Spanish, Iranian singers team up for Barcelona festival

TEHRAN,May 26(MNA) -- Iranian singer Mohammad Motamedi along with Spaniard Rosario La Tremendita will be presenting the repertoire “Qasida”, a selection of popular Persian poetry, at the Ciutat Flamenco Festival in Barcelona today. Rosario La Tremendita is one of the most promising figures of today’s flamenco artists who had accompanied the group at the Dutch Flamenco Biennial in 2011. Kamancheh player Sina Jahan-Abadi is also accompanying the group, Motamedi told MNA on Friday. “Persian music and Spanish music, especially flamenco, have common roots. But I also aimed to preserve the Persian origins of the song, so I decided to perform it in Iranian styles of music with a selection of Persian poetry from Hafez and Baba Taher (11th century),” Motamedi said. He added that the composition is based on Iranian Dastgahi music. Dastgah is a set of notes, their features, and an associated group of traditional melodies that constitute the basis for improvising a performance. The Ciutat Flamenco Festival is taking place in Barcelona from May 23 to 26. Motamedi has previously performed Qasida in several other festivals including Germany and the Netherlands.