Release of new CD: "The Journey of Love", Chakavak Ensemble, Music: Reza Manbachi, Vocal: Mehdi Fallah

Dedication

Note from maestro Hamid Motebassem

Track List

Performers & Contributors

The Journey of Love story

Biography: Reza Manbachi

Biography: Chakavak Ensemble

Biography: Mehdi Fallah

Poems & Lyrics

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Dedication

This album is dedicated to:

The ones who have sacrificed their lives with constant support and enthusiasm, and have

encouraged us to reach beyond our stars in all aspects of our life-time journeys. The Journey of Love

is dedicated to our loved ones who have made this project possible to bring our message across.

Mom and Dad, We are thankful ever and always

Reza & Amir Manbachi

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Note from maestro Hamid Motebassem

In general, our understanding from the surrounding environment is by the means of our five senses,

and our joy from beauties of arts is a consequence of comparing an art with our recognition and

experiences. This by itself is an impact of our perception from that particular art and the capability

of the senses being addressed by that art. In addition, constant change of human artistic taste is an

impact of the fundamental evolution of individual perception from a particular art, as well as the

level of closeness and continuousnessn of the connection with that art. Clearly, this is the reason

that its evolution and development can also be affected by the artistic perception of its audience.

Beauty and diversity of music is endless, and its extent is wider than the average understanding

of its typical audience. However, developmental capacity of the five senses is also beyond its

normal exploitation. Therefore, performing and broadcasting of the arts and encouragement of

audiences to improve their level of acceptance is among the duties of artists and a considered

necessity for its survival and productivity.

* * *

This album is the creation of Reza Manbachi, the pure-minded founder of Chakavak Ensemble.

This band is one of the few ensembles of young Iranian musicians distant from Iran who have

placed strong emphasis on the above matter, to be able to fulfill it as their targeted goal.

It is my sincere hope for them to reach newer and elevated heights in their musical journey, along

with stupendous and everlasting motivation.

Hamid Motebassem
Fall 2008

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Track List

1 Dawn of Love (Mehr) 10:11
instrumental prelude, in Dashty, accompanied by solo: Nay

2 Abandonment (Del Shekan) 7:39
tasnif, in Dashty, original composition: Akbar Mohseni
poem by: Bijan Taraghi, new arrangement & intro by: Reza Manbachi

3 Abandonment, ending 3:54
Tar & Santoor, improvisation in Dashty

4 Enchanted (Basté Dâm) 6:16
tasnif, in Dashty, original composition: maestro Alinaghi Vaziri
poem by: Hossein Gol-e-Golab, new arrangement & intro by: Reza Manbachi

5 Chakâvak 3:06
instrumental piece, in Shoor

6 Lonesome I Feel In Here (Man Injâ Bas Delam Tangast) 7:57
Declamation & Vocal, in Shoor & Dashty
poem "Chavoshi" by: Akhavan Saless

7 Chakâvak, continue 1:17
in Homayoun

8 Chant (Monâjât) 2:54
in Homayoun, solo: Shoorangiz

9 Let Me Alone (Tanhâ Marâ Rahâ Kon) 5:38
tasnif in Homayoun, poem by: Rumi

10 Blossom (Rooyesh) 3:09
transition from Homayoun to Dashty, solo: Santoor

11 Flame of Love (Charmezrâb Shooré Eshgh) 5:05
metrical piece, in Dashty

12 Embrace (Âghoosh) 2:57
in Dashty, duet: Santoor & Tar, by: Amaan Mehrabian, followed by improvisation

13 My Beloved Has Arrived (Deldâr Rasidast) 6:41
tasnif in Dashty, poem by: Rumi

Total Playing Time: 66:46

all compositions and arrangements by: Reza Manbachi
except explicitly mentioned above
* âvâz-é Dashty, dastgâh-é Shoor, and dastgâh-é Homâyoun are three of Persian Classical modes

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Performers:

Mehdi Fallah (Vocal)

Chakavak Ensemble:
Reza Manbachi (Tar, Setar, Shoorangiz)
Amaan Mehrabian (Santoor)
Mohsen Biglari (Nay)
Parisa Ferdosian (Bass Tar)
Arsalan Alizadeh (Barbat)
Amir Manbachi (Frame Drums, Tombak, Claves, Vibratone, Finger Cymbals)

Guest Performers:
Saeed Kamjoo (Kamancheh, Ghaychak)
Mahsa Madahian (Cello)
Ziya Tabassian (Tombak, Daf)
Ed Hanley (Tabla, Udu)
Arian Shojaei (Declamation)

