MELA Notes

The archiving of Persian classical music (PCM) through recording and transcription has developed significantly over the past century, shaped by political, technological, and cultural forces. While oral transmission has always been central to PCM, early twentieth-century efforts began to document the tradition through both sound recording and musical notation. These practices gained momentum under the Pahlavi dynasty, when modernization initiatives and growing nationalism emphasized the preservation of Iranian cultural heritage. Advancements in recording technologies, such as vinyl and cassette tapes, made it possible to capture performances and transmit them beyond ephemeral gatherings. A pivotal institutional development was the founding of the Markaz-e Hefz-o Esha’eh-ye Musiqi-ye Irāni (‘Center for Preservation and Propagation of Iranian Music’) by Dariush Safvat in the 1970s, fully supported by National Iranian Radio and Television. The Center combined oral pedagogy with recording and archiving, training a new generation of musicians who would continue these efforts after the 1979 revolution. As the Islamic Republic imposed new restrictions on musical performance, much of the archival work shifted to private spaces, but eventually resurfaced through private initiatives and independent publishers. The improvisatory and context-sensitive nature of PCM poses challenges for archival methods, as recordings and transcriptions often remove the music from its social and spiritual contexts. Nonetheless, a hybrid model has emerged in which oral transmission, documentation, and performance coexist. In recent decades, there has also been increased attention to power dynamics in music preservation, leading to more inclusive efforts to archive regional, minority, and sacred traditions. Thus, the history of PCM archiving reflects not only technological and institutional shifts but also evolving aesthetic and ethical