Commissioned by the Carpe Diem String Quartet. Reza Vali’s Calligraphies series is a set of an ongoing cycle of works based on thePersian modal system, the Dastgâh, which he has been composing since 2000. The basic compositional material of the work is derivedfrom a fast tempo genre, called the Reng, which is usually performed at the end of a traditional Persian music concert. Raak includes meter changes on almost every measure, and will phase quickly between entirely homophonic sections and sections with entirely independent parts writing.