Journal of Persianate Studies 1 (2008) 79-101 www.brill.

nl/jps

Flowers of Persian Song and Music: Davud Pirniā

and the Genesis of the Golhā Programs

Jane Lewisohn
School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London

Abstract
This article examines the ‘Flowers of Persian Song and Music’ (golhā) radio programs broadcast
during the third quarter of the 20th century on the Iran National Radio. These programs—some
1,400 of which the author has collected and deposited in the British Library—constitute an
unrivalled encyclopaedia of classical Persian music and poetry. The golhā programs introduced to
the general public over 250 poets from the ancients to the moderns, and it preserved Persian
classical music and fostered its future development. The seminal role played by Dāvud Pirniā in
founding and producing these programs is examined and explored, while highlighting the vari-
ous artists, poets, musicians, vocalists and scholars who performed in them.

Keywords
Persian music, Persian poetry, golhā, Sufism, Iranian Radio, Dāvud Pirniā

Introduction

The Golhā (Flowers of Persian Song and Music) comprise 1400 radio pro-
grams consisting of approximately 886 hours of programs broadcast over a
period of 23 years from 1956 through 1979.1 These programs are made up of
literary commentary with the declamation of poetry, which is sung with musi-
cal accompaniment, interspersed with solo musical pieces. For the twenty-
three years that these programs were broadcast, the most eminent literary

1
Thanks to a generous grant from the Endangered Archives Programme of the British Library,
I have been able to collect and digitalize the complete archive of the Golhā programs, which I
have now deposited in the World Music section of the National Sound Archive in the British
Library, where they are available and accessible to scholars and musicians for research purposes.
I would like to thank Dāvud Pirniā’s family, especially three of his sons: Daryoush (and wife
Mansoureh), Bizhan and Farrokh Pirnia for their encouragement and support for this project
from the outset. I would also like to thank so many of Mr. Pirniā’s colleagues, associates and
friends both in Iran and the West—there not being enough space to name them all here—who
have been so generous with their time and sharing their memories with me.
© Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, 2008
80 J. Lewisohn / Journal of Persianate Studies 1 (2008) 79-101

critics, famous radio announcers, singers, composers and musicians in Iran

were invited to participate in them. The programs were not only exemplars of
excellence in the sphere of music, but also highly ornate and refined examples
of literary expression, making use of a repertoire of over two hundred classical
and modern Persian poets, thus setting literary and musical standards that are
still looked up to with admiration in Iran today and referred to as an encyclo-
pedia of Persian music and poetry.
Dāvud Pirniā (June 15, 1901-Nov. 2, 1971), the founder and original pro-
ducer of these programs, was the scion of a distinguished patriotic Persian
family, which over generations had made varied and valuable contributions to
Persian literature, history-writing and public and political life. Before examin-
ing Pirniā’s career, assessing his seminal role in the creation of the Radio Pro-
grams called ‘Flowers of Persian Song and Music’ (golhā), and reviewing their
effect on the revival of Persian music and song in Iran, at this juncture it will
be helpful to provide a brief overview of the historical circumstances of Iran
immediately after World War II.
In August 1941, the Allied forces of Britain and the USSR invaded Iran.
Reza Shah abdicated and went into exile while the Allies took full control of
all Iranian communications and the railroad. In 1942 the United States sent a
military force to Iran to help maintain and operate sections of the railroad. In
January 1942, Britain and Russia signed an agreement with Iran to respect
Iran’s independence, agreeing to withdraw their troops within six months after
the end of the war, which was reaffirmed at the Tehran Conference in 1943.
However, in 1945, the USSR refused to leave Iran’s northwestern provinces,
supporting separatist movements in Iranian Azerbaijan.2
Given these tumultuous political circumstances in the 1940s and early
1950s in Iran, there is little wonder that the condition of Persian music during
these decades was any less threatened. During and after World War II, with
the increasing interference in Iranian affairs, first by the British, then by the
Russians, and eventually by the Americans during the Mosaddeq premiership,
Western, Arabic and Turkish influences began to penetrate into and affect the
development of the course of Persian music in particular and Iranian popular
culture in general. Unfortunately, these influences did not generally hail from
the high classical and sophisticated traditions of Western, Arabic or Turkish
music, but were mainly derived from the vernacular and street culture tradi-
tions. As a result, a kind of tawdry vulgarity infiltrated Persian music, with the
repertoire of classical Persian music and the lyrics of its canon of poets gradu-
ally being ignored and abandoned. From 1946 onwards, in articles and edito-

