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Ghassemi was born in Isfahan. In addition to his writing activities, he plays classical Iranian music and is a master of the Persian lute, the setar. He has composed songs for the Iranian maestro Shahram Nazeri and performed with leading Iranian vocalists, such as maestri Mohammad Reza Shajarian and Sepideh Raissadat To name a few.
His best-known composition is the last track on the classical Iranian album Gol-e Sadbarg, released in 1984. The album also includes compositions from Jalal Zolfonoun, Shahram Nazeri and Reza Ghassemi.
Since he released Gol-e Sadbarg, the Setar has enjoyed much greater popularity among Iranians. Ghassemi and his two famous colleagues mentioned above began a new era in Iranian classical music.
Although he lived in France, Ghassemi has not given up teaching Iranian music. Farrokhzad Layegh has studied the Setar with Mr. Ghassemi.
Reza Ghassemi's latest album, 14 Cheerful Pieces, featuring Iranian vocalist Sepideh Raissadat, was released in France on October 25, 2010, (by Buda Musique Records).
He has published three novels: Nocturnal Orchestra of Woods (1996), The Well of Babel (1999), and The Spell Chanted by Lambs (2002). [1] Some of his works have been translated into French. The Spell Chanted by Lambs is his first work in English.
Reza Ghassemi has also directed an award-winning film, In Full Bloom (2019).
Contemporary Persian and Classical Persian are the same language, but writers since 1900 are classified as contemporary. At one time, Persian was a common cultural language of much of the non-Arabic Islamic world. Today it is the official language of Iran, Tajikistan and one of the two official languages of Afghanistan.
