The quintessential Persian poet, one of Iranian cilvisation’s chief wordsmiths and a man whose lyrical beauty has echoed through time, Rumi is a poet that has woven his magic into the fabric of history, nourishing the soul of many millions of people worldwide. His influence transcends borders and one doesn’t have to look far to see his golden touch on many an artistic endeavor from the Orient to the Occident.
In his latest album Microtone, the Persian-American musician Fared Shafinury has taken his inspiration from the myriad writings of Rumi, not just at the base level, but from the rich spiritual and philosophical messages that the poet weaved throughout his work.
Fared has not created Microtone as an homage to Rumi, no indeed, the album has that spirit of the poet and one can sense the strong influence in every note, but Microtone is a broad collection that encompasses spirituality, nature and mathematics, one overlapping with the other to create an elaborate gem that imbues a feeling of creative intensity.
Art and Mysticism
The spiritual legacy of the man from Greater Khorasan cannot be underestimated and to say that it has not structured the spiritual elements that are so prominent in Microtone would be a lie. Fared, who has long been creatively enriched by Rumi has also structured his latest work to narrate aspects of the poet’s work.
In the performance of Microtone, the mysticism becomes its most provocative, with a mesmeric whirling performance by Miriam Peretz.
Penned by Ben Mirza
faredshafinury.com 