Three singers in one larynx

This article was originally published in Honare Mousighi Monthly in issue No. 175.

Translated by Mahboube Khalvati

Sima Bina (b. 1945) is a unique singer among the singers of Golha radio programmes which were broadcast on Iranian National Radio for 23 years from 1956 to 1979. She received her first lessons in music from her father who was a poet, a musician and the most important supporter of Sima’s cultural activities. Coming from this background, Sima Bina started her career in the radio as a child and became the first serious promoter of folk music in the Iranian radio. Sima Bina was so much at the centre of attention that Davoud Pirnia launched “Golhaye Sahrai” (Flowers of the Desert) radio programmes based on her solo singing (avaz). The young Sima, however, did not confine herself to this success and studied Iranian dastgah music besides re-working Iranian folk music.
In the 1970s, in terms of signing style [1] , Sima Bina showed her abilities in singing in three different styles, namely, singing with symphony or chamber orchestras, with Iranian instrument orchestra when she performed folk music and in performing folk music she showed a very different character and avaz on the stage.

audio fileListen to parts of Sima Bina’s avaz accompanied by Mohamma Reza Lotfi’s tar in Chavosh 8 album.

Sima Bina is an exceptional singer in the sense that she can change her singing style and character depending on the song she is performing. Probably Maestero Mohammad Reza Shajarian can compete with her so long as in the handful of folk songs he has performed his style and character is widely different from those he has performed with Iranian instrument orchestras and large western instrument orchestras.

Sima Bina performed the folk songaudio file “Aziz beshin be kenarom”with Culture and Arts National Instruments Orchestra directed by Maestro Faramarz Payvar before she was even 25 years old. Her understanding of the folk song and her mastery of the music made her able to song with such a unique edition. The very same song can be the basis for sociological research on the hidden aspects of a strong rural woman’s character as depicted in Sima Bina’s performance of the song.

Yet, the Sima Bina who performed songs such asaudio file “Ba bolbol sheida” composed by Hassan Yousef Zamani and Javad Maroufi with Golha Orchestra reveals the character of a modern woman raised in the context of the classical culture. The change of the environment and music also transformed her singing style and edition [2] and depicts the proper ambiance for the audience.

Performing the repertoire of Iranian dastgah music with large western and Iranian instruments, Sima Bina reveals a partially different character and style influenced by the teachings of her dastgah music masters. Moreover, her singing style is less feminine and is characterized by more tahrir.
Sima Bina’s one-of-a-kind capability in singing in three different styles and singing editions lays in the fact that she always maintains a health voice in terms of the larynx anatomy and health.
Finally, I believe that observing the above-mentioned principles and having a good demeanor are the main reasons for Sima Bina’s ever-lasting presence for the public opinion and among musicians.

Footnotes:
[1] Singing style refers to the shape of vocal chords while singing which can be changed by the singer according to the form of avaz he/she sings.

[2] Edit or edition is a concept in the western classical music which refers to the personal edit of the musician, either instrumentalists or singers, which is characterized by glissandos, vibrations, nuances and so on.

Post a Comment

Required fields are marked *
*
*
Your email is never shared.

Farhad Poupel: The Voice of the Shahnameh in the Orchestras Around the World

In an era when almost no trace of contemporary Iranian music can be heard in international concert halls, except (so-called!) avant-garde works that owe their existence solely to the fashionable slogans of the “pseudo-intellectual” crowd who have seized the already meager resources for performing classical music from the true artists of the field, the numerous performances of Farhad Poupel’s works shine as a ray of hope for lovers of sincere musical art. Without resorting to trendy slogans, he has kept the flame of Iranian classical music alive purely through the power of his artistry.

Five Major Myths About Mozart’s Life

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, the renowned Austrian composer, is undoubtedly one of the greatest geniuses in the history of classical music. However, his life is surrounded by numerous myths and legends, some of which are not based on facts. This article explores five of the most common misconceptions about Mozart’s life.

From Past Days…

Principles of Violin Playing (X)

Creating sound continuity between two notes in the source and destination positions when left hand position changes and “two different finger numbers” are involved is called portamento. Portamento can be performed on single string or two neighboring strings and with hand moving on fingerboard either upward or downward.

