Bazzad

Bazzad, composed for violin and symphony orchestra, represents a departure from the orthodoxy of twelve-tone serialism, venturing into an idiosyncratic structural paradigm. Its title, Bazzad—denoting "Rebirth"—is imbued with metaphysical resonance, drawing upon the ancient philosophical tenet of Metempsychosis, the transmigration of souls. This concept, rooted in pre-Socratic thought, finds further elaboration in Nietzsche’s doctrine of Eternal Return, which permeates the compositional ethos of the work.

In Bazzad, serial techniques transcend mere thematic manipulation, shaping an entire section that serves as the germinal core for the unfolding structure. Here, pitches, rhythms, dynamics, articulation, intonation, and instrumentation are subjected to rigorous serial processes. The metaphysical essence of Metempsychosis is not merely a thematic abstraction but is materially inscribed within the work’s formal architecture. The original musical cell undergoes successive transformations— inversion, retrogradation, and retrograde inversion—each iteration evoking a cyclical struggle, a battle for reconstitution, wherein the music aspires towards its primordial state. This perpetual return, a formal rebirth, mirrors the ontological journey of the soul, encapsulating both the dissolution and resurgence of the musical idea.

The influence of Nietzsche’s Eternal Return is palpable within this recursive structure. As the musical material, having been subjected to relentless serial permutations, seeks to reclaim its originary form, it echoes Nietzsche’s vision of existence as an infinite cycle of recurrence—where creation and destruction perpetually intertwine. This temporal recursion challenges the linear teleology often associated with form in music, inviting a contemplation of time as an eternal spiral, where each moment is an infinite nexus of beginnings and ends.

The philosophical underpinning of Metempsychosis and Eternal Return as structural principles in Bazzad transcends their metaphorical import, embedding profound implications for serialist technique itself. These concepts disrupt the rational mechanics of serialism by imbuing it with existential significance—where the transformations of musical material are not merely technical, but symbolic of a deeper metaphysical quest. The return of the musical theme after its manifold permutations enacts the eternal rebirth of form, challenging the listener to engage not simply with the surface structure, but with the underlying philosophical meditation on recurrence, renewal, and the impermanence of existence.

In the confluence of philosophy and music, Bazzad becomes an arena for existential reflection—a contemplative space, wherein the sound unfolds as both a sensory and intellectual inquiry into the nature of being and becoming. Bazar is not merely an autonomous aesthetic experience but a philosophical discourse rendered audible.

The recording below is an excerpt from a 2014 reading session of Bazzad by violinist Jaram Kim and the Stony Brook Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Timothy Long.

—Saman Samadi, Tehran, 2012