Sima Bina ( fa, سیما بینا, ''Simā Binā'', born 4 January 1945) is an

Iranian Iranian may refer to: * Iran, a sovereign state * Iranian peoples, the speakers of the Iranian languages. The term Iranic peoples is also used for this term to distinguish the pan ethnic term from Iranian, used for the people of Iran * Iranian lan ...

traditional A tradition is a belief or behavior (folk custom) passed down within a group or society with symbolic meaning or special significance with origins in the past. A component of cultural expressions and folklore, common examples include holidays ...

musician, composer,

researcher Research is "creative and systematic work undertaken to increase the stock of knowledge". It involves the collection, organization and analysis of evidence to increase understanding of a topic, characterized by a particular attentiveness t ...

painter Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ...

and teacher, described by Radio WDR

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...

as the "grand lady of Iranian folk music". Bina's career in the performing arts has spanned more than five decades. Bina has been able to gather and revive a collection of nearly forgotten Iranian folk songs and melodies. She has done extensive research on their origin, which included collecting, recording, writing and re-interpreting popular regional music. Her works cover the entire spectrum of Iranian folk music including Mazandarani music,

Kurdish music Kurdish music refers to music performed in the Kurdish languages and Zaza-Gorani languages. The earliest study of Kurdish music was initiated by the renowned Armenian priest and composer Komitas in 1903, when he published his work ''" Chansons ...

Turkmen music The music of the nomadic and rural Turkmen people is closely related to Kyrgyz and Kazakh folk forms. Important musical traditions in Turkmen music include traveling singers and shamans called '' bakshy'', who act as healers and magicians and s ...

, Baloch music, Lur music, Shirazi music, Bakhtiari music, and the music of

North North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography. Etymology The word ''no ...

and

South Khorasan South Khorasan Province ( fa, استان خراسان جنوبی ''Ostān-e Khorāsān-e Jonūbī'') is a province located in eastern Iran. Birjand is the centre of the province. The other major cities are Ferdows, Tabas and Qaen. In 2014, it ...

Early life and career

Born in Birjand, Khorasan, in the heart of the popular tradition, she started her career on Iranian radio at the age of nine, under the guidance of her father, Ahmad Bina – a master of Iranian classical music and poet who wrote many of her early songs. Bina studied the

radif Radif ( fa, ردیف, meaning ''order'') is a rule in Persian, Turkic, and Urdu poetry which states that, in the form of poetry known as a ghazal, the second line of all the couplets (''s'' or ''shers'') ''must'' end with the ''same'' word/s. T ...

repertoire and avaz

vocal technique Vocal pedagogy is the study of the art and science of voice instruction. It is used in the teaching of singing and assists in defining what singing is, how singing works, and how proper singing technique is accomplished. Vocal pedagogy covers a ...

with great masters such as Maaroufi and Zarrin Panjeh. She went on to acquire her own solo program, ''Golhaye Sahraii'' (Flowers of the Desert), presenting a collection of folk songs and music from various regions of Iran. After graduating from

Tehran University The University of Tehran (Tehran University or UT, fa, دانشگاه تهران) is the most prominent university located in Tehran, Iran. Based on its historical, socio-cultural, and political pedigree, as well as its research and teaching p ...

in 1969, majoring in fine arts, Sima Bina continued her musical studies, and perfected her knowledge of the radif under the direction of Master Davami. Since 1993, she has accepted invitations to perform her music worldwide in festivals and organized concerts featuring

Persian classical music Persian traditional music or Iranian traditional music, also known as Persian classical music or Iranian classical music, refers to the classical music of Iran (also known as ''Persia''). It consists of characteristics developed through the cou ...

. She currently lives between

Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 million inhabitants in the city proper and 3.6 millio ...

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 ...

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkm ...

''Iranian Lullabies''

While pursuing Iranian

folksongs Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has ...

, Sima Bina often came across a variety of ethnic

lullabies A lullaby (), or cradle song, is a soothing song or piece of music that is usually played for (or sung to) children (for adults see music and sleep). The purposes of lullabies vary. In some societies they are used to pass down cultural knowledg ...

which she added to her collected works. This collection finally led to the creation of a book, called ''Iranian Lullabies'' in 2009. In this book, Bina not only shares her findings, her perception, the scores and visual expression of the selected lullabies with mothers, but also presents forty original Iranian lullabies in four volumes, where her vocals are sometimes blended in with the singing of the mothers, who had sung the lullabies to her in different parts of Iran.

References

External links

*
50 Iranian Women you Should Know: Maestra Sima Bina

Bahār Navāi, ''Motherly Hums''

(6 min 31 sec)
مستند دویچه وله درباره بانو سیما بینا، بانوی نت‌های گمشده

در اتوبوس مسافربری • پای صحبت بانو سیما بینا

نشست پزشکان ایرانی در آلمان با موضوع اخلاق و علم و اعطای نشان به بانو سیما بینا
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bina, Sima 1945 births Living people Iranian composers People from Birjand Iranian folk singers Iranian women singers Women singers on Golha Iranian women musicians Persian-language singers Kurdish-language singers University of Tehran alumni Iranian emigrants to Germany Iranian expatriates in Germany 20th-century Iranian women singers

Early life and career

''Iranian Lullabies''

See also

References

External links