Mohamadreza Eshaghi is a well-known and respected singer and storyteller from Mazandaran.
Eshaghi is known for his powerful vocal style and his ability to tell captivating stories through his music.
The tradition of "Gusani" music, or minstrelsy, constitutes one of the primary branches of Iranian folk music. According to ancient Greek texts dating back to 500 BCE, Iranian minstrels, whether performing solo or in groups, would narrate tales of the heroic exploits of warriors and Persian champions, journeying to various corners of Iran.
Presently, these performance styles persist across the expanse of Greater Iran. In Greater Khorasan, encompassing parts of northeastern Iran, a substantial section of Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and a portion of Uzbekistan, these minstrels are known by diverse names such as "Bakhsi," "Hafez," "Sherkhaan," "Ghavval," and more.
Mohammadreza Eshaghi's performances embody all these characteristics. Eshaghi serves as a precise exemplar of Gusans, to the extent that, based on ancient Greek texts from the Achaemenid era, we can discern encountering an ancient and untouched phenomenon in the 21st century.
Nevertheless, Eshaghi's involvement extends beyond the reinterpretation of old pieces. He frequently transforms stories into poetry himself. As he narrates in interviews with The Heirs, Saffron and Salt online museum, these creations originated as follows: a story lingered in the form of a few lines of poetry, which Eshaghi heard from a storyteller in a remote village. However, the remainder of the narrative was not in poetic form; he gathered it from local individuals. At this stage, Eshaghi utilizes poetic structures to transform the remaining lines into a complete poem, integrating the entire story into poetry.
When delving into classical Persian literature and scrutinizing the activities of its most significant figures, we discover that they undertook similar endeavors. Nizami, among the five prominent poets of Iranian literature, mentions in the introduction to one of his books that he had initially encountered shortened versions of these stories, subsequently expanding and converting them into poetry.
This resemblance underscores the close connection between Iran's literary tradition and the activities of musicians and storytellers from ancient times.
