booklet

© 2018 Persian Dutch Network P.O. Box 92 225, 1090 AE Amsterdam, The Netherlands Production Manager: Pejman Akbarzadeh Design: Babak Zare, Text Editor: Tori Egherman2018 Production is funded by Stratham Group & Kayhan Londo Special Thanks to Ali Razi, Nazenin Ansari Kambiz Atabai, Majid Afshar WARNING: Unauthorized Public Performance, Broadcasting and Copying of this compact disc prohibited

AN INTRODUCTIONThe first Persian choral compositions, employing the harmonic technique of western music,were written by Rubik (Ruben) Gregorian in the 1940s. Gregorian was the head of the Teh-ran Conservatory and the conductor of Tehran Symphony Orchestra. His arrangements ofmore than a dozen folksongs, from different parts of the country, in 4-parts harmony, werepublished in 1948. This was a pioneering work and shows that Persian folk melodies can becompatible with the harmonic system of western music.Beginning in the 1950s, a Persian composer Samin Baghcheban and his Turkish wife Evlincontributed to the advancement of choral music in Persia [Iran]. Evlin, an opera singer,played a key role as the conductor of the Tehran Conservatory Choir and in 1967 she found-ed the Tehran Choral Group for which Samin composed a number of pieces based on folksongs. In Baghcheban compositions, folk melodies are not used in a literal fashion. They aresources for inspiration and are subjected to varied compositional devices including the useof drones and imitations. Three of his arrangements are included in the recently discoveredrecordings that can be heard in the present CD.In 1972, Alfred Mardoyan was commissioned by the Ministry of Culture and Arts in Tehranto found a National Choir. With this choir, Mardoyan performed the repertoire of folk songsas well as some of his own harmonized arrangements of compositions in Persian modes byother composers, such as Rouhollah Khaleghi’s Rudaki’s Lyre.After the revolution of 1978/79 and the establishment of the Islamic Republic, initially mostmusical institutions and performing groups, including the National Choir, were disbanded.However, gradually some performing groups were reinstated. Although many musiciansand singers had left the country, most of the remaining choir members joined the resurrect-ed Tehran Symphony Choir and the State Television Choir, both of which operated underrestrictive conditions.In the 1990s, new choral groups were formed in Tehran, including the Bahman Cultural Cen-tre Choir conducted by Mehdi Niknam and the Tehran City Choir conducted by Mehdi Gha-semi. Also, in this period Persian-Armenian composer Sergey Aghajanian made new choralarrangements of a number of folk songs that were performed by the Tehran SymphonyChoir, conducted by Gorgen Mousession, and by other choral ensembles.Pejman AkbarzadehAmsterdam, March 2018

Farah Choir, conducted by Evlin Baghcheban, Tehran, 1977. (Photo: Collection of Pejman Akbarzadeh)

FARAH CHOIRIn 1973, the Queen Farah Pahlavi Foundation commissioned Evlin Baghcheban to establish a conservatory of music in Tehran for orphan children. In this school, she organized a choral group called the Farah Choir. This choir gave its first public concert in November1974. Queen Farah and her four children were in attendance. In the years before the fall of the monarchy this choir gave regular concerts throughout the country. In 1978 the choir was despatched to Vienna in order to make a recording of Samin Baghcheban’s RanginKamoun (Rainbow), a collection of pieces for children, and a group of Persian folk songs in choral arrangement.By the time the recording was finished in Austria, Persia was in turmoil with the revolutionthat brought the Islamists to power, when all musical activity, including the Farah Conserv- atory and its choir, were closed down. The Rangin Kamun album was later published in Tehran on cassette, with the name FarahChoir changed to Mithra Choir. Yet the recording of Persian folk songs was neglected untilthe summer of 2010, when Evlin Baghcheban, just few months before her death, passed on materials to the musician and documentary maker Pejman Akbarzadeh who was trying to preserve the Baghchebans’ musical heritage. The Persian Dutch Network is proud to release this rare historical collection for the first time in 2018, the year that marks the 40th anniversary of the recording.

EVLIN BAGHCHEBANEvlin Orge-Baghcheban was born in 1928 in a French-Turkish family in Mersin. She studiedpiano and singing at the Ankara State Conservatory. Shortly before graduation she marriedSamin Baghcheban, a Persian composer who was also studying in Ankara.Soon after moving to Persia in 1951, Evlin wasengaged as a singing instructor and the conductorof the Tehran Conservatory Choir.In 1967 she founded the Tehran Choral Group.Baghcheban also appeared in many operaticproductions at the Rudaki Hall (Tehran OperaHouse), performing lead mezzo-soprano roles.In 1967, she was chosen to conduct choralpresentations in the coronation ceremonies of theShah. In 1973, Mrs Baghcheban founded the FarahChoir, consisting of children and young adultswhom she selected from among 3000 residentsof orphanages throughout the country. After the 1979 Islamic Revolution and theestablishment of a theocracy, despite theregime’s hostility to musical activity, Mr andMrs Baghcheban remained in Persia [Iran] andcontinued with their teaching responsibilities.However, in 1983, in view of restrictive and oppressive conditions, they decided to moveto Turkey.Evlin Baghcheban died in 2010 in Istanbul at age 81. She is survived by three sons: Kambiz,Kaveh and Farhang. Kaveh is a composition professor at Technical University of Istanbuland Farhang is a double-bass player with the Istanbul Opera Orchestra.

