--------------------------------------------------- The Dastgah system and medieval European modes: Some observations and comparisons --------------------------------------------------- Two great world musical traditions based on modal concepts are the Persian dastgah system and the system of medieval European modes. The purpose of this paper is to suggest a few parallels and comparisons between these systems, thus providing a perspective from which both may be appreciated in richer context. This paper is warmly dedicated to Shaahin Mohaajeri, who asked me about the medieval European modes, and has been very helpful in educating me about the dastgah system and radif. ----------------------------------------- 1. Introduction and historical background ----------------------------------------- In Iranian music, according to a widely accepted view, there are seven dastgah-ha or modal families and five avaz-ha or "sub-dastgahs" related to these, for 12 modal types in all. Interestingly, in the European modal tradition of the medieval era there are eight basic modal types, plus some variations or "mixed" modes, of which four were later recognized in the 16th century as basic modal types in their own right, for a total of 12 in all. Before describing these 12 modal types, we might helpfully consider a few general points regarding Persian and European approaches to modal structure and intonation. One main difference between these approaches is that the European modes are generally formed from only two basic types of adjacent intervals or steps: whole tones and semitones. In a medieval approach up to about the middle of the 15th century, these steps in theory and often likely in practice have ratios of 9:8 (about 204 cents) for the tone and 256:243 (about 90 cents) for the usual semitone. These same types of steps, the tone and semitone, also occur in the medieval magham systems (Arabic maqam, Persian magham, Kurdish maqame or maghma, Turkish makam) which in Persia ultimately led to the dastgah system. Further the tuning of these steps at around 9:8 for the tone and 256:243 for the semitone -- or 204 and 90 cents -- is described in some medieval sources and still commonly practiced in Persian classic music as reported by scholars such as Hormoz Farhat and Dariush Anooshfar. However, Persian music like the magham/dastgah family of traditions generally also features neutral steps and intervals which until the 20th century seem to have occurred only rarely in recorded classical European music. Thus maqam/dastgah music often favored neutral seconds in a range somewhere between a semitone and a tone, for example, according to Farhat, about 125-170 cents in modern Persian practice. Sizes of neutral seconds may somewhat vary from style to style and from region to region among performers of magham/dastgah music. Thus both the modern Maqam Bayyati in an Egyptian practice and Shur Dastgah have a lower tetrachord (Arabic jins, Persian dang) above the final or mayeh (the note of rest or repose) with a small neutral second, large neutral second, and tone. However, it appears that the small neutral second may be somewhat larger in contemporary Egyptian practice as reported by Scott Marcus (about 135-145 cents) than in Persian practice as reported by Farhat and Anooshfar (about 125-140 cents). The use of these neutral steps means a far greater variety of tetrachords and modal types in a magham/dastgah approach than in a European modal approach based on tones and semitones only. Also, the many types of neutral as well as major or minor intervals that may occur simultaneously between two or more voices opens rich possibilities for polyphony in a magham or dastgah style, although so far the tradition has very effectively focused on melodic subtleties rather than on complex polyphonic textures or counterpoint. Indeed, one dilemma for dastgah-based polyphony is how to enrich a texture while respecting the integrity of the melodic material, especially in performances closely related to the tradition of the radif. One might say that the challenge is to create beauty with the vast range of simultaneous or harmonic intervals to which the dastgah system can give rise in a polyphony setting, while at the same time letting the traditional melodies or gusheh-ha be clearly heard. In Europe, while composed polyphony had by the 12th century become a common form of artistic expression, the composition of single melodies also continued as a widespread art form until about the 14th century, after which polyphony was the general compositional norm. The use of neutral intervals in European music, for a single voice or polyphonic, seems to have been favored by a few composers or theorists of this period, but not to have gained any general recognition in the European literature. Thus writing in 1317-1318, or shortly after the epoch of Qutb-al-Din al-Shirazi, Marchettus of Padua recommended the use in polyphony of a step called the _chroma_ which he described as having a size equal to "four of the five parts of a tone." While scholars still debate the precise size of this interval which Marchettus