2
Wilber, pp. 105-06.
 J. Lewisohn / Journal of Persianate Studies 1 (2008) 79-101 81

rials in contemporary journals, many of the great musicians, composers,

song-writers and poets who flourished in Tehran during this period voiced
their anxiety about the course of their national music (musiqi-ye melli), lament-
ing its decadence and decline, while underlining the lack of support and at
times interference in the development of music by the Ministry of Culture.3
The critical situation was highlighted by an article written by Moshir
Homāyun Shahrdār in the journal Rādio Irān in 1956.4 Describing the con-
temporary degeneration of Iranian music, he claims that it was not only being
subjected to cheap popular music from abroad, but that the influence of Ara-
bic music had caused Persian music to decline as well. Singers and musicians
on the radio were largely imitating international music, performing songs and
tunes that not only had nothing to do with authentic Persian music, but did
not follow the norms of international music either. In a later interview,
Shahrdār elaborated that influence-peddling, favoritism and nepotism had led
the music broadcast on the Radio to suffer a chronic decline, effectively becom-
ing an advertising platform for certain performers, enabling them to benefit
from their fame financially by performing at private functions and wed-
dings.5

Dāvud Pirniā and the Revival of Classical Persian Music and Poetry in
Early to Mid-Twentieth Century Iran

Dāvud Pirniā’s aristocratic family background, as well as his personal prestige

and reputation as a politician and statesman, were important elements in the
success of the Golhā programs. His mother belonged to Qājār nobility and his
father came from a line of prominent Persian political patriots. In order to
understand the reasons underlying the cultural significance of the musical and
literary success of the Golhā programs, it will first be necessary to take a brief
look at the place of his family in Persian political history and the role played
by his forbears in the history of early modern Iran.

3
See Khāleqi, 1946, p. 3; idem., 1947, p. 3. See also in general Majālla-ye musiqi. As Ella
Zonis observed (p. 647): “Once again, as in the time of her contact with ancient Greece, Persia
is undergoing heavy cultural pressure from the West. This has greatly stimulated musical activity,
and the long quiescence that preserved Persia’s centuries old music has come to an end. However
the danger exists here, as it does all over Asia, that native art music either will be replaced by
Western Music or will be so westernized as to lose all connection with the native tradition.” See
also Nettl, 1970, pp. 183-97.
4
Moshir Humāyun Shahrdār, p. 13.
5
From an interview with Shahrdār re-broadcast on Iranian Radio on August 25, 1999.
82 J. Lewisohn / Journal of Persianate Studies 1 (2008) 79-101

