Bahar Movahed – Together Yet Alone (Adhyropa Records, 2026)
California-based Iranian vocalist Bahar Movahed has released Together Yet Alone. The project reunites Movahed with her Persian classical roots. Here, she continues her a years-long collaboration with Tehran-based composer and musician Navid Dehghan.
The album emerged from an unusual creative process that was meticulously crafted across continents during the COVID-19 pandemic. Movahed, who is based in California, spent more than a year developing material with Dehghan through remote rehearsals before traveling to Tehran in November 2021 to record with his 14-piece Ghamar Ensemble during a three-day studio session. The result is a delightful, timeless recording with masterful, impeccable, and moving vocals accompanied by exquisite, virtuosic instrumental performance.
Together Yet Alone follows Goblet of Eternal Light (2012), which Movahed recorded in Iran with Kurdish tanbur master Ali Akbar Moradi and released after relocating to the United States in 2010. While the earlier album focused on Kurdish repertoire, Movahed describes the new release as her first solo album in Farsi and an opportunity to present the artistic development she has pursued over the past decade and a half.
The album also carries broader cultural significance. Movahed has said the project is dedicated to women in Iran whose opportunities to perform as solo vocalists remain restricted. She describes the recording as both a personal artistic statement and a reflection of the experiences of many female singers whose voices often go unheard.
Among its notable achievements, Together Yet Alone is presented as the first album by a female vocalist in the Rast-Panjgah mode, widely regarded as one of the most demanding forms within the Persian dastgāh system.
The album features a range of ensemble settings, from sparse non-metric pieces such as “In Grace of Light” and “Your Lips” to larger-scale works including the title track, “Minstrel,” and the closing piece “Jest.” The repertoire presents poetry spanning roughly eight centuries, with texts by classical writers including Rumi and Saadi alongside modern poets such as Houshang Ebtehaj and Siavash Kasraei.
In parallel with the album release, Movahed has expanded into visual media. Director Nilofar Zubihi created an animated video for “Crack of Dawn,” while Movahed took a more active role in developing the narrative concept for the title track’s video.
Although Movahed acknowledges that the album is unlikely to receive an official release in Iran, she views its completion as a significant milestone after years of creative development, recording, and label negotiations. Looking ahead, she hopes to bring the music to live audiences through future concert performances.
Bahar Movahed shared: “My heart has never left Iran. In these breathtaking and heart-wrenching days, while my body lives far from its soil, my heartbeat still echoes there, in its streets, in its voices, in the courage of its people. Like so many in the diaspora, I live in a space of deep contradiction: together in spirit, yet alone in distance. This pain, this longing, and this quiet resilience are woven into my music. Together Yet Alone was born from that very place, the shared sorrow and shared hope of a people whose hearts beat as one, even when separated by borders and silence. And still I believe: that this long night will pass, that light will return, and that Iran’s beauty, dignity, and voice will rise again.”
Movahed trained in Tehran under leading figures of Persian classical music, including Parissa, Shahram Nazeri, Hamid Reza Noorbakhsh, and Mohammad Reza Shajarian. Today, she works as a pediatric orthodontist in Orange County, California, while continuing her musical career.
Buy Together Yet Alone.
Author: Angel Romero
Angel Romero y Ruiz has dedicated his life to musical exploration. His efforts included the creation of two online portals, worldmusiccentral.org and musicasdelmundo.com. In addition, Angel is the co-founder of the Transglobal World Music Chart, a panel of world music DJs and writers that celebrates global sounds. Furthermore, he delved into the record business, producing world music studio albums and compilations. His works have appeared on Alula Records, Ellipsis Arts, Indígena Records and Music of the World.