may have intended, the _chroma_ might well have a size somewhere near the 12:11 neutral second (about 151 cents) reported by al-Farabi as used in the famous 'oud tuning of Mansur Zalzal. It should be emphasized, however, that for Marchettus the chroma was evidently a "special" interval used in certain directed polyphonic progressions or cadences, rather than a usual interval for use in building tetrachords and modes, as in magham/dastgah music. Also, there have been suggestions that some signs in at least one medieval European music manuscript might have had a meaning rather like the koron or sori; but, if so, this was not generally recognized practice. Later on, in 1555, Nicola Vicentino described his _archicembalo_ or "superharpsichord" with 36 notes per octave, including a third which he called "proximate minor" -- that is, somewhat larger than a usual minor third, but smaller than major. He found it rather pleasing, and used it in some of his music, but this did not become a standard practice. Also, throughout these centuries, some popular instruments such as bagpipes may have been tuned in a style favoring some neutral thirds -- but this is not recorded in the composed music which has come down to use (a very small fraction of actual practice, likely based mainly on improvisation, as also in the tradition of the radif). Thus in the medieval and Renaissance eras Europe developed and used a subtle modal system and evolved rich forms of polyphony -- but generally based on modes with patterns of two basic steps, the tone and semitone, in contrast to the magham/dastgah traditions where neutral seconds are also basic steps. Nevertheless, the eight modes of the medieval European tradition, together with some variations which led to the recognition of 12 modes during the 16th century, provide an amazingly diverse basis for melody and polyphony -- if not quite so varied as the modes of the magham/dastgah traditions. ---------------------- 1.1. Polyphony to 1650 ---------------------- Interestingly, polyphony seems to have been first reported at just about the same time, the later 9th century, both in the Arabic literature and in the Latin literature of Europe, with two of the best-known music theorists, Ibn Sina of Persia and Guido d'Arezzo of Italy, writing about polyphonic techniques in the earlier 11th century. Ibn Sina describes a technique of _tarkib_ (literally "compounding" or "mixing") in which two pitches are sounded at the same time, for example at the interval of a fourth (4:3) or fifth (3:2). Guido, discussing a similar technique among singers, uses the term _diaphony_ or "singing apart" in pleasing concord. For Guido, as for writers such as Ibn Sina, polyphony was evidently more of an improvised ornament to music than a technique for use in written composition. However, during the 11th-12th century period in Europe, collections of composed polyphony became more common, and by around 1200, compositions for three or four voices were regularly produced, as by the great Perotin and his colleagues. This is a very sophisticated art with a subtle balance between the melodic independence of each voice and the overall sonority of the ensemble. By the early 14th century, some regular inflections were in use based a desire for certain types of simultaneous intervals in directed progressions or cadences. These inflections became, at least in polyphonic music, an expected part of the modal system -- as can also happen in magham or dastgah music. For some information on these inflections, please see: During these centuries, the system of tuning many intervals through a series of pure 3:2 fifths or 4:3 fourths, known in Europe as Pythagorean tuning, very nicely served most kinds of polyphony in use -- as it has also nicely served many forms of magham/dastgah music, and helps to determine the size of intervals such as minor or major thirds, for example. The basic rule, which can also be applied today in one style of dastgah-based polyphony, is that fifths and fourths, together with unisons (1:1) and octaves (2:1), are stable intervals serving as points of rest or repose. Other intervals, including seconds, thirds, sixths, and sevenths, are more active, and ultimately seek resolution to stable intervals. (In a dastgah-based style, these unstable intervals may be neutral as well as major or minor types found in an historical medieval European style.) For some information about style and intonation in medieval European music, please see: During the 15th century, however, intonational fashions in Europe shifted toward simpler and smoother ratios for major and minor thirds and sixths, which required some changes (and complications) in tuning keyboards such as organs or harpsichords. Typically each regular fifth was tuned slightly narrow -- or each fourth slightly wide -- so as to bring major and minor thirds closer to the ratios of 5:4 and 6:5 (about 386 and 316 cents, by comparison to the Pythagorean 81:64 and 32:27 at about 408 and 294 cents, typical of earlier medieval practice as well as medieval and current Arabic/Persian/Kurdish/Turkish practice, where a