TEHRAN -- Iranian santir player Milad Kiaii here Thursday said the recent social changes led to the decline of tasnif (rhythmic composition of Persian vocal music).

Talking to the MNA, Kiaii added what makes a piece of tasnif eternal is the fluency and simplicity of poetry and music together.

Recalling the personal and social characters of people in those days, he said, “Life was full of love. Unfortunately, today’s singers have forgotten gentleness and sing with anger. Of course, part of it is natural since social and cultural conditions have changed, as well.

“What made the old tasnifs everlasting were the simplicity and softness of poetry and music.

“The composer, the poet, and the singer used to get together for making a new product. And the results were the eternal tasnifs by Mehdi Khaledi, Ali Tajvidi, Majid Vafadar, and Homayun Khorram.

“In the third era, composers wrote music for old poetry, whose features caused limitations and made the works far from everlasting tasnifs. “In the past, all members of a band gathered in the studio, but now one comes in the morning, another in the afternoon, and everybody does his own job individually. So this is quite natural that the product will not be good.”

The new recording system has also caused a gap between the musicians, he said, adding that music demands stronger relations between the musicians.

Concordance and affection are necessary to make a lasting tasnif, he opined.