On a day, nearly eight centuries ago, when the sky could have been a clear brilliant blue, a young man found inspiration in the golden light of an intense sun. A chance encounter with a luminousPersian poet and wandering dervish turned that young man, Mawlānā Jalāl-ad-Dīn Muhammad Balkhī, or Rumi, into a mystic and poet and is likely responsible for his tens of thousands of lines of original verse. For Rumi, the man he met—Shams-i Tabrīzī—was not just a muse in the traditional sense of the word, as merely a source of inspiration for art, but also a partner in creation. Shams, whose name means sun in Arabic, became Rumi’s friend, teacher and subject of affection. But sunny skies are ever-fleeting and after the duo spent several years together, Shams walked out the door one night, never to return and is presumed to have been murdered. Much of Rumi’s verses, and specifically ghazals, were composed during his time with, and after the disappearance of, Shams. This body of Rumi’s work spans the emotional arc of that relationship from its onset marked by sparks and undeniable elation of their union to the emptiness he felt after Shams’ departure. The tracks in this album aim to take the listener on a similar journey, portraying with music the dazzling colors of passion, the exhaustion and fragility of longing and the helplessness of loss.
In Shams, Rumi found not just his sun and capacity to love but also his art. And through Rumi’s verses, for hundreds of years since that fateful day, artists have discovered not merely an account of the two brought together by some cosmic force, but also their own creativity and the many shades of tenderness. Although Rumi’s sky paled when his sun departed, the impact of their affection will continue to shine forever and a day.