range of sizes may prevail). The technique of 16th-century polyphony was focused on artfully combining several voices -- often four -- so as to form a smooth series of sonorities featuring thirds and sixths as the era's ideal consonances. Distinctions between the various modes -- eight basic modes at the beginning of the century, and 12 by its middle -- could be heard both in the melodic patterns used and in the patterns of polyphonic cadences and the color of the vertical consonances that prevailed. Theorists such as Vicentino also discussed and advocated the art of sometimes shifting from one mode to another in a pleasing way, for example to express the emotions of a poetic text -- a bit like shifting from gusheh to gusheh, or sometimes dastgah to dastgah, in classic Persian music. Around 1600, there was a special interest in more aptly expressing a text by using certain novel dissonances -- especially striking against the background of a style seeking delicately to regulate and perfect the balance of smooth consonance and carefully controlled dissonance. Also, fluid inflections involving sharps and flats were used for special effects, producing a dramatic music quite remarkable for any world culture, as with the art of Claudio Monteverdi. ----------------------------------------------------------- 1.2. Major/minor tonality and revival of the European modes ----------------------------------------------------------- However, it seems that around 1630-1670, composers tended gradually to make some of the new dissonances a regular part of their style while at the same time restricting some of the traditional fluidity and flexibility of the modal system. By the last decades of the 17th century, the result was what came to be known as major/minor tonality, the main system of organization for 18th-19th century classical European music. Instead of eight or 12 modes, composition was based on two basic tonal types: major or minor. During the 18th-19th century era, the traditional modes were often regarded as "obsolete" -- although Kirnberger (1771) found them very valuable and the appropriate choice for church music, and 19th-century composers such as Beethoven and Chopin sometimes drew on modal materials. By around 1900, a time of exciting developments in European music influenced by some experience of other world traditions (e.g. Javanese or Balinese gamelan music), the diversity of the traditional modal system had come back into favor, with composers such as Debussy, and later Bartok and Vaughan Williams, using these modes with inspiration both from classic polyphony and from popular or folk music styles. In recent years there has been interest not only in performing and learning from historical modal styles, which can serve as the basis for new compositions or improvisations, but also in using some of the historical tunings such as Pythagorean intonation, or developing new tunings with similar as well as new features. Unfortunately, the term "European classical music" often suggests to people specifically the 18th and 19th centuries, rather than also the equally great modal traditions of the previous centuries which exert renewed influence today in the early 21st century. A balanced view should recognize the greatness of each century and style -- with the awareness, of course, that the composed music which has come down to us from the medieval era represents only a small sample of what was then performed. For someone trained mainly in medieval and Renaissance European music, the dastgah tradition and the radif provides a very healthy perspective on the importance of oral transmission and improvisation. ------------------------ 2. The eight basic modes ------------------------ In the medieval European tradition, a "mode" can have some related but distinct meanings. First, a mode may be seen as a kind of "octave species," that is, an arrangement of tones and semitones -- or tetrachords and pentachords -- which makes up an octave. In the second approach, a "mode" also represents a kind of "procedure" for moving from the beginning through the middle and to the end of a song or other composition -- rather as with the aqaz or starting note, shahed or note of emphasis, ist or stopping-note for an internal cadence, and mayeh or resting note to conclude upon, in a dastgah or gusheh. Here Arabic speaks of a _sayr_ or "path" which a performer follows in a given magham, and Turkish likewise of a _seyir_. The early European modal system grew more as a system of classification for the liturgical melodies in use than as a pre-determined compositional system. It did, however, exert some influence on composers -- although not in a rigid way. Some compositions around 1200, for example, have sections where the key signature changes, yielding artful contrasts of color. The system recognizes four basic families of modes, each based on an octave scale with a given final or note of repose (like the mayeh in a dastgah). The first family is based on an octave species of D-D, with a final of D; the second likewise on a final of E (E-E scale); the third on a final of F (F-F); and the