Album Notes

Sara Goudarzi was born in Tehran and grew up in Iran, Kenya, and the U.S. Her father introduced her to poetry when she was two years old. Shortly after, she started performing poetry. Sara holds an M.A. in journalism from NYU and is a New York City writer working on her first novel. Her non-fiction and poetry have appeared or are forthcoming in National Geographic News, the Christian Science Monitor, Scientific American Mind, Terry, and The Adirondack Review, among others. Her website is: www.saragoudarzi.com

Kees van den Doel studied composition at the University of British Columbia. Interested in Western Baroque music, he played the recorder and keyboard from an early age. For the last 12 years Kees has been playing Persian ney, an end blown wooden flute, and concentrating mainly on traditional music. He has held numerous concerts in Vancouver and New York City. Kees’ website on the Persian ney is: http://members.shaw.ca/persianney

“Goudarzi’s recording is to me an extraordinary combination of the musical and literary, exploring the mysterious spaces between text and melody. Even those for whom either the music or poetry is new will be entranced by the poignant quatrains of Baba Taher recited with Persian instrumental accompaniment. I recommend this to any music lover looking for something with depth and meaning.”
— David Ludwig, composer, acting chair of Musical Studies, The Curtis
Institute

“Hauntingly accompanied by the Persian wooden flute, Sara Goudarzi’s recitations of Baba Taher celebrate the apt marriage of music and poetry. Open and vulnerable, her abidance in these 11th century couplets are a moving performance of Iranian blues.”
— Ravi Shankar, Poet-in-Residence at CCSU and Founding Editor of Drunken Boat