Samin Baghtcheban ( fa, ثمین باغچهبان , tr, Samin Bahçeban) (variations: Baghcheban, Baqcheban, Bahceban) (1923 – 19 March 2008) was an Iranian
composer, author and translator.
Biography
Samin Baghtcheban was born in 1925 in
Tabriz
Tabriz ( fa, تبریز ; ) is a city in northwestern Iran, serving as the capital of East Azerbaijan Province. It is the sixth-most-populous city in Iran. In the Quru River valley in Iran's historic Azerbaijan region between long ridges of vo ...
, Persia (modern Iran) and grew up in
Shiraz
Shiraz (; fa, شیراز, Širâz ) is the fifth-most-populous city of Iran and the capital of Fars Province, which has been historically known as Pars () and Persis. As of the 2016 national census, the population of the city was 1,565,572 ...
and
Tehran
Tehran (; fa, تهران ) is the largest city in Tehran Province and the Capital city, capital of Iran. With a population of around 9 million in the city and around 16 million in the larger metropolitan area of Greater Tehran, Tehran is th ...
, where his father established the first modern kindergartens and schools for the deaf in Iran. His father,
Jabbar Baghtcheban, was a leading educator and pioneer of
Persian cued speech
Cued speech is a visual system of communication used with and among deaf or hard-of-hearing people. It is a phonemic-based system which makes traditionally spoken languages accessible by using a small number of handshapes, known as cues (represe ...
.
Samin Baghcheban started his music studies at the Tehran Conservatory of Music. In 1944 Samin Baghtcheban was awarded a scholarship to study composition in
Ankara State Conservatory. He returned to Tehran in 1949 and started teaching at the Conservatory.
He was married to the opera singer,
Evelyn Baghtcheban, whom he met while studying in
Ankara
Ankara ( , ; ), historically known as Ancyra and Angora, is the capital of Turkey. Located in the central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5.1 million in its urban center and over 5.7 million in Ankara Province, mak ...
.
In 1984 he moved to Turkey with his family where he continued his activities and composed several new pieces, some of which were performed by Manouchehr Sahbai in Switzerland.
He died on 19 March 2008 in Istanbul.
Compositions
Throughout his career he composed numerous pieces inspired by the Persian folk music or mythology. His most popular work is ''
Rangin Kamoon
Rangin or Rangeen ( fa, رنگ, link=no, ''colorful'') may refer to:
People
*Rangin Dadfar Spanta, former Afghan politician and cabinet member in Hamid Karzai's government
*Saadat Yaar Khan Rangin, 18th/19th century Urdu poet
Other
*"Rangin", a s ...
(Rainbow)'', a collection of compositions for children (for choire and orchestra) which was recorded in 1978 in Vienna.
Other Works:
* ''Persian Compositions for Voice and Piano'' (including 4 pieces: 1- ''Ruba'i'' No. 1: ''Do Zolfoonet'' (Your two braids) (1950) Text: Baba-Taher (11th-century Persian poet). 2- ''To Ra Mikham'' (I want you) (1952) Text: Folklore. 3- ''Sorood-e Saba'' (Saba's song) (1956) Text: Sa'di (13th-century poet). 4- ''Gahvareh-ye Khali'' (Empty cradle) (1957) Text: the composer), published in 2018, on the 10th death anniversary of the composer.
* ''Sholeyl'' (for string orchestra)
* ''Boumivar'' (in 3 movements) for orchestra.
* ''Chaharshanbeh-Souri''
Baghcheban also arranged various Persian folk songs for the choir. Some of his arrangements were performed by Tehran Choral Group and the Farah Choir in the 1960s and 1970s.
Literary works
Between 1948 and 1979, in addition to his composition activities, he wrote and translated several books and articles. Baghtcheban translated several books by Turkish authors
Nazim Hikmet,
Yaşar Kemal
Yaşar Kemal (born Kemal Sadık Gökçeli; 6 October 1923 – 28 February 2015) was a Turkish writer and human rights activist and one of Turkey's leading writers. He received 38 awards during his lifetime and had been a candidate for the Nobel ...
and introduced the humorist
Aziz Nesin
Aziz Nesin (; born Mehmet Nusret, 20 December 1915 – 6 July 1995) was a Turkish writer, humorist and the author of more than 100 books. Born in a time when Turks did not have official surnames, he had to adopt one after the Surname Law of 1 ...
to Iranians.
In 1963, along with a group of prominent teachers and educators, including Lily Ahi,
Touran Mirhadi and Abbas Yamini Sharif, Baghtcheban confounded the Children's Book Council (CBC) of Iran. The council is an NGO focused on developing and promoting children's literature in Iran.
References
External links
My brother Samin (برادرم ثمین) a multimedia presentation on Baghtchehban's life, ''Jadid online''
Samin Baghtcheban dead ثمین باغچه بان درگذشت BBC Persian
Rangin Kamoon was our childhood...In memory of Samin Baghtcheban رنگین کمان کودکی ما بود...؛ به یاد ثمین باغچه بان Obituary in BBC Persian
Book review of Baghtcheban's ''Snapshots from My Father'' نقدي بر کتاب چهره هايي از پدرمNorouz is coming... نوروز تو راهه... Article on Rangin Kamoon album
Rangin Kamoon (رنگین کمان) A small tribute to Rangin Kamoon Album
{{DEFAULTSORT:Baghtcheban, Samin
Azerbaijani-language writers
1925 births
2008 deaths
Iranian composers
Iranian translators
People from Tabriz
Iranian emigrants to Turkey
Turkish people of Iranian descent
Ankara State Conservatory alumni
20th-century translators