Hassan Zirak

Hassan Zirak (1921-1972), born near Bokan in Rojhilat, is the great legend of Soranî song. Unable to read or write, he composed and carried an immense repertoire in memory alone: recordings and oral tradition credit him with well over a thousand songs. His voice, plaintive and instantly recognizable, defined the sound of Soranî music for the twentieth century, and his life of poverty, fame and early death has itself become the subject of songs and films. Half a century after his death he remains among the most searched and most streamed classical Kurdish artists.