ChaharDasht, The Other II (2024)
Keyavash Nourai (violin)
Premiered at the New York City Electronic Music Festival, June 23, 2025

ChaharDasht, The Other II is a duet for violin and electronics composed in the Persian/Iranian traditional modes of Chahargah and Dashti. The dominant mode is Chahargah, characterized by its strong quarter-tone inflections, while Dashti provides a calm, mostly minor-mode foundation. In traditional practice, transitioning between these two modes presents a significant technical and expressive challenge. The strong timbral qualities of the electronic part establish a persistent tension that supports the modal transformation and prepares the listener for a serene denouement in Dashti. The piece seeks to allow multiple, contrasting musical sensibilities and expressions to evolve simultaneously without one dominating the other. The fixed electronic materials were synthesized using Recursive Granular Synthesis (RGS), and my computer music instrument Lila was employed to track and accompany the live violin performance, which adheres strictly to the traditional structure of the Persian Radif.