Recorded by Reza Moghaddas, at Bamahang Studio, Toronto, Canada

Additional Recording by Somayyeh Habibian & Ali Azizian at Bam Studio, Tehran, Iran

Edited & Mixed by Reza Moghaddas & Reza Manbachi

Mastered by Andy Krehm, at Silverbirch Studio, Toronto, Canada

Poems Translated by Nima Hejazi & A.J. Arberry; Edited by Reza & Amir Manbachi, Rosa Mohammadi

Calligraphy by Mehdi Fallah

Cover Designed by Reza Manbachi & Behrad Nemat Gorgani

Photography by Shahrokh Saeedi (cover & Manbachi's photo), Ali Fallah (Fallah's photo)

Many thanks to:

Amir Manbachi & Rosa Mohammadi for their constant support throughout the project, Mohsen Biglari,

Mehdi Fallah, Setareh Delzendeh, Araz & Yashar Salek, Shabnam Sahraei; the dearest

performers who contributed in the live performances of this repertoire, as well as studio recording; and

maestros Hamid Motebassem, Hossein Behroozinia and Kayhan Kalhor for their inspiration, advice, and support.

this recording was made possible through the assistance of the Canada

Music Fund and the Music Section of the Canada Council for the Arts.

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The Journey of Love
The story behind the notes, by: Rosa Mohammadi

I am so excited to finally get the opportunity to tell you the story behind this amazingly coordinated

project and the path it took to reach The Journey of Love. Ever since the moment I went into the

studio and heard Dawn of Love being recorded, I fell in love and became mystified with this

whole project. I remember how much every note, every beat and every verse shook my soul and took

me to a higher place of purified love; a place that could only be reached, in The Journey of Love.

* * *

The Journey of Love is an intoxicating love story between the soul and spirit. The tale of the lover

begins with a desperate plea for the Beloved. He has been engulfed and mystified by this love with

no turning back. Nay beautifully portrays his sorrow, followed by Tar, which enticingly takes you inside

this journey. As the lover's hopes, anticipation and excitement for his Beloved grows, he continuously

becomes Enchanted in such a way that he is willing to lose everything.

The lover is lost, lonely and heartbroken, with a feeling of Abandonment; he is bare with nothing to

hold onto in this strange material world. With a flaming Chant, he cries Lonesome I

Feel In Here. He is seeking a rebirth that is commenced with Rumi's poem Let Me Alone:

Last night in a dream I saw an elder in the garden of love;
He beckoned to me with his hand, saying, "Set out towards me".

The lover has reached the pivotal point of his journey; he has sacrificed all to seek a rebirth into a

new world. The Blossom of this beginning is enriched with Flames of Love. It is at this point that the

lover can Embrace the Beloved. As the lover's voyage continues, Shoorangiz and Santoor, along

with other instruments clarify that a destiny leading to the Beloved requires one to reach the inner state.

Through the last verses of My Beloved Has Arrived, it is at this moment that the rebirth of the lover

is celebrated through his enriched soul purified by the Beloved; At last, Chakavak leads us into our

own journey of love.

Come, come, for the rosebower has blossomed;
Come, come, for the Beloved has arrived.
Beat the drums, and speak no more;
What place is there for heart and mind? For the soul too has fled.

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Reza Manbachi

www.reza-manbachi.com

www.myspace.com/rezamanbachi

Reza Manbachi, Persian-Canadian musician and composer, has played tar and setar (long

necked Persian lutes) since 1989, under the instruction of maestros Dariush Pirniakan and

Hamid Motebassem, as well as artists such as Tofigh Iranparvar, and Amir Koushkani. He has

studied various renditions of the "radif" (Persian classical repertoire) along with other aspects of

music composition.

He established Chakavak Ensemble in 1998 and ever since, has been actively involved

in a number of international concerts in Iran and Canada. After immigrating to Canada

in2004, Reza's passion drove him to reach new heights by continuing professional

leadership of Chakavak Ensemble in an environment unfamiliar with Iranian Classical

music. Aside from that, he was also able to recruit, familiarize, and mentor many non-Persian

individuals with various cultures and backgrounds.

His enthusiasm has led him to conduct solo and duet performances with his brother

Amir Manbachi, as well as various collaborations with experienced musicians such as

maestro Hamid Motebassem, maestro Trichy Sankaran, Babak Amini (Persian guitar virtuoso),

Attila Darvas, Daniel Stones, and Anthony Michelli. Reza has been an instructor of Tar and Setar

at York University in the past few years. While holding an Electrical Engineering degree from

Sharif University and Computer Science from York University, he is currently pursuing his academic

research in Software Engineering at University of Toronto Graduate School.