fourth on a final of G (G-G). These are the untransposed forms, without accidental signatures -- although, as we shall see, the step B often serves as a moteqayyer or changeable note which can shift to Bb, so that the situation is a bit more complicated than this basic discussion might suggest. These four families are sometimes known by the Greek-derived terms _protus_ or "first" for the D-family; _deuterus_ or "second" for the E-family; _tritus_ or "third" for the F-family; and _tetrardus_ or "fourth" for the G-family. Additionally, certain Greek names which in Classic times had referred to somewhat different scale patterns became associated in medieval times with these four modal family. Thus the D-mode or protus family is also known as the Dorian family; the E-mode or deuterus family as the Phrygian family; the F-mode or tritus family as the Lydian family; and the G-mode or tetrardus family as the Mixolydian family. It has been fairly pointed out that the use of these Greek terms in a sense differing from the Classic understanding may reflect the sparsity of Greek musical sources and their knowledge in early medieval Europe -- in contrast to the situation in the Islamic world, which proved a rich font and origin for the European cultural revival of the 12th and 13th centuries. At the same time, there may be a general human tendency sometimes to use the same name for different musical modes or patterns, as with Maqam Hijaz in the Arabic or Turkish tradition (with a lower tetrachord similar to Chahargah Dastgah) and the notably different gusheh Hejaz of Avaz-e Abuata. Within each of the four families, there are two modes sharing the same final, but differing in their characteristic _ranges_, or the way that the octave species is built around the final. Thus in authentic Dorian, the octave starts up from the final, with a fifth or pentachord D-A followed by a fourth or tetrachord A-D. In the plagal form of the mode, however, known as Hypodorian, the usual octave range consists of a tetrachord starting a fourth below the final (A-D) plus a pentachord above it (D-A), so that the final is the fourth step of this regular octave. The following table shows this pattern of authentic and plagal modes for all four families, and the numbering of the eight modes. For each mode, two principal notes are shown: the final or mayeh which serves as the usual conclusion, and the _confinal_ or shahed which often receives special emphasis in the course of a melody or song. The confinal may also be called the "reciting tone," and also in some literature the "dominant," although the last term can cause complications because of its somewhat different use in the theory of major/minor tonality during the 18th and 19th centuries. Here, in fact, I have used Persian terms: Protus or Dorian (Modes 1 and 2) Authentic D Dorian, Mode 1 Plagal D Hypodorian, Mode 2 Mayeh Shahed Mayeh Shahed D E F G A B C D A B C D E F G A |---------------|-------------| |-------------|----------------| Deuterus or Phrygian (Modes 3 and 4) Authentic E Phrygian, Mode 3 Plagal E Hypophrygian, Mode 4 Mayeh Shahed Mayeh Shahed E F G A B C D E B C D E F G A B |---------------|-------------| |-------------|----------------| Tritus or Lydian (Modes 5 and 6) Authentic F Lydian, Mode 5 Plagal F Hypolydian, Mode 6 Mayeh Shahed Mayeh Shahed F G A B C D E F C D E F G A B C |---------------|-------------| |-------------|----------------| Tetrardus or Mixolydiann (Modes 7 and 8) Authentic G Mixolydian, Mode 7 Plagal G Hypomixolydian, Mode 8 Mayeh Shahed Mayeh Shahed G A B C D E F G D E F G A B C D |---------------|-------------| |------------|----------------| Note especially that while the final is the same for both authentic and plagal forms of a given family -- given respectively odd and even numbers -- the confinal or shahed varies between these forms. In authentic forms, it is usually the fifth above the final -- but in Mode 3 or Phyrgian on E it became standardized on C rather than B, perhaps in part because of the nature of B/Bb as a moteqayyer. In the plagal or even-numbered modes, the confinal may be either a third above the final, as in protus and tritus (Modes 2, 6); or a fourth, as in deuterus and tetrardus (Modes 4, 8). This variety in the placement of the confinal or shahed is somewhat like that of the dastgah system. There may be a range of choices for notes corresponding to the Persian aqaz or starting note, and ist or stopping note for phrases or internal cadences. In D Dorian (Mode 1), for example, we have the mayeh at D and the shahed at the fifth A; but a melody might also have as its aqaz or opening note C below the final, for example; and use E or F, the second or third above the final, as an ist on which to conclude phrases within the piece. --------------------------------------------------------- 3. Some avaz-ha of the basic families: The 12-mode system --------------------------------------------------------- These are the eight main European medieval modes. It should not be supposed, however, that every piece fit neatly into this scheme: it was rather a scheme of classification which