Other audio included Iran’s first recorded call to prayer in either 1912 or 1913, and the 1959 report on the death of Qamar, the first woman singer to perform in public in the country.
One striking installation at the exhibition involved a mechanical device mounted on a concrete wall with gears, chains, wheels and a lever which played old recordings of the stringed tar instrument through retro telephone handsets.
Another, “Mowj Negar”, featured printed sound waves arranged in three rows on one wall, with a metal device which moved along the waves.
When moved, the device activates melodies from the Qajar and early Pahlavi (1925-1979) eras that once echoed through Iran’s grand palaces and bustling city streets.
Nearby stood a wooden cabinet named “The Silent Closet”, displaying a series of photos from the First World War -— but without a single accompanying sound.
“There are no sound recordings from Iran during this period, not because technology was unavailable, but likely because the country was in such turmoil that recording sound was not a priority,” said Atabak Axon, another exhibition organiser.
“There was a 12-year silence that remains a mysterious void in Iran’s auditory history.”
For centuries, sound has played a central role in Persian culture, connecting belief with poetry and identity.
For 21-year-old Sarvin Faizian, visiting the exhibition with friends was a deeply moving experience “as if I was experiencing my parents’ past.”
Similarly, Fatemeh Sadeghi described feeling overwhelmed by nostalgia, while 63-year-old Kamran Asadi found the exhibition unexpectedly personal.
“It is a very good and intimate atmosphere for me,” he said, lingering on an old song playing in the background.
“It is good for the younger generation to learn where Iran’s heritage of music and art came from.”
© 2025 AFP