Abstract
Tabl magazine’s 15th issue, published in March 2024, contains eight articles and two interviews.
The 15th issue features an article entitled “The Voice of the Lunatic” by Mehrak Ali Sabounchi that explores the role of music and musical instruments in several cultures and mythologies, including Greece and India, and how they are associated with gods. The article then delves into how music is viewed in Iranian culture and mythology. The author explains that despite their positive connotations in other cultures, music is often associated with evil and harmful creatures in Iranian and Islamic culture and is related to demons called Divs. The article provides a detailed account of these beliefs by citing narrations from texts before and after the advent of Islam.
The second article in the 15th issue is written by Ario Tehrani on Persian literature and dramatic literature entitled “The World-creator Says: Bravo!” In this article, the author discusses the tradition of war chant among Arabs and its connection with paean writing in Arabic and Persian literature. The author then analyzes the impact of paean in Iran’s epic literature by citing examples from pre- and post-Islamic texts. Finally, the article shows how the historical tradition of war chant is connected with epic paean. By examining the texts of Shabih-khani, the author highlights how this literary genre becomes a tool for highlighting the hero’s position in Ta’zieh.
The third article in the 15th issue is titled “Living on the Inflamed Border” and is written by Saeed Anvari in sociology. In the article, the author explores the relationship between conservatism and revolutionism and how it creates the phenomenon of “revolutionary conservatives.” He draws on various thinkers’ opinions and traces the process through which the tradition became an ideological concept. The author also analyzes the poetry and music trends before and after the 1979 revolution to explain how individuals like Mohammed Reza Shajarian became heroes of the conservative-revolutionary movement.
The fourth article of the 15th issue, titled “The Chant of the Hero’s Journey,” is written by Sepand Dadbeh in culture and music. In this article, the author seeks to answer the question of how a musician configures their path while performing maqams/ dastgahs of Persian music. The article draws on the theories of Javad Tabatabaei and Ariasp Dadbeh, as well as the description of Iranian life traditions. By examining Iranian music, the author explores how a musician becomes a musician-hero by embarking on their heroic journey.
In the fifteenth issue of the magazine, there is an interview with Hossein Assaran by Mehrak Ali Sabounchi about Iranian music, titled “Someone Finally Will Come.” The conversation revolves around the definition of pop music, the relationship between lyrics and music, and the significance of pop songs in representing social and political conditions. Assaran also examines how pop music has evolved over time, starting from the 1960s and continuing through the 1970s. Additionally, he explores the connection between pop music and protest movements and how this music genre has been used to create the hero figure.
The next article in the fifteenth issue is an essay by Siavash Lotfi on Western classical music. The essay is titled “This Time Hercules Carries the Cross,” in which the author describes chapters of Beethoven’s life and analyzes some of his symphonies. By doing so, the author connects the concept of heroism with Beethoven’s music and position. Furthermore, he examines the relationship between Napoleon Bonaparte and Beethoven and delves into Beethoven’s Symphony No. 3, “Eroica.”
In the fifteenth issue, Nima Khanjani has written an article on Western classical music titled “From Commedia Dell’arte to Don Juan.” The author examines the historical course of opera and its connection with theater and music, exploring the social and artistic contexts that caused fundamental changes in European opera. The article then analyzes vocal and dramatic techniques in different centuries, delving into the evolution and consolidation of the position of heroes in European opera until the time of Mozart, culminating with the opera Don Juan.
In the 15th issue of Tabl magazine, there is an interview with Farhad Tohidi conducted by Faegheh Tabrizi in cinema and screenwriting. The interview is titled “Riding the Dialogue” and initially focuses on analyzing the term “hero” in cinema. The interview furthermore examines the role of dialogue in a script, its connection with other elements, and its significance in creating the image of the hero through his voice and words. Ultimately, the interview aims to determine what kind of dialogue is considered to be good and what place it holds in the process of creating a hero’s character.
Mehdi Malek’s article “Screams and Whispers” in issue 15 discusses cinema and film music. In this article, the author first discusses the necessary tools that a cinematic protagonist needs to become a prominent hero. Then, he explores Iranian cinema by examining Fardin’s position as an ideal hero in pre-revolutionary cinema. The article further delves into the impact and importance of music, singing, and dubbing in highlighting the role of the hero in Iranian cinema. It analyzes the critical role and position that music, especially pop music, played in accompanying and stabilizing cinema heroes in the seventies.
The last piece of the 15th issue is an essay by Ahmad Jirafar about cinema and dubbing titled “The Hero-Creator Translator.” In this essay, the author examines the historical development of dubbing in Iranian cinema and television. He begins by describing the function of the translator (Dilmaj) in the early years of cinema’s entry into Iran and goes on to explain how dubbing was introduced to Iran by the Soviet Union. The author then discusses how Esmaeil Kushan established film dubbing in Iran and gives an overview of the history of dubbing in Iran. The essay also introduces some of the best dubbers who appeared during several decades and analyzes how dubbing and the voice of a particular dubbing actor affected the original actors’ popularity and the public’s acceptance of their films.