One of the most obvious manifestations of historical and cultural epiphany of each nation, difficulties, pains, and happiness which a nation has endured during its survival time, is the music of that nation. Music is like a full-length mirror of morale, life style, ideals, hopes, disappointments, deep desires, and all things that can not be easily mentioned in the words.
It has been said that when language stops, music will begin.
Guilan province has one of the richest treasuries of music culture. These rich treasuries of music, against many regions of Iran, do not enjoy a style unity. That is, the different parts of Guilan either from view point of various songs or from the view point of melody and rhythm specifications, are enjoying various styles.
In Guilans local music, technique is not as important as experience and sense. They are experience and sense which are herald and reach to the gate of technique and influence the addressee.

In Guilan, music depicts the life of a people who live in the woods, love nature, and lead a simple and easy life, Guilan music is mostly in the form of "Shoor", and its songs are mostly in the form of "Dashti" and rarely "Chahargah" and "Shooshtari"; They abound in splendid and expressive scenes, picturing the green and fertile land, woods, farms, and paddy fields of Guilan.

Guilan music is divided to three main parts based on geographical factors:
1. Music of the east part of the province (Galesh mountains).
2. Music of the urban part of the province (plain).
3. Music of the west part of the province (Talesh mountains).

Vocal music is mainly rooted in the east of Guilan.
The Guilans "Reezmagham" includes the divans, the ditties, and the tunes which are mostly sung by the women, these get their subjects from the real life of the people living in this region.
Talesh music takes its form from a popular song called "Dastoon", which is instrumental as well. These songs are extremely sad and melancholic.

Musicology and studying the structure of divers ancient musical instruments is one of the most essential branch of Ethnomusicology. The recognition of vocal music vitalize us to perceive cultural values, specialties , and aesthetic criteria of society. Ethnomusicology and the studying of musical instruments is one of the most significant keys to the mysteries of musical history of the diverse cultures.
To identify musical instruments in various cultures is comprehensive. This identification is possible to be studying the current musical instrument first and then researching the instruments that are not in use and belong to the history.

The kamancheh or kamancha is a Persian, Azeri and Armenian instrument related to the violin. Played with a variable-tension bow, the kamancheh consists of a round body made from gourd or wood, which acts as a sound box, covered with a thin sheep or fish-skin membrane. Traditional kamanchehs have three silk strings, however, modern ones have four metal ones. At the bottom of the instrument is a spike to support the kamancheh while it is being played.

Kamancheh was vogue in Guilan specially in Daylaman around three decades (30 years) ago, it was played along with Tonbak (Donbak) in wedding ceremonies. However, the old Kamancheh performers passed away and now it's not a current instrument. There are some old Kamancheh players but they are aged and abandoned performing for several decades.

Here are two examples of Guilans' Kamanchehs:

1. The Late Aziz Moshtaqs Kamancheh
This 100 year-old instrument is really unique and precious, bigger bowl and Handle is what have made this kamancheh unique.
The handle of this Kamancheh is apart from its' bowl, it also has missing Membrane, Bow and Spike.
It's ornated with ivory, nacre and bone. The wooden parts of this instrument are made of ebony wood.

2. The late Abrar Khans' Kamancheh
Originally this kamancheh belongs to Torab Khan, however for 50 years it has been with Abarar Khan Khoshkhan It seems some parts of this instrument has been replaced.
Its' bowl is concrete and shallow, the handle and the spike are longer in comparison.
The wooden parts of this instrument are made of box-tree and mulberry, its' bow is made of horse's tail hair.

 Lala (Haftband Ney)
 Also known as Nala, Lula, Lina and Neyla in different areas of Guilan.
 It's probably the oldest pitched instrument known to man and an oblique rim blown reed flute. The range of pitch in Lala is decided by the length of the instrument. Therefore, it may have five or six finger holes ( common Lala is 40cm in length with 5 holes ). The top edge of the instrument is placed between the teeth and air is directed by the tongue.
 Lala is played with a non-stop breathing technique. The musician uses his cheeks to keep the air under control for a significant period of time. Lalas have a beautifully distinctive sound, and even though difficult to learn, they remain popular.
 It produces a simple primitive tune expressing the noble feelings of simplistic people, including the Taleshi shepherds and farmers who play it to pass time. Taleshi Women at times respond to the played tunes by singing songs.

