Mahoor Institute of Culture and Arts was founded in 1987 to produce and promote original works of and on the music of Iran. After three decades of active engagement in that pursuit, it has managed to release more than 700 CDs, 300 book titles and pamphlets on music. Mahoor for the major part has concern about Persian classical music and Iranian folk music from scholarly and pedagogical aspects. The repertoires of both types of music are hugely extended and the works published by Mahoor proved to be original and privileged sources according to many scholars and musicologists. The Encyclopedia of the Musical Instruments of Iran is a remarkable example of research projects released by Mahoor. The first volume of the encyclopedia focuses on a full introduction and description of bowed and plucked chordophones of different regions of Iran, the second volume introduces the membranophones and idiophones, and the third volume deals with the aerophones. Ketâb-e Gushe is also a research project focusing on the introduction and description of old and new song titles as well as the demonstration of the differences in the features of gushes, which can be of great help to the musicians practicing them.
The Persian Classical Music series aims at promoting and exalting the Persian artistic heritage in the realm of vocal and instrumental music. It includes over 20 titles encompassing masterpieces song by Eqbal Azar, Taherzade, , Reza-Qoli Mirza Zelli, Ali-Asghar Kordestani, and played by Yusef Forutan, Sa'id Hormozi, Ali-Akbar Shahnazi, Aqa Hoseyn-Qoli, Darvish Khan and others. The most prominent Persian vocal and instrumental radifs have been introduced in Mahoor’s series of pedagogical works among which the most well-known ones were presented by Mirza Abdollah, Aqa Hoseyn-Qoli, Davami, Mehrtash and Karimi and the lesser known ones by Forutan, Hormozi and Neydavoud. Introduction to the Dastgâhs of Iranian Music (seven CDs and a book) helps Persian music lovers know and distinguish various Persian music dastgâhs.
Mahoor has also released works of Persian classical and modern literature in the form of audio series. The Tales of Ferdowsi's Shahnameh (Book of Kings) and Rostam and Sohrab aim to introduce the lovers of Persian classical literature to one of the greatest epic books of all time. The Tales of Nezami Ganjavi, Masnavi, Manteqotteir, Bustan-e Sa'di and Hafez's Sonnets are other literary masterpieces presented in this series. The tales were selected, recited and interpreted by the late Dr. MohammadJa'far Mahjub, an eminent scholar and man of letters.
81 albums of the Regional Music of Iran along with 12 dance music albums and other random works in the field have hopefully contributed to the preservation of a rich body of original folk music from all around Iran.
Mahoor Music Quarterly, with 100 issues released between the years 1998 and 2023, was a specialized periodical in the realm of music, either from Iran or other related cultures. It also introduced fundamental concepts in music and musicology. From issue 38 on, music criticism (mainly revolving around Western music) was also added and research-based and descriptive articles and critiques by specialists in the field were incorporated. Some issues were special ones on subjects such as improvisation, film scores and rhythm.
It is now being published biannually as Mahoor Journal, only presenting articles and material which have never appeared in the literature before. It still concentrates on folk music and ethnomusicology, focusing on research conducted on subjects such as classical, folk and popular musical phenomena, as well as dance genres within Iranian culture and that of territories geographically or culturally close. Fundamental ethnomusicological concepts or case studies in other cultural domains are still areas of interest, though. Reviewing and critiquing modern day issues in Persian music and analyzing written or audio works of different eras comprise yet another part of the journal, which may be extended to exploring works in Western classical/contemporary music which have somehow employed Iranian elements.