Biography of Abdul Hussein (Hosein) Mokhtabad – Persian Classical / traditional music

Abdolhossein (Abdul Hussein) Mokhtabad introduced himself to the public several years ago with a few touching songs. In a very short time, he became well known to all Iranians and attracted those of music enthusiasts widely. One of his loveliest works is called Tamana ye Vesal (A Plea for Unity). The poem is from one of the greatest Iranian transcendentalists called Sheikh Bahai, a Sufi in 11th century. I have known this poem since my school days.

At that time, this poem impressed me so much that I wrote it on the cover of one of my books. My first experience of knowing Mr. Mokhtabad goes back to the time when he performed this work in a very touching way. However, I believe there are some points against the singer in this song that should be explained. Seemingly, Mokhtabad has used a different version of this poem that seems to be incorrect or weak. Although, I have explained these points during my translation, I would like to mention them here once more. I deeply hope Mr. Mokhtabad will perform this song once again based on a more reliable version of this poem.

Here are the points:

A- In line 3: /næh/ = no – although this word pronounces /næh/ in Persian, it could be much better if Mr. Mokhtabad had pronounced it /neh/ to keep the rhyme of the poem intact. As you see, we have these words at the end of the first five lines: /yega:neh/ – /ræva:neh/ – /ya: neh/ – /nesha:neh/ – /ze miya:neh/. Please see the rhyming words of the next lines. This point has nothing to do with the poem itself. It rather refers to the way he sings this song.

B- In line 8, what we hear is this: /a:ref sefæt e væsf e to dær pi:r o jæva:n di:d/ /væsf/ = description – picture – In the original version of this poem, it reads: /a:ref sefæt e ru: (face) ye to dær pi:r o jæva:n di:d/, but Mr. Mokhtabad has used a different version, which has two similar words: and (not very strong).

C- In line 10 what we hear is this: /di:va:neh niyæm mæn keh rævæm kha:neh beh kha:neh/ /niyæm/ = /nistæm/ = I am not – I believe the biggest point against Mr. Mokhtabad is here. What he sings means this: I am not stupid to go from House to House, which is not true. In reality, we see that we do go from House (religion) to House (religion). In the original version of this poem, it says: /diva:neh mænæm mæn keh rævæm kha:neh beh kha:neh/, which means: Stupid am I who goes from House (religion) to House (religion). This one reflects the reality we are facing in the world of religions.

I hope Mr. Mokhtabad will see this comment and perform this lovely music one more time.

One of his songs is chosen for this collection

• Track 05

Mr. Mokhtabad kindly contacted me and thanked me for this comment. I was surprised by his humble personality. I heard that he performed this song again based on the correct version of this poem. He has my eternal gratitude on this.

Please go to the Traditional Music main page to order

Persian Traditional Music Samples

• Artists: Marzieh – Shajarian – Nazeri – Ghavami – Mokhtabad – Eftekhari – Yahaghi
• Tracks: 01 – 02 – 03 – 04 – 05 – 06 – 07 – 08 – 09 – 10 – 11