Analyzing the Potential and Actual Feasibility of Modal Fusion in the Development of the Repertoire of Iranian Classical Music: (Case study: “Dād-o Bidād” and Dastgāh-e Shūr with Its Related Modes in Radif of Abdullāh Davāmi)

Through a combination of descriptive, analytical, and comparative methods, the present article explores and demonstrates the feasibility and method of obtaining new modal entities through modal fusions by studying two sample groups, including "Dād-o Bidād" and Dastgāh-e Shūr with its related modes in Radif of Abdullāh Davāmi. The information for this paper has been gathered through the analysis of audio and written materials as well as the author's own practical experiences. This research shows that the fusion of modal spaces based on the initiative and knowledge of the performer is a distinct process from "modulation" in Iranian classical music. In "Modgardi" (modulation) or what is known as "Morakkab Navāzi/Khāni," the border between the modal entity of "A" and "B" is wholly defined according to the modal behavior they express (for example). But in the process of "modal fusion,” the same entities "A" and "B" create a space that, depending on the narrator's ability, will be musically equivalent to "AB,” "BA," or even "C.”
One of the potential feasibilities in the repertoire is combining two modal entities and obtaining one modal entity from them. One of the prominent examples of this feasibility is "Dād-o Bidād,” invented and created by Hossein Alizādeh. This case, which is considered one of the notable examples of creativity in Iranian classical music in the musicology literature, was created by combining the modal characteristics of two entities, "Dād" from Dastgāh-e Māhūr and "Bidād" from Dastgāh-e Homāyūn.
The bottom layers of the Radif reveal that the mentioned feasibility has been used and introduced in a completely traditional manner inside the Radif. "Zirkesh-e Salmak," as a turning point in the construction of the Dastgāh-e Shūr, acts as a bridge between two general sections, "Shūr" and "Salmak" or "Shahnāz.” In this modal entity, the modal behavior of "Shūr" and "Salmak" are combined, like "Dād-o Bidād.” Therefore, the “Zirkesh-e Salmak” is considered as an initial space for the occurrence of “Salmak” at macro-level of the Dastgāh-e Shūr. Apart from "Zirkesh-e Salmak,” this potential modal feasibility has been expanded and actualized in "Afshāri" and "Dashti.” In these two Āvāz, by using the exchange of Ajnās (s. Jens) and pointing to the spaces before and after the "Salmak,” a modal behavior emerges, in which the fifth degree higher than the "Shūr" is known as a "Moteghayyer".
Based on the analysis of the present article, it is evident that "Moteghayyer" is one of the main tools in the process of modal fusion. As a result of such processes, the Ajns that have the most overlap with the entities that are used in the modal fusion process are those that have the closest relation to each other.
The concept of modal fusion lies in the definition of the concept of Mode, and it has always been an integral part of Iranian classical music, and the examples examined are only examples of this phenomenon. An additional example that can be studied separately is the poem Darmad-e Rahst Panjgah, which exhibits a compound behavior combining the traits of Māhūr and Dād.