Divan on Themes of Hafez (2009)

I have been setting the work of the Persian 14th century poet Hafez since 2007. I was introduced to Hafez by the Iranian-born, Glasgow-based artist Jila Peacock, whose ‘shape poems’, using Hafezʼ original texts to make expressive images of birds and animals, were a springboard for inspiration. The artist had also made simple, direct translations of the poems, which seemed ideal for setting to music.

This new ‘Divan’ (collection) takes elements of the previous works as a starting point, and reinvents them for countertenor, oboe and viols, developing the material to include new instrumental sections. The music reflects traditional classical Iranian setar playing, ornamentation and birdsong.