Perennial flowers of Persian song and verse
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Material Information

Title:
Perennial flowers of Persian song and verse
Series Title:
Flowers of Persian song and music : the Gulha programmes
Creator:
Pirnia, Davoud, 1901-1971
SOAS University of London ( contributor )
Lewisohn, Jane ( contributor )
Nornemark, Fredrik ( contributor )
Glasgow, Jerry ( contributor )
Publication Date:
Copyright Date:
2009

Notes

General Note:
The Gulha weekly radio programmes were produced by Davoud Pirnia (1901-1971) and aired on Iranian radio between 1956 and 1979. These programmes covered the entire history of classical as well as contemporary Persian poetry, giving marvellous expression to the whole gamut of traditional Persian music and poetry.
General Note:
Based on: British Library. Endangered Archives Programme - EAP088: The Golha radio programmes (Flowers of Persian Song and Poetry)
General Note:
Booklet notes copyrighted by Jane Lewisohn
General Note:
Programme Notes by Jane Lewisohn, ‘Ali Reza Mir-'Ali-Naqi and Daryoush Pirnia
General Note:
Artwork by Fredrik Nornemark
General Note:
Recordings originally made by Davoud Pirnia between 1955 and 1957. The two programmes on this CD are taken from the Gulha digital archive assembled by Jane Lewisohn between 2006 and 2008 with a grant from the British Library’s Endangered Archives Project. Mastered by Jeremy Glasgow at SOAS, August 2008.
General Note:
Sponsored by DISMARC and the AHRC Research Centre for Cross-Cultural Music and Dance Performance
General Note:
GHULAM HUSAYN BANAN (1911-1986) was born into an aristocratic Qajar family. Banan was brought up in a family that knew classical poetry well and could recite it properly. He studied both traditional classical singing (avaz) with masters like Ziya Zakirin, Nasir Sayf and Hosayn Tahirzada (1882-1995). Banan is a singer who had mastered the traditional Qajar style of singing as well as the newer Pahlavi style. In 1955 he was invited by Davoud Pirnia to join the Gulha programmes and, until his retirement in 1966, he recorded many programmes in the Gulha-yi /avidan, Gulha-yi Rangarang, Barg-i Sabz, and Yik Shakh-i Gul series. His voice has a soft velvet-like quality and he is considered one of the greatest singers of classical Persian music.
General Note:
HUSAYN QAVAMI (1905-1991) learned to sing from 'Abdu'llah Hijazi and worked with other old masters as well. For years, due to military service and other engagements, he could not find work as a professional singer. Finally, in 1947 he was invited by the great musicologist Ruhu’llah Khaliqi (1906-1965) to work for the Iranian National Radio in Tehran. In 1955 he was invited by Davud Pirnia to perform on the Gulha programmes and he continued singing for the radio until 1975. His voice has been recorded in the Gulha-yi javidan, Gulha-yi rangarang, and Barg-i sabz programmes. His voice is mellow with a clear timbre, and his musical sense precise and reliable. Amongst the classical Iranian artists, he was especially renowned for his high ethical and mystical values. In the Gulha-yi javidan series, his style tended to be more that of singers who performed in religious circles. He was rigorously correct and clear in his pronunciation of the words in classical lyrics. At the same time he refrained from making the more complex of the voice-breaking cadenza flourishes (tahrir). He did, however, observe stirring pauses in the caesuras between phrases. His harmonics with the violinist's phrasing count amongst the most beautiful features of his performance in these programmes.
General Note:
MUHAMMAD SHIR-KHUDA'I (1926-96) was a clarinettist who studied in military bands. For 15 years (1955-1970) he performed with the Iranian National Radio, participating in the Gulha programmes. He has recorded many radio performances including compositions of his own.
General Note:
FARHANG SHARIF (b. 1932) was one of the handful of eminent tar players in the Gulha programmes, which include Lutfu'llah Majd (1918-1978) and Jalil Shahnaz (b. 1921). Born into a musical family which was a part of the early twentieth-century classical scene, he studied with the masters Abdu’l-Husayn Shahnazi (1900-1948), 'Ali-Akbar Shahnazi (1897-1984) and Murtaza Nay-Davud (1900-1990). However, his technique on the tar is like that of none of the classical masters. He has his own style, which is quite distinct, characterized by a particularly romantic manner of improvisation. His tone is mellow, yet vibrant. The mystical air of his performance strikes a special note with lovers of Iranian classical music. From 1955 to 1978 he participated in all the radio programmes of classical music, notably the Gulha series. The programme on this CD demonstrates his power in producing a sound that is delicate and subtle, with a tone that fires the imagination. The quality of his performance never varies, whether he is playing as a soloist or accompanying a singer or an ensemble. With a singer, his tar sounds like another voice, full of emotion, complementing the tones of the vocalist.
General Note:
AHMAD'I BADI (I90I-I992) was one of the greatest of the masters of the sitar in the Iranian classical tradition. He was the son of one of the most distinguished singers of the Qajar era, while he himself enjoyed a long career spanning the years from 1921 to 1978 in different venues featuring classical performance. In the period 1955-1978 he worked with the Gulha series, recording hundreds of programmes illuminated by his brilliant sitar technique.
