Founder of Yasna Production Co.
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