 Masters of this instrument:

 Master Hedayat Pourjavadi 

 Born in the village of Balgasara in Shanderman ,Guilan.

Master Khadijah Zardary

Born in Talesh,Guilan. She's been Playing Lala for over 65 years.

 Dap (Daf) or Dayere
 This percussion instrument consists of a wooden circle on one side of which, there is a tightly stretched skin with metal rings on the inside which add a jingle effect to the sound. It is struck with fingers of the two hands. The Dap is commonly used in urban areas rather than rural and usually accompanies another musical instrument.
 The Taleshi Dap is distinct from kurdish Daf, turkish Qaval and the Daf of northern Khurasan.The thickness of the arch is the same across its lenght and it's normally made of the box. It has over Sixty rings in a row. Goat skin is usually used in its production.
Qajbarahava and Dushahava are its main rhythmic patterns.

Master Ata Purshafeqqati is one of the time-honored masters of Dap in Talesh.

The Taleshi Tambur is one of the oldest instruments of the region and the smallest plucking instrument of Iran. Its average length is over 60 to 70 centimetres. It includes 3 cords each of which is double in Masal and Shanderman. In the region of Taleshdulab it has 3 cords and in Asalem it is seen as having 2 cords, to be a tradition from long ago.
The Taleshi Tambur has its bowl and arm as a unified body made of mulberry or walnut wood.Taleshi tambur unlike Khurasani tanbur is played with plectrum made of ox horn or cherry twig (Gushakh and Tazianeh).
In the last decades, however it was about to be forgotten, but investigation on it carried out by Mr.Armin Faridi Haftkhani helped revive its real place in the region.

From masters of this art we must name:
Master Qorbanali Jahandust
Born in the village of Ardjan in Taleshdulab, Guilan in 1923 (1303).
His father was Mohamad Ali and his grandfather was the master Ali, also players of Tanbur. Master Hojat Asadzadeh , From Sheikhneshin, Shanderman.

This cone shape instrument has 9 holes, 8 on the front and one on the back of it.
It's usually made of ebony, it size varies between 30 to 45 centimeters in length.
Surna is one of the ancient musical instruments which is common almost in every provinces of Iran, it's often played along with Dohol, however in Guilan it accompanies Naghareh , in wedding ceremonies, local wrestling and tug of war.

From masters of this art we must name Master Taymur Cheraqi and Master Yadi Delkhosh.

This instrument has a lot in common with the Surna of Guilan in techniques and performance. Though it has been forgotten in Parasar and Asalem, but some still play it from Fumanat to Taleshdulab.

This instrument is similar to Tar. the over all shape of this particular instrument varies but in most cases  It has 2 main parts; Bowl (oval shape) and Naqare place (triangle shape). It has 6 cords made out of 3 kinds of silk.
This instrument is played in variety of ways; with bow, plectrum made of hens' feather or with fingers.
Its' bowl is made of apricot tree and because that is a hard wood, makers would first boil it in milk to be easier for evacuating.
This instrument is basicly folk, now-days it is played in Khorasan, Afghanistan and some Arab countries and because of the similarities between Galesh and Khorasani music it is considered folk in Guilan too.
There are some doubt about this instrument like; if it was really first made by Abo Nasr Al-Farabi? or is it really the ancestor of Kamanche or Tar?
No one is sure about the answer of those questions, and with all that ambiguity this instrument has remained popular among many nations.

There is no great difference between Lebak and Neylabak's of other regions and provinces. It has seven holes, six on its front and one on the back. Its repertoire is the same as Neylabak, however it may face some difficulties in the performance of certain Shabani (shepherds) pieces. Its prevalence dominates an area from Fuman to Shanderman.

Master Hedayat Pourjavadi
Born in the village of Balgasara in Shanderman, Guilan in 1935 (1314).
He excelled in the playing of Lala and Lebak and in the earlier time was skillful in performance on Surna and Tambur, now he is the greatest Lebak player in Talesh.

 Dasa Deyara ( Dayere Zangi )  Is from percussion instruments.
It's a small hand drum made by stretching a thin animal skin or parchment over a wooden ring. The frame has several pairs of metal discs set loosely in it so that when shaken, the disks clash together like cymbals, making a pleasant jingling noise.
It's usually played in weddings and seen in the hand of singers.