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Chakavak Ensemble

www.chakavak.ca

Chakavak (1) is an ensemble of musicians, originated on the basis of love for Persian music and a

desire to promote and perform this tradition at a professional level for audiences of various

backgrounds. With an extensive diversity in their instrumental palette, Chakavak Ensemble

captures the evocative power of the ancient musical traditions of Iran. The artists' enthusiasm

to showcase a variety of music styles, results in traditional, folk and classical repertoires being

featured in the performances. Chakavak Ensemble was founded by Reza Manbachi in

Iran (1998) and was re-established in Toronto (2004) after his immigration to Canada.

Chakavak widely collaborates with artists from various ethnical origins and has given

many nation-wide performances and international concerts in Iran and Canada. These

appearances include many cultural, humanistic and charitable events over the past decade.

Giving back to the community has always been a top priority for Chakavak. As an instance,

Bam memorial concert (Winter 2006) was a sold-out charity event in which its income was

donated to Bam Art Garden (2). Another example was a nation-wide tour (Winter 2007), in

commemoration of the international year of Rumi, a Persian philosopher and poet, to represent

Persian culture and music to audiences from wide backgrounds. And finally, Chakavak's

reputable performance in Tirgan Festival (Toronto, Summer 2008) was another successful

tribute showcasing Persian art to international audiences. Chakavak continues to aim high

in spreading message of Iranian poems and music, i.e. the necessity of love and peace in

the lives of humankind.

(1) Chakavak is the name of a singing bird (Warbler) and also the name of a Goushe (motif) in

Dastgah-e Homayoun within Persian Classical repertoire (radif).

(2) Bam Art Garden is a cultural/educational complex aimed for improving the needs of less fortunate

citizens of demolished historical city of Bam, who suffered from earthquake in 2003. This vast project

is led by maestro Mohammad Reza Shajarian, the legendary Persian Classical vocalist.

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Mehdi Fallah

www.mehdi-fallah.com

Mehdi Fallah, vocalist and Setar player, started his musical journey under the supervision of

legendary Iranian singer Mohammad Reza Shajarian in 1976. He has also attended classes

of late maestro Abdolali Vaziri, late maestro Dr. Hossein Omoomi, late maestro Ahmad Ebadi,

and Zeydollah Tolooie.

His experience of performing on stage extends from national-caliber occasions to international

worldwide concerts including the independent countries of Russia, Canada, USA, and UAE for

numerous years. To name a few discography records, he has a played key role in the following albums

Bikaran (Sheyda Ensemble, artistic director, Pashang Kamkar, composer, Majid Derakhshani)

Gavan (artistic director, Jamshid Andalibi)

Bahar-e Delkash (artistic director: Majid Vasefi)

Mehdi Fallah is also well known for his professional calligraphy career, which started under the

instructions of legendary Hossein Mirkhani and Gholamhossein Amirkhani, and continued in

many national and international exhibitions. He is a member of supreme council of Iran calligraphy

congress and manager of Art & Culture Commission of Iran calligraphy congress since 1997.

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Poems & Lyrics

Abondonment
by: Bijan Taraghi

Hospitable, my sweetheart,
Painful, my story,
The story of my burning and bearing,
Tonight I will tell you about

The moment my spirit opened eyes,
The candle hidden within,
Set my woof and weft aflame,
The fiery sigh burned my lips

You know not what you did
To me and to my heart, I swear to god
A heartless me, You won't fret
Where are we? You; and I weary

A strider with no share,
Keen and impatient,
Has moaned till daybreak,
Midnights in blackness,
no shelter, no share,
Has passed your grounds

Oh my promised land,
that blackness was me
Oblivious my lord,
you passed by me

Neither my tears you saw,
Nor my moans of heart you heard,
Like my fortune you left,
Like a desert gazelle you rushed,
Your robe you swept aside,
And heartbreaker, you left.

Translated by: Nima Hejazi

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Enchanted
by: Hossein Gol-e-Golab

What must a lover do,
For a glance from the beloved?
You are the moon in the sky,
I am a thorn in the woods.

Your fair face, your lover cannot see;
Reveal this serenity;
As the moonlight surrenders all eternity.

The cruel arrow is in your hand; my idol
Whom have thou targeted? 'Tis me.

Riskless I shall not flee from your trap,
Wish you would glance at me, trapped.

