Bahram Khayat, a native-born of Tehran, Iran, was introduced to the world of music at the age of ten by his brother.

He later entered the School of National Music (SNM) in Tehran, with the Santúr as his instrument of choice. For a period of 3 1/2 years he learned maestro ‘Abul-Hassan Sabá's Scales (Radíf) of Persian Music under the instruction of Dr. Manuchehr Sadeghí, who played a major role in training and encouraging this young pupil.

When Amir Jahed, the headmaster of the SNM, established an orchestra consisting of the school's most outstanding students, Khayát was selected to play the santúr. He was among those who received an award from Iran's Minister of Culture and Art for his exceptional performance.

Khayat moved to Los Angeles, California in 1975, where he continued his extensive research into the intricacies and hidden nuances of the traditional Persian Music. In 1984 when maestro Payvar came to the U.S. and took residence in Los Angeles for a year, Khayát resumed his daily, in-depth lessons, marked by intensively long hours, with maestro Páyvar. This was the second opportunity that he studied under maestro Páyvar. He considers this period of his learning as the pivotal point in his musical life, which enabled him to find his own path in the world of Persian music.

During this time, he shared his musical findings, compared numerous radifs and further sharpened his performance skills with maestro Páyvar.

Although Khayat assembled the Ney-Dávood Orchestra ensemble in Los Angeles for a short time, intending to preserve, promote and render Classical Persian music in its pure form, he arrived at the conclusion shortly thereafter that the integrity his musical quest of Classical Persian music was being compromised for fame and fortune.

He found this incongruent with his quest for rendering his music in an unadulterated form and decided to withdraw from public performances.

Encouraged by this lofty goal, he resumed his research by staying connected with the state of music in his motherland, and by delving into the works of the old Persian music masters. In the meantime, he began to teach his music to the young talents.

After several years of diligent work in search of finding the true essence of the Classical Persian music, particularly its spiritual properties, Khayát found his much sought-after enlightenment, thus further illuminating his musical inspirations.

His accomplishments culminated in authoring his recently published book, Shogh-i-Nahan, The Hidden Desire, and recording a number of solo performances presented in part in this CD recording.

Khayat is among the few remaining Persian musicians abroad who meticulously kept his music inspirations unaffected by the West and purely traditional. The purpose of this CD is to contribute to the safeguarding and the integrity of this traditional music, the music which has survived a number of devastating cultural invasions throughout the history, all the while remaining as one of the richest traditional music of the world.

The work of some of the contemporary Persian musial composers in the West as well as in the East have become either repetitive, stagnant or deviated from the traditional norm in their musical compositions by surrendering to Western influences.

Khayat, on the other hand, is one of the few who has diligently preserved the integrity of this rich traditional music, and has composed numerous innovative and dynamic rhythms not heard to date in the West. While maintaining a strict dedication to the music of Iran, he takes pride in taking such a firm and unrelenting position and feels confident in accomplishing his ultimate goal of maintaining the purity of Iranian Classical music in the West.

This CD, consisting of Khayát’s solo renditions of Máhúr and Rást-va-Panjgáh Scales for Santúr, is a testimonial of his efforts to compose elevating yet purely classical music rarely heard outside of Irán. This CD is first of a series of recordings to be presented to the public. Each volume of work will present to the audience the depthless ocean of Persian music with great love and dedication.

Bahram Khayat has extensively studied the Radifs of the old masters of Persian music, including Ustads Mirza Abdu'llah, Abul-Hasan Saba, Musa Ma`rufi (collections), and Faramarz Payvar. This training included intense, in-person, training under supervision of Ustad Framarz Payvar. This training began with a review of Ustad Saba's Radif for Santur, followed by Payvar's Chap-Kuk and ending with a review of Ma`rufi's collections. This study would not have been possible without the heart-felt desire of Ustad Payvar to teach such a difficult radif and a competent student. The completion of this work is a monumental task, which but a few are privileged to have mastered.

Ostad Varzi Introduction (Translation)

Iran was surrounded by the fever of revolution when I arrived in Los Angeles to visit my sister as she recovered from her illness.

Having been used to days and nights in Iran, surrounded by my fellow artists, I found my mundane days in the west difficult; being isolated, friendless, dreaded to continue my artistic work.

Having the same needs and desires for dialogue and conversation, a performer is also in need of a musical companion. Since I did not have a fellow-countryman to keep company with, I found it difficult even to find a consort in my instrument, the Kamáncheh. It was in a pure accidental run-in with Bahrám Khayat that when I first met him. Our encounter was such a delight that not only his tempered appearance, but it was his staunch maturity, mellow temper, disciplined mind and soul that immediately attracted me to him. I longed for the days and counted the minutes to our next meeting to just listen to his melodic playing.

Bahrám performs with santúr with distinct power and strength, yet his playing is tempered with peerless sweet and delicate abilities. Santúr, in comparison to other Persian wood-wind and string instruments, such as Nay, Tár, Setár and Kamáncheh, is an elusive instrument that one has difficulty to make a “hearty” connection with. Santúr is likened to a stallion, which without an able rider is very difficult to tame. It can be said that santúr guides the performer in such a way that the audience never hears what he expects.

It was the early part of the 1980’s that maestro Faramarz Páyvar visited Los Angeles. Although quite known for his high standards and difficult-to-please approach to art, he seldom allowed newcomers in to his circle and welcomed their expression of their artistic work, yet he, upon meeting Bahrám, was won over and welcomed his innate performance and mastery of the instrument, a quality which, in my estimation, Páyvar was delighted to discover. Maestro Páyvar spent nearly a year with Bahrám on a daily basis, collaborating and teaching many a long hours at a time, which I was privileged to be in their company but only for a few days.

Now the mystery of Bahrám's work: it was toward the latter days of the Qajár dynasty when the French government presented a piano to the Sháh as a gift. Sururu'l-Mulk, the santúr maestro of the royal court, was the first person to tune this piano with in the Persian Classical modes. In his performances of the piano, he thus imposed santúr techniques to this western instrument, similar to the relationship that eventually developed between Kamáncheh (fiddled spike) and the violin. It was the work of Mushír Homáyún-i-Shahrdár, a prominent student of Sururu'l-Mulk, that greatly shaped and influenced Bahram's study, thus creating a new style in santúr performance.

One of the notable aspects of Bahrám is that he never manifests any satisfaction and completeness about his body of work. Thus he infuses a fresh zest and life to his composition constantly. In regards to his teaching abilities, he is peerless. He considers his time with his students and effort spent with them as an honor and privilege, exemplifying a superb selflessness. His approach to teaching is such that he never tires or yields to his pupil’s handicap until they have over come them. His exemplary students are so well versed in his teachings that in times of necessity for substitution, they convey Bahram’s instructions verbatim such that the pupil never feels the absence of their maestro.

The collection of compositions that are gathered here represents a portion of the vast body of work of Bahrám in the seven modes of classical Persian music, a collection of which is called the Dastgháh. These compositions are infused with special distinction in technique, mood and atmosphere that make them stand out above the rest.

I eagerly hope that the eventual performances of these compositions by pupils of Persian music will instill in their hearts many a warm delights and encourages the very same pupils to further creativity and diligent work in the years ahead.

Morteza Varzi,

Los Angeles Spring 2003