The reference for traditional and authentic Iranian music
The reference for traditional and authentic Iranian music
Hassan Kassaee, according to himself, was born on Mehr 3, 1307 (September 25, 1928) into a merchant family. His father, “Seyed Javad Kassaee,” was a well-known merchant of Isfahan at that time and, due to his interest and familiarity with music, associated with masters and elders of that time such as Seyed Hossein Taherzadeh, Jalaluddin Taj Isfahani, Akbar Khan Norouzi, the Shahnaz family (Shaban-Khan, Hossein Agha, Ali Agha, and Jalil Shahnaz), Gholamhossein Saranj, and Adib Khansari. So much so that Agha Seyed Javad’s house was a gathering place for reunion and also for the music and singing of famous Isfahan music masters. These comings and goings caused Hassan Kassaee to become acquainted with music from childhood and, over time, develop a great interest, especially in the Ney (Persian flute).
Hassan Kassaee learned singing and the musical modes of Iranian music from Taj Isfahani and Adib Khansari for a while, and learned the Ney from Mehdi Navai. Whenever he went to Tehran, he used Abolhasan Saba’s classes.
After the death of Mehdi Navai, Kassaee continued to use the companionship of Isfahani musicians to master Ney playing. Playing with stringed instruments such as the Tar and Setar introduced him to the different scales of Iranian music more than before, so that for the first time he performed the Chahargah, Isfahan, Nava, and Rast Panjgah Dastgahs with accurate tuning and in full. Kassaee also benefited greatly from Abolhasan Saba, and it can be said that Kassaee’s Setar playing style is a souvenir of his intimacy with this artist. Kassaee’s Setar playing is a combination of Jalil Shahnaz’s Tar playing and Abolhasan Saba’s Setar playing.
Kassaee, in 1329 (1950), took the Ney to the orchestra for the first time and started his collaboration with the Isfahan Army Radio Orchestra. In later years, he continued his activities in this field with numerous radio orchestras under the direction of artists such as Abolhasan Saba, Hossein Yahaghi, Habibullah Badiei, Mohammad Mirnaghibi, Homayoun Khorram, and others. In 1335 (1956), he was invited by Davood Pirnia to the Golha program and collaborated with this series of programs until 1357 (1978), when he participated in Golchin Hafteh.
Hassan Kassaee passed away on Khordad 25, 1391 (June 14, 2012), after spending 2 months in a coma.
The works collected from this artist are on khosousi website as below:
