Yalda night concert of Iranian & Italian music

When: Sat 12 December 2015 19:00-21:30
Where: Khalili Lecture Theatre

We are going to celebrate the longest night of the year with Persian music music and dance. This programme is organised by santur virtuoso Peyman Heydarian and the SOAS Iranian music society. 

Performers:
Alfredo Giani [mandola, voice, harmonica, tamburello] 

Aryan Heydari [tar, setar, ud]

Peyman Heydarian [santur, piano, band leader]

Carla Pandarese [voice]

Daniele Rogis Rizzo [percussion]

Alireza Sareban [tonbak]

And guest musicians of the SOAS Iranian band

DATE: Saturday 12 December 2015 

Time: 7pm, doors open from 6.45pm

VENUE: SOAS – Khalili Lecture Theatre, Thornhaugh Street, Russell Square, London WC1H 0XG

Tickets: £15 Regular / £10 students and the unwaged / £6 SOAS studentsFurther information at www.thesantur.com You will be redirected to SOAS online sale page, where tickets can be purchased online at no booking fee. Booking is also possible by sending an e-mail to events.santur@yahoo.comAdmission with advance booking only.

We also have this concert on 13 November 2015:https://www.facebook.com/events/931112803625770


Shab-e Yalda 
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Yalda has a history as long as the Mithraic religion. The Mithraists believed that Yalda is the night of the birth of Mithra, the Persian god of light and truth. At the morning of the longest night of the year the Mithra is born from a virgin mother. In Zoroastrian tradition, Yalda remained an auspicious day, and included customs intended to protect people from misfortune. On that day, people were advised to stay awake most of the night. They have small parties and gatherings and eat the last remaining fresh fruits from summer.Following the fall of the Sassanid Empire and the subsequent rise of Islam in Iran, the religious significance of the event was lost, and, like other Zoroastrian festivals, Yalda became a social occasion when family and close friends would get together. Nonetheless, the obligatory serving of fresh fruit during mid-winter is reminiscent of the ancient customs of invoking the divinities to request protection of the winter crop. The 13th century Persian poet Sa'di wrote in his Bustan: "The true morning will not come, until the Yalda Night is gone".Following the Persian calendar reform of 1925, which pegged some seasonal events to specific days of the calendar, Yalda came to be celebrated on the night before and including the first day of the tenth Persian month (Dey ), on 20-21 December. Subject to seasonal drift, this day may sometimes fall a day before or a day after the actual Winter Solstice. Yalda Night was officially added to Iran's List of National Treasures in a special ceremony in 2008.With Best Wishes,SOAS Iranian music society