Musa Marufi, Musician

Musa Khan Marufi is a renowned Iranian musician who went to visit Ostad Elahi several times during the late 50s. In a magazine article published in The Music of Iran, he described Ostad Elahi's tanbour playing as follows, without referencing him by name:

I heard the tanbour of a great spiritual man who had achieved perfection in this art. His music so overwhelmed me that I felt as though I no longer belonged to this world. More astonishing still was that this music intoxicated me for several days and caused me to turn inward, to the point that I no longer paid any attention to the material world. When I finally returned to my normal state, I asked myself: 'How strange, if this is music, then what is that which we hear daily?'

Ruhollah Khaleqi, Composer, Former Director of the National Academy of Music

Master Ruhollah Khaleqi, the Director of the National Academy of Music, visited Ostad Elahi a few times during the 50s to listen to his music. After several visits, he decided to transcribe some of Ostad Elahi's melodies, but after a few attempts admitted that the intricacies of the tanbour and in particular Ostad Elahi's playing style could not be transcribed and thus relinquished his efforts. Later, in a book entitled The Story of Persian Music, he wrote the following about Ostad Elahi's tanbour:

In the old days there were two kinds of tanbour: the tanbour of Khorasan and the tanbour of Baghdad. This lute featured two strings and was played using a pick with the fingers of the right hand; it is regularly played in Kurdistan today. Even in Tehran, one of the honorable judges who may not wish me to cite him by name plays this lute with the utmost proficiency and performs the ancient Kurdish melodies (which merit a separate discussion altogether) with absolute beauty. The names of these melodies are in pure Persian, and bear little resemblance to our contemporary music.

Taghi Tafazzoli, Literary Scholar and Music Enthusiast

Dr. Taghi Tafazzoli, a scholar and Director of the Iranian Parliamentary Library, was among Ostad Elahi's admirers and visited him often. The following is his description of one of the gatherings he attended with Ostad Elahi's family members and a few close friends:

Ostad Elahi began to play . . . in the semi-darkness of the room I could distinguish the heads of the participants swaying as they were joining his chant and repeating the words. These sounds and movements added to the fervor of the gathering and plunged everyone into a state of ecstasy and joy. The sound of the tanbour became fuller and more passionate, producing an amazing rhythm that resonated throughout the entire room. In the semi-darkness, one could trace shifting lines that would ripple and come together. Some were raising their hands and swinging them in a rhythmic manner. It was no longer an agitation, but a raging sea. An incredible fervor had taken hold of us . . . but the state of Ostad himself was even more marvelous. In the twilight of the room, his face was marked with an extraordinary splendor: he resembled a captain at the helm of a ship caught in a storm, intent on returning it safely to harbor. Then the music stopped. For a few moments, nobody could say a word and there was sheer silence. The atmosphere of the room was luminous and bathed in spirituality; it was a strange and ineffable state . . . a sweet scent lingered over the gathering.

Maurice Béjart, Choreographer and Ballet Director

Maurice Béjart travelled to Iran in 1973 and rendered several ballets at the Shiraz Arts Festival. During this trip, he went to visit Ostad Elahi to hear his music. After his visit, he said:

Ostad Elahi was an extraordinary musician. He never played in public, nor did he ever make any recordings of his music or play for anyone other than those who were close to him. He played for me and truly opened a doorway to me. It is through music that I understood. . . . Ostad Elahi did not speak French, and I did not speak Persian. He played music . . . and I cannot convey through words what I lived or experienced . . . this encounter induced a great change in my life, in my existence, and in my thought.

Sir Yehudi Menuhin, Musician

Sir Yehudi Menuhin, the great violinist and musical virtuoso, went to see Ostad Elahi in Iran in the 60s to hear his music firsthand. Astonished by what he had heard, he relayed the following to his companion after the visit:

This extraordinary musician was able to maintain a tension and concentration that I never imagined possible in the limited interval of a fourth or a fifth . . . it seemed extraordinary to me that one's musical interest could be maintained within the scope of such a narrow interval. Never had I heard anything like it; it is the first time that I experienced such an effect. Never had I experienced a musical piece that stayed within the interval of a fourth for at least half an hour! It was very sensitive, very powerful music, and at the same time very precise and pure. I couldn't believe what I was hearing, its refined power, exactly like some sort of laser. . . .