''Persian Trilogy'' is a set of three

orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * bowed string instruments, such as the violin, viola, c ...

l works composed by

Iranian Iranian may refer to: * Iran, a sovereign state * Iranian peoples, the speakers of the Iranian languages. The term Iranic peoples is also used for this term to distinguish the pan ethnic term from Iranian, used for the people of Iran * Iranian lan ...

classical musician,

Behzad Ranjbaran Behzad Ranjbaran ( fa, بهزاد رنجبران; born 1955, in Tehran, Iran) is a Persian composer, known for his virtuosic concertos and colorful orchestral music. Ranjbaran's music draws from his cultural roots, incorporating Persian musical mo ...

. All three works were inspired by stories from the ''

Shahnameh The ''Shahnameh'' or ''Shahnama'' ( fa, شاهنامه, Šāhnāme, lit=The Book of Kings, ) is a long epic poem written by the Persian poet Ferdowsi between c. 977 and 1010 CE and is the national epic of Greater Iran. Consisting of some 50 ...

'' ("The Book of Kings"), the Persian epic poem written by Ferdowsi in 11th century. Ranjbaran developed a lifelong fascination about

("The Book of Kings") from his childhood growing up in Iran. Ranjbaran used three episodes from this epic as the basis for his music: *''Seemorgh'' (also "Simorgh"): a

tone poem A symphonic poem or tone poem is a piece of orchestral music, usually in a single continuous movement, which illustrates or evokes the content of a poem, short story, novel, painting, landscape, or other (non-musical) source. The German term ''T ...

in three movements describing the fabulous magical bird

Simorgh Simurgh (; fa, سیمرغ, also spelled ''simorgh, simorg'', ''simurg'', ''simoorg, simorq'' or ''simourv'') is a benevolent, mythical bird in Persian mythology and literature. It is sometimes equated with other mythological birds such as the ...

in her involvement with humankind and the natural elements surrounding her: the mountain, the moonlight and the sunrise. *''The Blood of Seyavash'': conceived as a

ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...

in seven movements, relating the story of Prince Seyavash as young prince and heir, his seduction and betrayal, his trial by fire, his tormented loyalties, the seeds of envy, his idyllic love, and the prophecies fulfilled. *''Seven Passages'': derives its inspiration from an episode in the ''Shahnameh'', titled "The Seven Trials of

Rostam use both this parameter and , birth_date to display the person's date of birth, date of death, and age at death) --> , death_place = Kabulistan , death_cause = With the conspiracy of his half-brother Shaghad, he fell into a w ...

". In 2008,

Toronto Symphony Orchestra The Toronto Symphony Orchestra (TSO) is a Canadian orchestra based in Toronto, Ontario. Founded in 1906, the TSO gave regular concerts at Massey Hall until 1982, and since then has performed at Roy Thomson Hall. The TSO also manages the Toronto ...

performed a multimedia version of Persian Trilogy, which included the music, the

naqqali Persian theater ( fa, تئاتر ایرانی) goes back to Ancient Iran, antiquity. The first initiation of theater and phenomena of acting can be traced in ceremonial theaters to glorify national heroes and legends and to humiliate the enemy, as ...

, the traditional Persian theatrical storytelling, and the projection of Persian miniatures for the related episodes. ''Persian Trilogy'' was recorded by

London Symphony Orchestra The London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London. Founded in 1904, the LSO is the oldest of London's symphony orchestras. The LSO was created by a group of players who left Henry Wood's Queen's Hall Orc ...

, conducted by JoAnn Falletta.

Notes

See also