The present volume is the first-ever publication of any orchestral scores by the celebrated Persian composer and ethnomusicologist Hormoz Farhat.
Mazandarani Rhapsody was written in 1958. For the thematic content of the piece, the composer draws on three folk songs from Mazandaran, one of Persia’s provinces bordering on the Caspian Sea, which is rich in folk music and dance.
The Rhapsody was not premiered until 1970, when it was performed by the Tehran Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Farshad Sandjari. No recording of the piece exists.
Compositions by Hormoz Farhat
Orchestral Music:
Sinfonia Concertante for 7 solo instruments, soprano and Orchestra (1954)
Mazandarani, Rhapsody for Symphony Orchestra (1958)
Three Songs of Sa’di for Soprano and Orchestra (1965)
Sinfonieta for String Orchestra (1968)
Prelude and Fugue in Dashti (1968)
Fantasy and Fugue for String Orchestra (1972)
Concerto Grosso ‘Rhetorics’ for Piano and String Orchestra (1977)
Concerto for Clarinet and Orchestra (1978)
Concerto for Flute and String Orchestra (1979)
‘Soug’, Elegy for Symphony Orchestra (1981)
Le Nouveau Rivage, (reflections on ‘Le Lac’ of Alphonse de Lamartine) (2004)
La Nuit Eternelle, “ “ “ “ (2005)
Chamber Music:
6 String Quartets: #1 (1953), #2 (1962), #3 (1968), #4 (1979), #5 (1981), #6 (1992)
Theme and Variations for Brass Ensemble, 2 Pianos and Tympani (1961)
3 Woodwind Trios, #1 (1959), #2 (1961), #3 (1976)
Duo for Violin and Viola (1963)
Divertimento for Saxophone Quartet (1963)
Sonatina à Tré for Flute, Clarinet, and French Horn (1978)
Four Interrelated Pieces for Recorder and Piano (1979)
Partita for Brass Quintet (1981)
Piano Quintet (1981)
Piano Solo:
Toccata (1952)
2 Nocturnes (1952)
Theme and Variations in F sharp minor (1952)
Fugue in E and E flat (1953)
Sonata No. 1 (1956)
DeBeneville Pines, Suite of 5 pieces (1962)
Four Excursions (1962)
Suite Galante, 5 pieces (1963)
English Summer Suite (1979)
Three Persian Miniatures (1984)
Fugue in E flat minor (1993)
24 Two-part Essays (1998)
Five Bagatelles (2008)
Sonata No. 2 (2010)
Petite Suite of 6 Piano Pieces (2017)
Songs:
In Dreams for Soprano & Piano on a poem by Vivien Craig
Arrangements of a Group of Persian Folk Songs for Soprano and oboe (1955)
Two songs on poems by Sa’di for Soprano, Violin and Harp (1956)
Be Yade Neyshabur, on 7 Quatrains of Omar Khayyam (1959)
Three Persian Songs for Soprano, Flute and Cello (1961)
Choral Music:
Drop, Drop Slow Tears, (poem by Pheneas Fletcher) for a-cappella Choir
Out of Lucretius, (poem by Robert Hillyar)
Cotton Mather, (poem by Stephen Benet)
3 Choral pieces on poems by John Scattergood: Garden as Emblem, Holy Ground Toledo, Through the Night
Film Scores:
Gav (The Cow), winner of the Venice Film Festival 1970, directed by Daryush Mehrjui, (composer given a trophy by Empress Farah Pahlavi).
Aqa-ye Halu (Mr Simpleton), 1971, directed by Daryush Mehrjui.
Postchi (Postman), 1972, directed by Daryush Mehrjui.
Aramesh dar Hozure-e Digaran (Tranquillity in the Presence of Strangers), 1972, directed by Naser Taqvai.
Sadeq Korde (Sadeq the Kurd), 1973, directed by Naser Taqvai.
PDF scans are courtesy of the Contemporary Music Centre in Ireland
Hormoz Farhat 