My love, my fair one; you take my breath away,
I shall not let go.

Despite your cruelty, I shan't turn away,
In your trap I have fallen,
For traps, I won't fall again.

My love; now that I have given up my life,
Why should I fear rival's cruelty and deception?

Drowned I have become on the path to you,
Tell me whom to turn to apart from you.

Blessed who gives life for a beloved,
Who gives all their worth in the journey of love.

That moonlight face, its intoxicating trait,
Set me on fire at once!

Translated by: Nima Hejazi

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Lonesome I Feel In Here
selection of the poem "Chavoshi", by: Akhavan Saless

Resembling legendary travellers,
Pack of rations held on their shoulders,
Staff of bamboo grasped in their hands,
At times loquacious, at times quiet,
Paths they tread in their misty legendary solitude,
We shall set out on a path of our own

Three paths are apparent,
Carved in stone at each entrance,
Are words you bear not read to another.
The first: path of brew, comfort, and happiness
Tainted with disgrace, yet facing the city and gardens;
Second: half disgrace, half fame
Uproarious if you rise, serene otherwise;
Third: endless..., no-return

Lonesome I feel in here,
And no instrument sounds in tune,
Rations we must take,
The "no-return" way we must tread,
See if the sky is blue, wherever we go

This journey isn't toward the skies,
Neither toward these, nor those;
Toward a wide plain where no god exists,
Where every pulse of mine,
Can batter and destroy thousands of its stars

O'lord, this virgin sky,
Has become the pasture of Jesus and others,
Where beasts like me,
Never would know that those beauties,
Who their ancestor is,
Or who their descendant

Rations we must take,
The path we must tread,
Toward lands where upon arrival,
My blood runs in my veins, afresh and awake,
Like wild fire
Unlike now, that it is old, cold, dark, and ill

Rations we must take,
The path we must tread,
Where to? Wherever it takes us
Where it's said
A flowerlike city is grown,
Brighter than wet-clothed sea;
And there are fountains,
Night and day, grows flowers and crystal leaves of poetry,
Drinks a wise man from it and says:
"why suffer watering a garden,
Where only paper flowers grow?"

Rations we must take,
The path we must tread,
Where to? Anywhere, but here.
Afraid I am of being cuddled as much as being hurt;

Of the slapper, of the slapped
Afraid I am also of this image on the wall
In this picture,
With Xerxes' whip of cruelty and grim,
The enemy beats madly, but not on the sea
On my neck, on my tired veins
On thee alive, on me lifeless;

Come thou disturbed friend!
Thou depressed and withdrawn like me,
Lonesome I feel in here,
Rations we must take,
The "endless way" we must tread...

Translated by: Nima Hejazi

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Let Me Alone
by: Molana Jalal-e-Din Mohammad Molavi (Rumi)

Go, lay your head on the pillow, let me alone;
leave me ruined and night-faring and afflicted as I am.

I am writhing with the wave of passion alone through night till day;
if you will, care and have mercy; if you will, go and be cruel.

Flee from me that you too may not fall into calamity;
choose the path of safety, leave the path of calamity.

We with our tears flowing have crept in the corner of grief;
turn the mill a hundred times upon our tears.

A tyrant we have who has a heart like flint;
he slays, and no one says to him, "Prepare to pay the blood-money."

This is a pain of which no cure exists but to die;
so how shall I say, "Cure this pain?"

Last night in a dream I saw an elder in the garden of love (3);
he beckoned to me with his hand, saying, "Set out towards me."

"Mystical Poems of Rumi 2", Translated by A. J. Arberry,
University of Chicago Press, 1991

(3) The name of the CD, "The Journey of Love", has been inspired from this phrase of Rumi "The Garden of Love".

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My Beloved Has Arrived
by: Molana Jalal-e-Din Mohammad Molavi (Rumi)

Come, come, for the rosebower has blossomed;
come, come, for the beloved has arrived.

Bring at once altogether soul and world;
deliver over to the sun, for the sun has drawn a fine blade.

Laugh at that ugly one showing off airs;
weep for that friend who is severed from the Friend.

The whole city seethed when the rumour ran abroad that;
the madman had once again escaped from his chains.

What a day is it, what day is it, such a day of uprising?
Perchance the scroll of men's deeds has already fluttered from the skies.

Beat the drums, and speak no more;
what place is there for heart and mind? For the soul too has fled.

"Mystical Poems of Rumi 1", Translated by A. J. Arberry,
University of Chicago Press, 1968

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