In the East, the term “tanbour” refers to a category of popular lutes of various sizes, proportions, and sounds, with the common characteristic that their necks are longer than their bodies. The sober tones of the instrument have something immaterial, abstract, and almost ascetic about them, predisposing the tanbour to a serious and celestial kind of music. The tanbour was among the instruments played at the Court of the Sassanides in the 5th and 6th centuries, and would later be used by some Kurdish groups to accompany the chants and dances of their spiritual gatherings.

For more information on the tanbour, including its repertoire, history, typology, and playing technique, please see “The Spirit of Sounds: The Unique Art of Ostad Elahi,” by Prof. Jean During (Cornwall Books 2003).