Classified among percussion instruments, it's a large drum (one meter in diametre) on both side of which, there are tightly stretched animal skin.
To play it properly  position of the instrument should be in a way that the skined sides would be at left and right to the player.
Dohol is played with two drumsticks, one is straight and the other is cane like (Tarkeh and Kajak). Dohol and Surna are usually played together , Dohol is not used as a solo instrument.

Karna, a long trumpet, is an ancient and historical instrument which is made and played differently in various provinces of Iran. In the past karna was used as an announcement instrument, however it was mostly played in the mourning ceremonies, especially in Ashura.
Guilan's karna is 3 meters in length, it has no arrangement of holes and is made of reed. One must take a lot of pressure to blow in a karna, and to play it properly takes mastery skill.

This instrument has been mentioned in Many poets works, such as the great Persian mystic poet Molana Jalal al-Din.
Guilans' Naghareh is in fact a pair of small drums. The body of drums is made of clay. Their structure is like bowl. One is larger than the other. The large one is called Bam and the smaller one is called Zir. It should be mentioned here that Bam and Zir respectively mean bass and treble. The diameter of the Bam is about 22 centimeters and the diameter of the Zir is about 16 centimeters. Two drums are covered by cow's skin, though in the past the skin of boar was used. The skin is tightened on the drums by bands to be made of cow cut. The drums are played with two wooden drumsticks. The length of the drumsticks is from 25 to 27 centimeters. The thicker drumstick is used to play on the larger drum. The diameter of the drumsticks are from 1 to 1.5 centimeter.
Surna & Naghareh are played in festive ceremonies such as wedding ceremonies, sports events and so on. Naghareh is not used as a solo instrument.

Among percussion family this instrument is, indeed, a sort of Tray that women use along their singing. Kept inversely and played by two hands. The name of it's playing is " Dambuli Navakhtan". Sometimes players would put some coins on the Mejma to add jingling effect to its' sound.

Classified among wind instruments, Gavguraneh is made of maple and plane tree bark. It sounds like injured cow crying for help, therefor it has been named Gavguraneh.

Classified among wind instruments, Mera is made of gourd and was also made of shell in earlier times. Due to its wide mouth, it requires powerful blows. Its size is rather small and it is 20 to 30 centimeters long. In the past, in the beginning of new year, in Farvardin it was used to notify people of the time of farming and cleaning the rivers, but now it's played in March (Esfand).

Guilan folk songs are divided into 3 types:

The first type are composed by  short, rhymed and well balanced sentences. Most Guilan local songs are of this type.
The second type of folk song differs in structure and wording. The tune is greater in contrast with other types and is similar to classical, vocal music of Iran. Their Tune and rhythms recalls some features of popular Forms (Dastgah) such as Dashti and Shoor.
The third type are the Dance tracks, they usually are Instrumental music and are performed accompanied with dance in ceremonies.

 Gilaki Music Collection <<

Guilan is known for two dances, one is called Ghasemabadi and the other is Deilamani, referring to the areas, in other parts of Guilan, dances are very similar to Ghasemabadi, however there are  some differences in melody and dance moves, for example in Talesh, women dance with a lamp or mejma on their head. The dance by the women sometimes imitates the weeding and rice harvest, which the area is known for. Women's dance done to a 6/8 rhythm is slow yet bouncy, often holding small colorful handkerchiefs in each hand and lightly shaking them while tumbling hands over one another. Hands are sometimes on the hips, when turning for example, or shaking the handkerchiefs from side to side, up and down. Women's footwork is mostly simple small steps which causes the up and down bouncing of the skirt hems. There is also a movement bending forward and shaking the handkerchiefs from side to side near the ground, gradually descending to the ground while shaking the handkerchiefs. Women also spin with skirts flaring and suddenly sit on the ground doing sweeping motions with the handkerchiefs. Movements done sitting include showing a circle on the ground with the handkerchiefs, or circling handkerchiefs overhead either both at the same time or alternating.While sitting, the women also lean forward and do sweeping movements overhead alternating one handkerchief and then the other.
Clothing for women include a shawl-like headpiece draped over the head and wrapped around the front of the neck. This can be worn over a small cap or pinned in the hair. The fabric for the shawl is a fine lace or a closely woven cotton and may have fringed and tasseled edges.
The costume can include a chemise dress of woven metallic fabric or a long blouse, over a full-length flared skirt with many stripes around the hemline. These stripes may be ribbons or rick-rack sewn to the skirt. A jacket of velvet or other fabric is worn over the blouse or dress ornamented with rick-rack or some other trim on the sleeves and borders of the jacket. A wide dark scarf is sometimes worn on the waist.Music for Guilani dance can be shrill oboe, Surna, and barrel drum, Dohol.

  Gilaki Dance  / video

Noruzkhani is one of the earliest rituals in Guilan. Right before the eve of noruz [and the new year], a group of singers tour, house by house, around the region giving out tiding of the new year and spring in the form of songs. According to the customs, the landlords hearing the voice of the singers step out of their houses and give rice, cocky or some money to them. They dress in red because it resembles good luck and wealth.

In Noruzkhani, a singer renders certain couplets and others perform several recurrent stanzas. This act is called ''Vâgir'', literally signifying the act like that of a chorus.

Here is an example of Taleshi noruzkhani ;

Bahâr darma hamina shâd âbina                    Spring has come, everyone is happy            Dele qam dideye âzâd âbina                           There is no room for sorrow in hearts

Lalayi, Lullaby, is the oldest form in infant's oral literature that links the internal passion of mother to her child by music.

Iranian mothers transfer the thoughts, feelings and in another word the lifestyle to their babies by singing Lalayi. In this way from the early childhood they become familiar with rich culture of their motherland.

Like other folklore songs, Lalayi is also under the influence of regional factors and nature itself. By searching in Guilan culture we realize that Lalayis in this province are various in form along with mellow rhythm, they are passed on from one generation to the next. Lalayi is usually sung to the movement of cradle by the hand of mothers.

Here is a lyrics of a Taleshi lalayi;

Bekhos laylay, bekhos ruz âba niya    Sleep my dear, day has not come yet

Didâram ba te kâsir âba niya             I've never gotten enough of seeing you

Ashura is well-known day  because of mourning for the martyrdom of  Hussain ibn Ali the grandson of Muhammad, the prophet, along with 72 members of his family and close friends at the Battle of Karbala in the year 61 AH (AD 680).
Commemoration of Ashura is not a festival, but rather a sad event for both Shi'a and Sunni Muslims of Guilan and for Shi'as a period of intense grief and mourning. Mourners, both male and female, congregate together usually at a Mosque for sorrowful, poetic recitations such as Marsiah, Noha, Latmia,  Tazieh (sort of religious music in form of Shooshtary, which now-days masters of singing consider it as a part of the form of Homayun) and Soaz, performed in memory of the martyrdom of Hussein, lamenting and grieving to the tune of beating drums and chants of "Ya Hussain." Also Ulamas sermons with themes of Hussein's personality and position in Islam, and the history of his uprising. Karna is also played in the eve of Ashura.

Ahmad Ashurpour  

 1917 - 2007 ( 1296 - 1386 )

Late Ahmad Ashurpour is known as father of Guilans' folklore music.
He was born in Anzali, Guilan. According to himself he followed music as his occupation from age 22.
He studied singing with madam Lily Bara a Vienna Opera singer.
Music in that time was under the influence of Eastern Europe music.He created a new style of music using the Waltz rhythm and Guilans' rich vocal music. In the fall of 2007 he died in Rasht by natural causes at the age of 90.
He has more than 70 songs and about 50 of them have been recorded. Among his best music we can name " Ey Leily " , " Mahtabe Bandar anzali " and " Osyan baraye To va Hame ".

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Fereydun Poureza

He was born in Lashtenesha, Guilan in the fall of 1932 (1311). At the age of 11 he first realized his talent and passion for music and singing; " Nothing could understand me like singing or help me through difficulties ", he says.
Later in 1950 (1329) he studied singing with some of the famous masters of that time in Tehran.
He has extracted 17 Gushes from Tazieh  and thought them to his students.
From the musical instruments he plays Santur.
He has more than 400 songs and about 100 of them have been recorded. Among his best albums we can name "Pas Az Baran", which is related to the movie named the same. It was the best hit in the year 2002 (1381).

