TEHRAN -- The celebrated folksinger Fereidun Pur-Reza died on Wednesday at the age of 80. He was suffering from chronic respiratory disease.

 

Purreza,who has done much research on the music of Gilan province, which is known as Gilaki, and has sung several folk songs, has not held a performance since last year due to failing health.

 

He is mostly known for his impressive performance of the Gilaki theme song for the popular TV series “After the Rain” in Iran, however he has several other luminous works in folk music.

 

People from different cities of Gilan Province gathered at Rasht’s Shahrdari Square to accompany his body to the Artists Section of Tazeh-Abad Cemetery on Thursday morning.

 

The cortège held several placards containing parts of poems during the procession. 

 

In an undated interview he said that “I shout at those who ruined our folk music in the song I performed for ‘After the Rain’. I am from Gilan and I am proud of my identity.”

 

He said that most people did not understand the meaning of local words in the poem, however the “doleful sound of the poems made them interested in the song.”

 

Born in 1932 in Lashte-Nesha city in Gilan Province, he was a disciple of Yunes Dardashti, Sadatmand Qomi and Gholamhossein Banan.

 

He began his career as a Gilaki folksinger when he was 22 and was dispatched to London as a folk music researcher accompanied by other Iranian cultural luminaries like Simin Daneshvar, Manuchehr Atashi and Iraj Afshar.

 

He collaborated as a music expert with the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance in 1988 and released two cassettes under the titles of “Gileh Lu” and “Mi Gilan” after the Islamic Revolution of 1979.

 

He used different local melodies like Deylaman, Galesh and Gilak in his songs, developed the capacities of Gilaki music and introduced it to other parts of Iran.

 

SB/YAW

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