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Papers by Sepideh Khaksar

Egypte Afrique & Orient, 2022

Egypte Afrique & Orient, 2020

specializes in Elamite and language and culture. He is associate professor of Elamite and Achaeme... more specializes in Elamite and language and culture. He is associate professor of Elamite and Achaemenid studies at the École Pratique des Hautes Études (Paris).

Conferences by Sepideh Khaksar

When I started studying music at Tehran University in my twenties, I was led to explore the compl... more When I started studying music at Tehran University in my twenties, I was led to explore the complex field of Iranian musicology. My initial observations in post-revolutionary Iran unveiled a nuanced and often contradictory landscape for music, shaped by the nation's extensive historical and socio-religious fabric. As a female musician, I was banned from singing solo and became a victim of a kind of patriarchy, even in the fields of performing, playing, and composing.

The study of the scientific structures of “classical” Iranian music has a rather young history in... more The study of the scientific structures of “classical” Iranian music has a rather young history in the modern period, though based on all the evidence at our disposal, it has had a millennium long premodern history. The first steps in examining the works of medieval Iranian scientist such as Farabi and Ibn Sina with their musical works as the primary subject of study began in Iran by the late Professor Barkeshli and his students and colleagues. Their endeavours set up the foundations of studying the relationship of physics to acoustics which in turn defined the parameters of the Dastgah system of Iranian music. In the present panel, Ariana Barkeshli, the Iranian concert pianist and music researcher, first provides us with a personal biographical depiction of her late father, Professor Barkeshli, and his aims and aspirations for Iranian music and culture and the steps he undertook in realizing his objectives. In “Understanding Iranian Musical Scales through the Mathematical and Physical Characteristics of Sound, Sepideh Khaksar will further delve into the actual scientific dimensions of the studies undertaken by Barkeshli and his league and finally in “Ornamentation in Classical Persian Music: A Concise History,” Ali Kazemi will discuss Tahrir as an important musical technique, an ornamental component of the Dastgah. He will argue that Tahrirs are remarkable embellishments in Iranian vocal and instrumental music which comprise more than 50 percent of the traditional performances in its millennium long history . It was introduced first by Farabi.

Panel Abstract : Music had an important position in ancient cultures. There was ‘official music... more Panel Abstract :
Music had an important position in ancient cultures. There was ‘official music’ performed in temple and palace in honour of gods, kings, and aristocrats and folk music played in the streets, squares, and taverns which brought joy to the common people. The history of Iranian music before the advent of Islam is particularly interesting, as we see early emergence of types of instruments that are still used today. Philologists and musicologists can help each other imagine how the ancient musical instruments were played and what the cultural setting of early music was. We would like to focus on artefacts and images on stringed musical instruments but like to outline the evolution of the “lute” and its distribution over different near eastern and Iranian political territories, from its first appearance in the 3rd millennium BC until the Late Antiquity in Sassanid Era.

Talks by Sepideh Khaksar

Poster in the 12th Symposium of the International Study Group on Music Archaeology, 2023

"In the realm of music archaeology, our understanding of ancient Mesopotamian and Egyptian music ... more "In the realm of music archaeology, our understanding of ancient Mesopotamian and Egyptian music is well-established through texts and depictions. However, the musical heritage of the Elamites remains a lesser-known domain. This presentation delves into the intriguing world of Elamite musical instruments, with a particular focus on the long-necked lutes and their variations in the second millennium in Susa and other Elamite-related archaeological sites, in southwest Iran.

These Middle-Elamtie bowlegged figurines enigmatically represent these instruments, presenting challenges and prompting paradoxical iconological studies. My journey through this scientific trajectory poster presentation seeks to unravel the complexities of this subject, culminating in the reconstruction of the Elamite long-necked lute, an instrument intimately connected to the specialized Mesopotamian-Elamite Lute known as 'Tigidla’.”

Egypte Afrique & Orient, 2022

Egypte Afrique & Orient, 2020

specializes in Elamite and language and culture. He is associate professor of Elamite and Achaeme... more specializes in Elamite and language and culture. He is associate professor of Elamite and Achaemenid studies at the École Pratique des Hautes Études (Paris).

When I started studying music at Tehran University in my twenties, I was led to explore the compl... more When I started studying music at Tehran University in my twenties, I was led to explore the complex field of Iranian musicology. My initial observations in post-revolutionary Iran unveiled a nuanced and often contradictory landscape for music, shaped by the nation's extensive historical and socio-religious fabric. As a female musician, I was banned from singing solo and became a victim of a kind of patriarchy, even in the fields of performing, playing, and composing.

The study of the scientific structures of “classical” Iranian music has a rather young history in... more The study of the scientific structures of “classical” Iranian music has a rather young history in the modern period, though based on all the evidence at our disposal, it has had a millennium long premodern history. The first steps in examining the works of medieval Iranian scientist such as Farabi and Ibn Sina with their musical works as the primary subject of study began in Iran by the late Professor Barkeshli and his students and colleagues. Their endeavours set up the foundations of studying the relationship of physics to acoustics which in turn defined the parameters of the Dastgah system of Iranian music. In the present panel, Ariana Barkeshli, the Iranian concert pianist and music researcher, first provides us with a personal biographical depiction of her late father, Professor Barkeshli, and his aims and aspirations for Iranian music and culture and the steps he undertook in realizing his objectives. In “Understanding Iranian Musical Scales through the Mathematical and Physical Characteristics of Sound, Sepideh Khaksar will further delve into the actual scientific dimensions of the studies undertaken by Barkeshli and his league and finally in “Ornamentation in Classical Persian Music: A Concise History,” Ali Kazemi will discuss Tahrir as an important musical technique, an ornamental component of the Dastgah. He will argue that Tahrirs are remarkable embellishments in Iranian vocal and instrumental music which comprise more than 50 percent of the traditional performances in its millennium long history . It was introduced first by Farabi.

Panel Abstract : Music had an important position in ancient cultures. There was ‘official music... more Panel Abstract :
Music had an important position in ancient cultures. There was ‘official music’ performed in temple and palace in honour of gods, kings, and aristocrats and folk music played in the streets, squares, and taverns which brought joy to the common people. The history of Iranian music before the advent of Islam is particularly interesting, as we see early emergence of types of instruments that are still used today. Philologists and musicologists can help each other imagine how the ancient musical instruments were played and what the cultural setting of early music was. We would like to focus on artefacts and images on stringed musical instruments but like to outline the evolution of the “lute” and its distribution over different near eastern and Iranian political territories, from its first appearance in the 3rd millennium BC until the Late Antiquity in Sassanid Era.

Poster in the 12th Symposium of the International Study Group on Music Archaeology, 2023

"In the realm of music archaeology, our understanding of ancient Mesopotamian and Egyptian music ... more "In the realm of music archaeology, our understanding of ancient Mesopotamian and Egyptian music is well-established through texts and depictions. However, the musical heritage of the Elamites remains a lesser-known domain. This presentation delves into the intriguing world of Elamite musical instruments, with a particular focus on the long-necked lutes and their variations in the second millennium in Susa and other Elamite-related archaeological sites, in southwest Iran.

These Middle-Elamtie bowlegged figurines enigmatically represent these instruments, presenting challenges and prompting paradoxical iconological studies. My journey through this scientific trajectory poster presentation seeks to unravel the complexities of this subject, culminating in the reconstruction of the Elamite long-necked lute, an instrument intimately connected to the specialized Mesopotamian-Elamite Lute known as 'Tigidla’.”