Mehdi Aminian Ensemble  - Woven Sounds

In Iran, an old, unique cultural tradition is threatening to disappear: the so-called Pattern Singing. This next to the folk songs are work songs which are sung by weavers as they knot their carpets. Pattern singing literally means that the pattern templates of the carpets are sung to the other carpet weavers. The carpet patterns are transferred into music patterns  which are sung for the other co-weavers. In the past six years, the Iranian ethnomusicologist and composer Mehdi Aminian, who lives in Vienna, has researched and documented the intangible cultural heritage of carpet weaving in Iran. With the performance of "Woven Sounds" at the Morgenland Festival, Mehdi Aminian and his fellow musicians will give an invaluable glimpse into the unique and vanishing repertoire around carpet weaving in an experimental approach that combines music performance with the art of weaving on stage.  This project reflects the cultural history of the country and the importance that the art of weaving has in people's daily life and identity.