Leading the Charge in Censorship

Davoud Pirnia, writer and musicologist was the founder of “Golha” (Flowers of Persian Song and Music) programs on Tehran Radio (1956-1966). He received his early education from his father, Hassan Pirnia (Moshir al-Douleh), and several tutors of the time (Taraghi, interview, July 1989) and continued his studies at Saint Louis School in Tehran and then in Switzerland and graduated in law. While studying law, Pirnia got acquainted with European classical music. Upon returning to Iran, he was employed by the Ministry of Justice and founded the Lawyers’ Guild. Then he was transferred to the Ministry of Finance and established the Department of Statistics in this ministry. Later, he became the head of the state inspection office at the Prime Ministry; he was, then, promoted to the position of the Deputy Prime Minister (Navab Safa, interview, August 1999)

From Tradition to Trend: The Evolution of Decorative Arts in Iranian Dafs

Daf is one of the percussion instruments associated with the Kurdistan region of Iran, which has a special place in Iranian music. In the past, animal skin was used for the drum head, but now most of the tambourines in the market are made with artificial skin, which are designed with various decorations.

Polyphony in Iranian Music (III)

In heterophonic variant, two performers perform a single melody simultaneously and change it. Performing and changing a single melody simultaneously by two performers leads to the coincidence of different voices.

A note on “Illusion or Ingenuity” article

The author of the “Illusion or Ingenuity” article, who is apprehensive of the future of the Music in Iran, enumerates some symptoms of the music weakening in the country for example decreasing in the quality of the music as well as lack of the innovation in creating them, a gradual decline in the music public taste and the drop in the application of layered sound and polyphony in music. He explains that one reason for this gradual weakening might be our unawareness of the fact that we are not so intelligent nation. He believes that we, Iranians, have a comprehensive “Illusion of the high national intelligence “that make us ignorant of the unfavorable realities of our music and consequently no searching for the remedy is taking place. His point of view brings to the mind a patient who thinks he is healthy, therefore delays the treatment and finally is killed by the disease. The author also refers to the national difficulties which gradually will lower the national intelligence score such as the increased rate of the immigration and brain drain, low quality of the nutrition, incompetence of the education system and etc and predicts that the condition of the music of Iran might deteriorate in the future because of the mentioned illusion of its great status.

Farhad Poupel’s piece, Road to Bach, performed at Suntory Hall

On June 19, 2021 , young Iranian composer and pianist, Farhad Poupel’s piece, Road to Bach, was performed at the prestigious Suntory Hall by the great Japanese pianist, Kotaro Fukuma. The piece was commissioned by Kotaro Fukuma to have its world premiere in Suntory Hall during a concert by the same name.

Kayvan Mirhadi and O.R.P Qaurtet

Establishing O.R.P. Quartet is Kayvan Mirhadi’s latest activity as a guitarist, composer and conductor of Kamerata Orchestra. Besides working with this Quartet, Mirhadi is busy these days recording and mixing some of his own works as well as some pieces by 20th century composers. O.R.P Quartet performed a concert in Rasht, Gilan Province in late May 2016 and offered a master class.

A Look at Ali Tajvidi’s Manifold Musical Activities (II)

Tajvidi thought of studying harmony and orchestration with Houshang Ostvar (who was eight years younger than him) at a time when he had gained a reputation among musicians. His humbleness, making him willing to kneel before the scholars at any age and position, became the key to his scientific success. After this period, Tajvidi made some of his works polyphonic, the most prominent of which is “Burn” set to a poem by Abdullah Ulfat. However, his ability to make his works polyphonic was not so great to make him self-sufficient; so he depended on musicians such as Farhad Fakhreddini, Fereydoun Naseri, Kambiz Roshanravan, Fereydoun Shahbazian and Morteza Hananeh for the arrangement of his compositions.

Iranian Fallacies – School of Vaziri

Iranian Fallacies – School of Vaziri

The term “School of Vaziri” is often used in writings on Iranian music, but the exact meaning of the term is not clear; some of the authors have used the term to only refer to the group of Vaziri’s students, including a large group of his conservatory students and his Tar students such as Abolhassan Saba, Rouhollah Khaleghi, Ahmad Foroutan Rad, Hossein Sanjari, Heshmat Sanjari and others. But can we consider all Vaziri’s students as followers of his school of thought? This is definitely a mistake, because we know that some of Vaziri’s students have chosen a completely different path than that of Vaziri.

Qanun, a feminized instrument?

In the world music culture, there are instruments which were traditionally associated with a certain gender. It remains disputable to what extent these gender-based perceptions have been logical and scientific. For example, as playing wind instruments need more breath strength and the public opinion believe that men have stronger breath compared to women, these instruments are predominantly a male domain. Harp is also considered a female instrument as the public opinion believe that women have finer fingers and can therefore better perform nuances and delicate techniques on the instrument.