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Anoushiravan Rohani

Anoushiravan Rohani is a pianist and composer.
Born in Rasht, Iran in 1939 (1318), Anoushiravan received music lessons from his father Reza Rohani, himself a poet and violinist.
Anoushiravan later studied piano with Javad Maroufi, one of the most famous pianists in the Persian style, at the Persian National Music Conservatory in Tehran.
His passion for the keyboard and piano was so great that in 1963, he imported the very first electronic organ to Persia.
Aside from the organ, he is also heard playing the accordion in many of his early works.
After the Iranian Revolution of 1979 (1358),he left the country and continued his composing in the Western world.
His achievement as a Persian musician is not a feat that is held in great regard by Iranians alone. He has worked with a vast number of orchestras worldwide. One such orchestra worthy of being noted is the Czech Symphony Orchestra based in Prague, which performed the orchestral pieces of his album Love Melodies.

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Ardeshir Rohani

Born in Rasht, Iran in 1946 (1325). He entered the world of music at the age of 5.
His first teacher was his father Reza Rohani. He studied at the Iranian National Music Institute in the city of Tehran. Upon graduation he was awarded scholarship by the Ministry of Culture and Arts from Vienna to study music composition under the instruction of Professor Christian David. After his return to Iran Ardeshir enrolled in the Department of Fine Arts of Tehran University and obtained his bachelors degree in music. Ardeshir had composed and arranged many melodies for piano and orchestra. Ardeshir has had many concerts across the world in such countries Iran, Dubai, Germany, Canada and US.              

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Naser Masuodi

He was born in Rasht, Guilan in 1935 (1314).
He was a music fan from early childhood but because of the family financial problems he couldn't pursuit his passion for music, but with listening to the work of the famous singers such as Badiezadeh, Ghamaralmolok Vaziri, and Zelli he learned Iran musics vocal norms.
In the year 1949 (1328) along his family he migrated to Tehran where he studied singing with Master Aliakbar Shahnazi.
In 1955 (1334) he returned to Rasht and synchronous with opening of Guilan Radio (1957) he was one of the first singers to collaborate with it.
From his famous folklor songs we must name "Mir Ali Chopan", "Nam name Baroon", "Gole Pamchal", and "Siah Bahar".
From islamic revolution of Iran till now he has released 3 albums; Korashim, Parchin, and Halachin.

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And;( Names are in alphabetical order)

Singers:
Esmael Amirataii
Mansur Fani
Abdollah Jafari
Reza Javadzadeh
Jamshid Kahrobaii
Mohamad.H.Khorshidi
Bahram Seir
Javad Shojaiifard
Alireza Shoorideh
Faramarz Zibakenari

Kamancheh:
Yusef Ahmadkiasari
Mahmud Rahmatishie
Kazem Ramezani
Mohamadreza Shahnuri

Ney:

Satar Falahatkar

Ali Forohari
Mazaher Pouresmael
Hedayat Pourjavadi
Mohamad Safari
Bahram Shamami
Gholamreza Varea
Ali.Z.Forosh

Tonbak:

Jafar Ebrahimi

Hoshang Eftekhari
Hassan Haghgo
Khosro Keshvari
Mehdi Mikhchi
Ahmad Ghorbani

Oud:

Reza Javadzadeh

Ahmad Sigarchi

Tar:
Abass Arash
Khalil Daneshpajoh
Ahmad Jangmiri
Abdolah Melatparast
Hassan Melatparast
Mahur Melatparast
Parviz Nouripanah

Surna:
Delkhosh
Taymur Cheraqi
Aziz Khosh hal
Jahanshah
Siabarar

Santur:

Gholam Akhavan

Dariush Alizadeh
Hosein Amenin
Ali Babashakuri
Hassan Eshghi
Bahman Sigarchi

Violin:
Kasali Akbarpour
Freydun Fruzanfar
Manuchehr Janati
Yearvand Mardurosian
Rokn edin Nojand
Vazgin Ohanjonian

piano:
Ali Iranjavan
Tahmasb Melatparast
Olin ohanjanian

Flute:

Akbar khan fluti

Yaghub Shahnazi

I would like to thank all those who helped me throughout this project.
Especial thanks to:
Master Poureza, Master Masoudi, Mr.Armin.F.Haftkhani, Mr.Imantalab, Mr.Samadi, Mr.Sasan Salehi, and  professor Dr.Jaleh Hasaskhah.

- Guilan book, vol.3.

- A Musical Anthology of Guilan.

- A Musical Anthology of Talesh, collected by Armin.F.Haftkhani.

- Guilan Culture journal, vol.23 & 24.

- Personal Researches and Interviews.