General Note:
MURTAZA MAHJUBI (1900-1965) was considered the greatest pianist amongst classical Iranian musicians, setting the standard for piano technique in the classical genre. His genius was such that he originally learned the piano completely by ear. By the age of 20 he was the most famous professional pianist in all Iran. For twenty-three years (1940-1963) he performed for orchestras broadcast by Radio Tehran. From 1955 on, he was a regular performer for the Gulha series, for which he not only played the piano but was also wrote some of its most beautiful compositions and memorable songs. His piano technique and special sonority were readily recognized by fans of the Gulha. In addition, his compositions count amongst the great contemporary pieces in the repertoire of Iranian classical music, performed as they were by the Gulha orchestra conducted by Ruhu'llah Khaliqi.
General Note:
MIHDI KHALIDI (1919-1990) was one of the most distinguished violinists in Iranian classical music between the years 1940 and i960. His teacher was the great Abu’l-Hasan Saba (1902-1957). He had a particular violin technique of his own which can be detected in some of the performances of two other famous artists, ‘Ali Tajvidi and Parviz Yahaqqi (1935-2006) who he influenced. He performed with the Gulha programmes for four years (1955-1959), though unfortunately many of his finest works have not been recorded in these programmes. What has survived has great beauty with an air of nostalgia. A number of his melodies count amongst the most important works in the genre of Iranian classical music performed in the Gulha.
General Note:
ALI TAJVIDI (1919-2006) was considered one of the greatest of the classical artists who was among the most important performers in the Gulha, on the same plane with Murtaza Mahjubi. His principal teacher was Abu'l-Hasan Saba, though he studied with many other distinguished masters. He worked with Radio Tehran for some thirty years (1949-1979). He played the violin and composed some of the finest pieces for a large number of the Gulha programmes. Hundreds of programmes in which he has participated as both composer and performer have been recorded. The works which he has composed under the inspiration of the compositions of Mahjubi and Husayn Yahaqqi (1905-1968) are amongst the most treasured in the classical repertoire of Persian music. In the particular programme contained on this CD he provides a timbre more gentle and mellow than may be heard in other Gulha programmes. Furthermore, he presents a performance art of his own, which is simplified in such a way as to give backing so the singer can shine, whereby the subtle nuances of the mystical poetry can stand out clearly without having to compete with complexities of instrumentation.
General Note:
AMIR NASIR IFTITAH (1937-1988) was one of the most talented young performers on the tumbak from the 1950s onwards. Studying with Husayni Tehrani, he rapidly developed and mastered his own particular tone and style. He performed in some of the earliest Gulha programmes, recording numerous pieces in duet, as well as accompanying singers and orchestral performances. Experts have praised the smoothness, power and rhythmic subtlety of his performance technique enriched by his sense of the nuances of crescendo and diminuendo. This programme provides an excellent example of these features. The captivating nature of his performance is such that the listener is drawn in unawares. The effect is such that when his performance stops while the accompanying instrument carries on solo, the listener feels that the music has become stripped and is missing something.
General Note:
RIZA VARZANDA (1926-1976) was known as one of the greatest santur players of his time because of the romantic quality of his performance, radiating a free-flowing expression of imagination and boundless creativity. Born and bred in the provincial town of Kashan, his youth was spent there during the harsh years of World War II where he learned his instrument at the hand of his musical father. His talent was discovered by the famous radio singer of the time, Husayn Qavami, who invited him to Tehran, introducing him to the Gulha programmes, for which he became the leading santur performer for many years. He was known for his original style on the instrument, forged under the inspiration of two great masters, Habib Sama'i and Murtaza Mahjubi. The peak of his power is visible in the performance of rhythmic pieces involving rapid changes of pace and complexity of beat, which he mastered with precision tuning and the light touch of his sticks. In the performance of the musical mode of Sigah, accompanying the voice of Banan singing the poetry of Baba Tahir, he strives to provide the musical atmosphere harmonizing with the singer's tones in a way that evokes the mystical meaning of the lyrics with a clarity that moves the heart.
General Note:
Wikidata (name authority) : Pirnia, Davoud, 1901-1971 : URI https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6562715

Record Information

Source Institution:
SOAS University of London
Rights Management:
All applicable rights reserved by the source institution and holding location.
Resource Identifier:
SOASIS 20 ( SOAS Information Systems number )