
Iranian women and Persian music
Maryam Akhondy (born 1957) is a classical trained singer from
Tehran
Tehran (; , ''Tehrân'') is the capital and largest city of Iran. It is the capital of Tehran province, and the administrative center for Tehran County and its Central District (Tehran County), Central District. With a population of around 9. ...
, Iran. She was student of Ostad Esmail Mehrtasch and Ostad Nassrollah Nassehpour, two masters of
classical Iranian music. Because of the difficult situation for artists, especially
female artists, in Iran after the
Islamic Revolution of 1979
The Iranian Revolution (, ), also known as the 1979 Revolution, or the Islamic Revolution of 1979 (, ) was a series of events that culminated in the overthrow of the Pahlavi dynasty in 1979. The revolution led to the replacement of the Impe ...
, she moved to Europe and, since 1986, has lived in
Cologne
Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...
, Germany.
After 1986, Maryam Akhondy started working with other Iranian musicians in exile. With Nawa and Tschakawak, two groups of
traditional Iranian musicians, she performed in Germany and
Scandinavia
Scandinavia is a subregion#Europe, subregion of northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. It can sometimes also ...
.
At the same time she founded Ensemble Barbad, a group with three to five musicians, all classical trained artists. Barbad has been touring all over Europe for the past years. Maryam Akhondy and Ensemble Barbad's newest project is called ''Sarmast'', which means intoxicated, in this case intoxicated by the lyrics of the great
Iranian poets, such as
Hafez
(), known by his pen name Hafez ( or 'the keeper'; 1325–1390) or Hafiz,
“Ḥāfeẓ” designates someoone who has learned the Qurʾān by heart" also known by his nickname Lisan al-Ghaib ('the tongue of the unseen'), was a Persian lyri ...
and others. ''Sarmast'' is Akhondy's own compositions in the style of classical Persian
art
Art is a diverse range of cultural activity centered around ''works'' utilizing creative or imaginative talents, which are expected to evoke a worthwhile experience, generally through an expression of emotional power, conceptual ideas, tec ...
and
music
Music is the arrangement of sound to create some combination of Musical form, form, harmony, melody, rhythm, or otherwise Musical expression, expressive content. Music is generally agreed to be a cultural universal that is present in all hum ...
. The CD ''Sarmast – Iranian art music for texts of Persian poets'' was published in 2006.
Between 1999 and 2000, Maryam Akhondy created an all-female
a cappella
Music performed a cappella ( , , ; ), less commonly spelled acapella in English, is music performed by a singer or a singing group without instrumental accompaniment. The term ''a cappella'' was originally intended to differentiate between Rena ...
group, Banu, because in
Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...
, it is difficult for female singers to appear publicly. Only for religious rituals, called
Tazieh, are they allowed to make music. Furthermore, for men it is forbidden to listen to the singing of women. Therefore, for
Iranian women
Throughout history, women in Iran have played numerous roles, and contributed in many ways, to Iranian society. Historically, tradition maintained that women be confined to their homes to manage the household and raise children. During the P ...
, singing is possible only in private sphere, where women are alone or among themselves: at the cradle, doing housework, working in the fields, and women's celebrations. Maryam Akhondy made it her business to bring traditional women's songs back to life again. Over the years, she has been collecting songs and published them in 2004 on her album ''Banu – Songs of Persian Women''.
Banu, named after the
Persian word for noble lady or distinguished lady, is a kind of musical expedition to the different
regions
In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth's surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and ...
and
cultures
Culture ( ) is a concept that encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and Social norm, norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, Social norm, customs, capabilities, Attitude (psychology), attitudes ...
of Iran. It gives an informative view of the singing culture and self-confidence of the
Persian women. Most of these songs are full of life and energy, accompanied by various percussion instruments. This is quite unusual for
Iranian music
The music of Iran encompasses music produced by Iranian artists. In addition to the traditional folk and classical genres, it also includes pop and internationally celebrated styles such as jazz, rock, and hip hop.
Iranian music influenced oth ...
which is often more serene and melancholic. But these old folk songs are funny, ironic and give a view of the Iranian woman when she is in private. The women of Banu have been touring in Europe, Turkey and Tunisia until 2012.
Maryam Akhondy's creative work includes the research of old Persian music of the pre-Islamic age as well. In her musical creation "Music in Praise of Ahura Mazda" she merges traditional Iranian art music and lyrics, which has to do with the old Zoroastrian religion and philosophy. First performances had been at Musica Sacra International Festival 2012 in Füssen, Isny and Kaufbeuren (Germany).
Maryam Akhondy as a soloist has also done non-Iranian collaborations with the
Schäl Sick Brass Band of Cologne between 1994 and 1999, with Mike Herting during the
Ruhrtriennale
The Ruhrtriennale ( compound of ''Ruhr'' and ''triennale'' "lasting 3 years"), also known as Ruhr Triennale, was founded in 2002 and is a music and arts festival in the Ruhr-area of Germany which runs between mid-August and mid-October, and happen ...
in 2008, and with
Bobby McFerrin
Robert Keith McFerrin Jr. (born March 11, 1950) is an American singer, songwriter, and conductor (music), conductor. His Vocal pedagogy, vocal techniques include singing fluidly but with quick and considerable jumps in Pitch (music), pitch—fo ...
in 2009.
In 2023 Maryam Akhondy received the renowned WDR Jazz Prize in the category "Music Cultures
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Akhondy, Maryam
1957 births
Living people
20th-century Iranian women singers
Exiles of the Iranian Revolution in Germany
Persian-language singers of Iran
Persian-language singers of Germany