Customer Reviews

Song of the Ney

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I got hold of this album after I was sent a copy of the CD of the latest work of Omoumi and Khaladj, Sarmast (2004), which seems not be available here yet.
It is quite educational to listen to these two works so many years apart. On the other hand I wish to have heard their albums in the proper sequence as this one was a clear foundation for Sarmast. Here we hear these masters at their first collaborative concert. Technically flawless and fluid.
If you plan to get a copy of Sarmast (Trance of Devotion), which I highly recommend, then you should listen to the first disc in this album very intently. Listen to the way in which the two masters fill the space carefully with melody and rhythm with instruments which are expected to do just one or the other.
As you may know, the ney (reed flute) is usually the melodic voice and the tombak (challis drum) is the percussive instrument which sets and carries the rhythm. This stereotype is broken down here. Sometimes Omoumi's ney becomes the base for a melody "suggested" by Khaladj's tombak, as if the suggestion then leads the ney to pick that melody and turn into a new path.
This blurring between the usual voices defined by the ney and the tombak will reach new levels of sophistication in the next collaboration of these two master musicians where the human voice is intertwined as a new layer. Here they introduce something that foreshadows major technical and musical developments which we can now witness in Sarmast.
I regret that at this time I have not listened to the second CD long enough to be able to do a review I would consider worthy of their work. On a vice real level I enjoy Sima Bina's voice and musical understanding. I need some time to fit the whole picture and will update this review accordingly. I wanted to alert fans of Omoumi and Khaladj to the importance of the first CD in this album as a precursor to their latest collaboration.

The one thing I've learned about Omoumi's style and recordings is that you hear too much forced breath, often giving a dry timbre to the ney; you can hear the air forcefully beeing blown into the instrument. It sounds like when you have hair on your lips and you "poof" it away. I've heard other ney players who avoid that style and the sudden rough sound. And, on this particular album, the "zarbi" sections aren't as fast as one expects them to be. Zarbi of the mode Homayoun is more beautiful when played faster than this. His ney speaks of sorrow and even bitterness. I prefer neys which speak of passion and love.