‫آواز گروهی در ایران و «گروه همسرایان فرح»‬‫در دهـه ‪ ۱۹۴۰‬بـرای نخسـتین بـار تعـدادی از ترانههـای محلـی ایرانـی بـرای آواز گروهـی ( ُکـر) بـه شـیوه غربـی‬‫تنظیـم شـد‪ .‬ایـن کار توسـط روبیـک گریگوریـان‪ ،‬موسـیقیدان ایرانی‪-‬ارمنـی انجـام شـد کـه در آن زمـان چندیـن‬‫سـال مدیـر هنرسـتان عالـی موسـیقی و رهبـر ارکسـتر سـمفونیک تهـران بـود‪ .‬پـس از او در اوایـل دهـه ‪۱۹۵۰‬‬‫فعالیتهـای جـدی بـرای گسـترش آواز گروهـی در ایـران از سـوی ا ِولیـن اُرگـه (باغچهبـان)‪ ،‬خواننـده اهـل ترکیـه‬‫انجــام شــد‪ .‬ا ِولیــن کــه در زمــان تحصیــل در کنســرواتوار آنــکارا بــا ثمیــن باغچهبــان‪ ،‬آهنگســاز ایرانــی ازدواج‬‫کـرده بـود‪ ،‬مدتـی پـس از ورود بـه تهـران‪ ،‬رهبـری آواز گروهـی هنرسـتان عالـی موسـیقی را در دسـت گرفـت‪.‬‬‫او همچنیـن در سـال ‪ ۱۹۶۷‬گـروه ُکـر تهـران را بنیـان نهـاد کـه در مراسـم تاجگـذاری نیـز عهدهـدار اجـرای آواز‬ ‫گروهـی بـود‪.‬‬‫در سـال ‪ ۱۹۷۲‬وزارت فرهنـگ و هنـر از آلفـرد ماردویـان درخواسـت کـرد تـا « ُکـر ملـی» را ایجـاد کنـد‪ .‬چنـدی بعـد‬‫«بنیـاد خیریـه فـرح پهلـوی» بـه ا ِولیـن باغچهبـان ماموریـت داد بـا جسـتجو در مراکـز شـبانهروزی کـه کـودکان‬ ‫بیسرپرسـت را نگهـداری میکردنـد یـک گـروه ُکـر ایجـاد کنـد‪.‬‬‫در نوامبـر ‪ ۱۹۷۴‬نخسـتین کنسـرت «گـروه هم ُسـرایان فـرح» در تهـران برگـزار شـد‪ .‬اجـرا بـا اسـتقبال مـردم و‬‫رسـانهها مواجـه شـد و برنامههـای اجرایـی گـروه در سـالهای بعـد در سراسـر ایـران ادامـه پیـدا کـرد‪ .‬در پاییـز‬‫‪ُ « ۱۹۷۸‬کـر فـرح» بـرای ضبـط دو آلبـوم بـه اتریـش اعـزام شـد‪« :‬رنگیـن کمـون» (سـاختههای ثمیـن باغچهبـان‬‫بـرای کـودکان) و مجموعهـای از ترانههـای محلـی ایـران بـرای آواز گروهـی‪ .‬ضبـط در ویـن بـه پایـان رسـید ولـی‬‫بازگشـت گـروه بـه تهـران بـا انقـاب اسـامی همزمـان شـد‪ .‬انتشـار آلبومـی زیـر نـام «گـروه همسـرایان فـرح»‬‫دیگـر ممکـن نبـود‪ .‬چنـد سـال بعـد «رنگیـن کمـون» بـا تغییـر نـام «همسـرایان فـرح» بـه «همسـرایان میتـرا» بـه‬ ‫صـورت کاسـت در تهـران منتشـر شـد ولـی ضبطهـای گـروه از ترانههـای محلـی ایـران از یادهـا رفـت‪.‬‬‫خانـواده باغچهبـان در پـی محدودیتهـای پیـش آمـده بـه ترکیـه مهاجـرت کـرد و شـرایط تـازه‪ ،‬اشـتیاق و امـکان‬ ‫بـرای پیگیـری کارهـای گذشـته را از آنهـا گرفـت‪.‬‬‫ا ِولیــن باغچهبــان تنهــا چنــد مــاه پیــش از درگذشــت در اســتانبول‪ ،‬ریلهــای ضبــط شــده در ویــن را در اختیــار‬‫پژمـان اکبـرزاده قـرار داد کـه در تـاش بـود از فرامـوش شـد ِن میـراث خانـواده باغچهبـان در موسـیقی ایـران‬ ‫جلوگیــری کنــد‪.‬‬‫«شـبکه ایرانیـان هلنـد» مفتخـر اسـت کـه در چهلمیـن سـالگرد ضبـط ایـن آثـار‪ ،‬آنهـا را ترمیـم و بـرای نخسـتینبار‬ ‫منتشـر کنـد‪ .‬نشـر آثـار بـا پشـتیبانی مالـی «اسـتراتام گـروپ» و «کیهـان لنـدن» ممکـن شـده اسـت‪.‬‬ ‫سرپرست پروژه‪ :‬پژمان اکبرزاده طراح‪ :‬بابک زارع ویراستار متن انگلیسی‪ :‬توری ایگرمان‬ ‫با سپاس از علی رازی‪ ،‬نازنین انصاری‪ ،‬کامبیز آتابای‪ ،‬مجید افشار‬

Queen Farah Diba (Pahlavi) and her children Prince Reza, Princess Farahnaz, Prince Ali-Reza and Princess Leila; among the members of “Farah Choir” after their first concert in Tehran, Nov. 1974.