Balladry in the Qajar Period

Balladry flourished in Iran since the end of the Qajar period and at the threshold of the constitutionalism movement, and most of the ballads of this period reflect the ideals of the constitutionalists and the political and social conditions of that era. These ballads can be divided into two parts: - Ballads written by unknown poets and in most of them there is not much connection between poetry and music. - The ballads written by well-known poets and musicians such as Ali Akbar Sheida and Arif Qazvini, and there is a deep connection between poetry and music in them, which is the result of two factors: - the scientific and precise familiarity of the ballad makers with the techniques and concepts of Dastgāh (musical systems) [divisions!] and gušeh of Iranian music. – Their Familiarity with composition that has made the deep connection between poetry and music in the best possible way. The themes of these ballads are also of two types: - Romantic themes which are the natural continuation of balladry in the past era and the pre-eminent creator of such themes is Ali Akbar Sheida. - Themes that include the celebration of freedom and national goals, and the pioneer of this kind of thematization is Arif Qazvini, who created a movement in balladry, and later, people like Amir Jahid followed his style.