 |  |  |
The ultimate goal of Sufi aesthetics, is, of course, the attainment of hal, an ethereal status of the soul which can not be described by words. I can only say that it is the slight alleviation of the angst ridden yearning of the soul for a return to its place of birth, a reunification with the celestial body.
Also inherent in the aesthetics is the belief that ours is but an imperfect reflection of the archetypal world consisting of the most unfathomably perfect reality. Music, poetry, and the related forms of poetic expression, illumination and calligraphy are in themselves and in their aims, a means of catching a glimpse of this perfection.
There are thus many spiritual relationships between music and poetry. Many formal relationships also exist between the two modes of expression. For example, poems are composed of self-sufficient double-verses (beyts), while dastgahs are composed of more or less autonomous gushes. Also, as Hafez once said, "Writing poetry is like stringing random pearls", meaning that the particular beyts, though they may shed some light on the meaning of the poem, are really not essential or sequentially specific to its essence. That is to say, the meaning of the poem would remain intact if some of the beyts were altogether omitted, or if their order were reversed. Likewise, the essence of the dastgah is the daramad, with the gushes serving an almost secondary, and unessential function. Nonetheless, just as one cannot mix random gushes together to obtain a viable dastgah, the beyts must be treated in a careful and precise manner to make for a meaningful development. Indeed, very few are well versed, talented, or presumptuous enough to take many liberties with the poetic and musical repertoire. Furthermore, in both forms, the artist resorts to a well established repertoire of devices for expanding and ornamenting ideas. Lastly, the rhythmic pattern of poetry, underlies many of the commonly used musical rhythms, and commonly used musical rhythms have served as the foundation for many a poem.
There are also many parallels between music and Persian calligraphy. Most obviously, they are both expressions of the word, of the great poetic tradition of Iran. Both in calligraphy and in the performance of a dastgah, the artist treats the underlying structure (the verse in the former, the gusheh in the latter) in a manner which individualistically yet faithfully conveys the essence of the underlying form. In both arts, ornamentation is a major tool for achieving these individualistic effects. There are two ways of ornamenting verses in calligraphy. Likewise there are two distinct types of ornamentation in music.
As seen in the above example of shekaste calligraphy, in one style of ornamentation, the words themselves are ornamented. The text loses its archetypal form, and is restated in the manner of the artists choosing. In fact, in this style, the ornament and the essence of the word become one and the same. In the realm of music too, one observes instances in which the artist separates the music from its underlying form; recreating it in his/her own idiosyncratic and ornamented vision (e.g. in the cheharmazrab).
As seen in the above example, another style of calligraphy presents the poem in a rather straightforward manner, the underlying form being readily discernible and intelligible. Interwoven through and around this statement of the text are a myriad of arabesques, curls, cartouches, and even fully detailed backgrounds. Though the text is sometimes obscured for artistic effect, the degree to which this happens is minor at best, and the uderlying form is always clear. The analogue of this style in music is the artist's treatment of the gushe in which he/she merely surrounds the music with optional figures that help to add to its meaning.
| | |
