‘Bards Apart?’ – A musical performance of the poems of Robert Burns and Hafez

By kind invitation of SOAS, this event is open to all. Tickets cost £10 (£5 for students) and can be obtained online only via the following link 

A Musical Performance of Scottish and Persian Songs and Poems by Robert Burns & Hafez

with guitar and santur accompaniment.

We are grateful to the Azima Foundation, the British Council, the London Middle East Institute and SOAS, University of London for their generous support for this event.

 Robert Burns: Ploughman Poet, Scotia’s Bard, Master of the Standard Habbie. Hafez: Master of the Ghazal, his Divan in every Iranian home, his work unsurpassed in Persian literature. Separated by four centuries and over 4000 miles, by culture, by history, by religion, by language, they can’t really have anything in common – can they? Are Burns and Hafez “Bards Apart” or have they got far more in common than that which divides them?

Join us for this lively and light-hearted event in celebration of both these great poets and you – the audience – will decide! In keeping with the traditions of both Scotland and Iran, the two bards’ key poems and songs will be performed with a bit of context and discussion. For those who don’t understand Persian – or 18th century Scots – we have English subtitles!

Performed by Talking Sheep: the acclaimed group from Edinburgh

https://talkingsheep.scot/#burns_beginners

CLICK THIS LINK TO SEE LIVE VIDEO RECORDING OF THIS EVENT   Bards Apart event.mp4

For Robert Burns:             Mark Meiklejohn, Mark Percival, Valerie Sim

For Hafez:                             Parmis Mozafari, Saeed Talajooy

Master of Ceremonies:  Lucy Deacon, a Scots Persian scholar, who will explain it all!