influenced rather than rigidly constrained new improvisations or composed pieces. A good way of understanding this eight-mode system, and how it could encompass various "mixed modes" or inflected forms, some later recognized as distinctt modes in their own right, is to consider the characteristic quality of each of the four families. Thus the protus or Dorian family is unique in having a pentachord above the final of tone-semitone-tone-tone (D-E-F-G-A in the untransposed forms with a final of D), or T-s-T-T for short. The deuterus or Phrygian family is unique in the s-T-T-T pattern of its pentachord above the final (E-F-G-A-B in the untransposed forms) with the interval of a minor second above the final or mayeh. The tritus or Lydian family, with a final of F in untransposed forms, is unique in having a semitone below the final or its octave (E-F). The tetrardus or Mixolydian family, with an untransposed final of G, is unique in having a step a tone below the final (F-G) plus a pentachord of T-T-S-T (G-A-B-C-D) above it. This understanding of the uniqueness of each of the four families can be helpful in approaching an enriching complication of the system: the use of the step B/Bb as an often shifting moteqqayer. The fluidity of B/Bb was especially noted in the protus (Dorian) and tritus (Lydian) families. Sometimes B in its natural form would be favored in ascending passages, but Bb in many descending passages -- rather as with the moteqqayer A/Ap on the fifth degree of Shur. If used consistently, Bb might be seen as bringing about a transposition in which one octave species was changed to another. However, for protus and tritus, the forms with consistent use of Bb were seen as variations within their basic families. Let us consider why this might be so. In the protus or Dorian family, inflecting B consistently to Bb gives the mode a different color, but does not alter the patterns that make the mode unique in the system of four families. Thus, showing the tones and semitones as 'T' and 's': Dorian (Mode 1) with Bb signature Hypodorian (Mode 2) with Bb signature T s T T s T T s T T T s T T D E F G A Bb C D A Bb C D E F G A |---------------|-------------| |-------------|----------------| Mayeh Shahed Mayeh Shahed It will be seen that these modes still have the distinguishing T-s-T-T tetrachord above the final characteristic of protus. Similarly, with tritus or Lydian, the fourth step above the final at B -- very notable, because it forms an augmented fourth or tritone rather than a perfect fourth with the final (F-B) -- is often altered to Bb in certain types of descending passages, and sometimes throughout a piece by the use of a signature. While the use of both forms is a very colorful feature of many medieval melodies and also polyphonic pieces, even the consistent use of Bb does not alter another unique feature of the tritus family, the semitone step below the final: Lydian (Mode 5) with Bb Hypolydian (Mode 6) with Bb T T s T T T s T T s T T s T F G A Bb C D E F C D E F G A Bb C |---------------|-------------| |-------------|----------------| Mayeh Shahed Mayeh Shahed What about deuterus or Phrygian? Here Bb is rather less common, in part, one might conclude, because this note forms a diminished rather than perfect fifth above the final or mayeh. In traditional European theory, it seems, a perfect fifth above the final is necessary to define a "proper" mode, and an inflection introducing a diminished fifth might be heard as questionable. However, in practice, this inflection does sometimes occur -- just as Ap is used as a lowered fifth in Shur -- with great expressive potential in either the European or Persian system. Because of the importance of the perfect fifth above the final, this would normally occur in a European context as an inflection within a piece rather than as a signature: E Phrygian (Mode 3) with Bb E Hypophrygian (Mode 4) with Bb s T T s T T T T T T s T T s E F G A Bb C D E Bb C D E F G A Bb |--------------|------------| |---------------|----------------| Mayeh Shahed Mayeh Shahed The Bb inflection, however colorful, does not alter the distinguishing characteristic of deuterus or Phrygian: the semitone above the final. In fact, it might be argued that Bb, if used aptly, further emphasizes the special qualities of this modal family by adding to the minor second, third, sixth, and seventh steps above the final a small fifth as well. While theorists such as Zarlino in the 16th century might argue that an accidental inflection should not be used to bring out a prominently imperfect interval such as a diminished fifth above the final which would not occur in the unaltered form, such an idiom could still fit within the eight-mode system. From the standpoint of four unique modal families, it was only in the family of tetrardus or Mixolydian that the moteqqayer of Bb/B could transform one family into another if Bb were used consistently. Dorian transposed to G with Bb Hypodorian transposed to G with Bb (Mode 1) (Mode 2) T s T T T s T T s T T s T T G A Bb C D E F G D E F G A Bb C D |---------------|-------------| |------------|----------------| Mayeh Shahed Mayeh Shahed Here the Bb transforms the pentachord above the final G from tetrardus or Mixolydian (G-A-B-C-D or T-T-s-T) to protus or Dorian (G-A-Bb-C-D or T-s-T-T). Indeed, Dorian sometimes was transposed in just this way, with the transposed forms very popular in 16th-century French music, for example. Some medieval theory suggested that in pieces using tetrardus or Mixolydian, the use of Bb in alternation with the usual B might have the undesirable effect of making the mode seem like protus. However, some melodies mainly in tetrardus use the moteqqayer very beautifully, both liturgical chants and various kinds of Latin or vernacular song. At any event, the 16th century saw a desire both to describe the new methods of composition which had come into favor, and to systematize the art or science of using the modes in polyphony. This led to a system of 12 modes, still often followed by those practicing or further developing European modal styles of composition or improvisation. In the new system, the eight traditional modes were joined by four new ones. The D mode with a consistent Bb or minor sixth degree above the final, previously regarded as a coloring or one might say avaz of protus or Dorian, was regarded by Glareanus (1547), and soon by other influential theorists such as Zarlino (1558), as a distinct family of Aeolian, which in its untransposed form would have final of A. The authentic and plagal forms of Aeolian were counted as Modes 9 and 10: Authentic A Aeolian, Mode 9 Plagal A Hypoaeolian, Mode 10 T s T T s T T s T T T s T T A B C D E F G D E F G A B C D E |---------------|------------| |-------------|----------------| Mayeh Shahed Mayeh Shahed Likewise the F mode with consistent Bb was regarded as a distinct family named Ionian -- with a semitone below the final, as in Lydian, but a perfect rather than augmented fourth above it; the Ionian family in an untransposed form could be found on a final of C. The authentic and plagal modes of Ionian were numbered Modes 11 and 12: T T s T T T s T T s T T s T C D E F G A B C G A B C D E F G |--------------|------------| |-------------|----------------| Mayeh Shahed Mayeh Shahed Thus it is possible to say that there are 12 modes in European music -- the same number as the 12 Iranian modal types (seven dastgah-ha, and five avaz-ha, which some people such as Farhat also call dastgah-ha). ------------------------------ 4. Some concluding reflections ------------------------------ In my opinion, it is best to think of each European mode as a form in its own right, while recognizing some affinities. Thus the Dorian and Mixolydian families have similar pentachord and tetrachord patterns apart from the question of the third step above the final (minor in Dorian, major in Mixolydian); Aeolian and Phyrgian are likewise similar apart from the step above the final (major in Aeolian, minor in Phrygian), and so forth. At times there have been attempts to treat one mode as the source or "mother" of the others, rather as Shur is sometimes proposed as the mother of the dastgah-ha. The usual medieval numbering treats the Dorian family as _protus_ or "first" -- although this does not necessarily mean that this family has special preeminence or is regarded as the source of the others. In the later 16th and 17th centuries, Zarlino (1571 and later) and some of his followers (Lippius 1610, 1612; Bernhard 1655) suggested renumbering the modes so that the Ionian family with an untransposed final of C would be first. This could reflect both ideas about the special qualities of this mode in the 12-mode system, and also the convenience of having the six finals supporting untransposed modes with perfect fifths above the final (C, D, E, F, G, A) occur in an unbroken series. If one followed tradition and started with D, then between A and C the note B would intervene, which could not provide a natural perfect fifth (B-F was instead a diminished fifth, and using F# to obtain the perfect fifth B-F# would bring about some kind of transposed mode, for example Phyrgian, B-C-D-E-F#-G-A-B, if the steps were otherwise unaltered). In the later 17th century, as major/minor tonality developed in Europe and received theoretical recognition, it is interesting that at least oe theorist, Werckmeister, did not equate the new tonalities with any single traditional mode. Rather he remarked that one new form mixed a little Ionian and Mixolydian; and another a little Dorian and Aeolian. Later, however, major was often equated specifically with Ionian, and minor with Aeolian. From another viewpoint, one might regard Lydian as "mother of the modes," since if a series of six fifths are tuned to build a diatonic scale, the form above the starting note, F in this example, will be Lydian: F C G D A E B Such analyses may depend on a musician's personal outlook, and also the kind of melodic or polyphonic style one is considering. I consider it best to regard the European modes as equal sisters, with fascinating points of connection to the world of dastgah music and other modal traditions. Most appreciatively, Margo Schulter mschulter@calweb.com