Davud’s grandfather Nasr Allāh Khan Moshir al-Dawla (d. 1907), had cho-
sen “Pirniā” as his family name from the epithet of his famous ancestor Pir-e
Nāʾin, one of the last masters of the Kobravi /Nurbakhshi Sufi order.6 As the
grand vizier, he played an important role in the establishment of constitu-
tional government in Iran during the Constitutional Revolution and became
its first prime minister.7 He retained the post of prime minister under the new
monarch, Mohammad-ʿAli Shah, for only two months, resigning from it on
March 17, 1907. Shortly thereafter, on Sept. 13, 1907, he died suddenly in
circumstances said to be suspicious.8
He was survived by three sons: ʿAli, Hosayn and Hasan Pirniā. ʿAli died
young while abroad; Hosayn studied politics and law in Paris, while Hasan
Pirniā (1871-1935) inherited his father’s title of Moshir al-Dawla and carried
on the family tradition of civil service, public spirit and politics.
Hasan Pirniā had been educated in military science and law in France and
Russia, where he worked in the Iranian embassy in St. Petersburg, having been
appointed as Iran’s minister plenipotentiary (vazir-e mokhtār) to the Russian
court at age twenty-seven.9 Even at that young age, he had considerable expe-
rience as a diplomat, since he and his brother Hosayn (Moʾtaman al-Molk)
had been instrumental in the drafting of the Iranian Constitution, the Funda-
mental Law (qānun-e asāsi), of Zoʾl-qaʿda 14, 1324/December 30, 1906 and
its Supplement (motammem) of Shaʿbān 1325/October 7, 1907.
Returning back from Russia to Tehran, he worked both as director of the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs and as special secretary to the Minister of Foreign
Affairs. He founded a school for political science in Tehran, which opened on
the 19th of December 1899. This school had a great influence on determining
the direction and thought of the later constitutionalist movement10 and even-
tually became the foundation for the School of Law and Political Science at
Tehran University.11 Hasan Pirniā acted as Mozaffar al-Din Shah’s official
translator on the latter’s trip to Europe.12 During his first week at work as the
minister for foreign affairs he declared that the Anglo-Russian Convention of
31 August 1907, which would divide Iran into to zones of influence of Russia
and England to be null and void, since it had not been signed by an official
government appointee.13
6
Bāstāni Pārizi, pp. 44-45; Mazhari, pp. 7-16.
7
Mansura Pīrniyā, p. 36.
8
Mansura Pirniā, p. 37; Browne, p. 155.
9
Musaddiq, p. 91, n. 1.
10
Bāstāni Pārizi, p. 95.
11
Mansura Pirniā, p. 38.
12
Bāstāni Pārizi, p. 96.
13
Mansura Pirniā, p. 38.
 J. Lewisohn / Journal of Persianate Studies 1 (2008) 79-101 83

Altogether, Hasan Pirniā ʿMoshir al-Dawlaʾ held twenty-four ministerial

posts during his political career and served four times as prime minister. In
1915, he was nominated to be Prime Minister by the Majlis, and was success-
ful along with the parliamentary deputies in repealing the law of June 1911
which had granted [Morgan] Shuster and then his successor, full powers as
treasurer-general of Persia.14 In 1924, Hasan Pirniā assumed the post of prime
minister for the last time, appointing Mohammad Mosaddeq as his foreign
minister, and retaining Rezā Khān Sardār-e Sepah as his minister of war.15
When in October 1925, Rezā Khān became Reza Shah (r. 1925-41), Moshir
al-Dawla completely retired from active politics.16
During his retirement from political life, he wrote a three-volume history of
Iran from the most ancient times, totaling 2,866 pages, which was later pub-
lished in 1932 under the title of Irān-e bāstān (Ancient Iran). This was the first
modern scholarly account of ancient Persian history written by an Iranian in
the twentieth century, for which he became known as the “Father of History”
in Iran. Since most of the sources that he relied on for these historical works
were originally in Greek and Latin, in order to access these he referred to
French, Russian, Arabic, English or German translations of those Greek and
Latin sources in his bibliography.17 He was also instrumental in setting up and
supporting the establishment of an Institute for the Preservation of the
National Heritage (Anjoman-e āthār-e melli) in 1922.

*****

Having grown up in a family atmosphere of patriotism and dedication to civil

service, Dāvud Pirniā was inspired with a great sense of public duty and a
desire to serve his country and further the advancement of Persian culture.18
After studying law in Switzerland, he returned to Iran to work in the Judiciary,
where he made several important contributions. He established the first Law-
yers Guild in Iran in 1931 and wrote its bylaws. He also founded the first
vocational school for girls, which he established after Reza Shah decreed the
mandatory removal of the veil from all females in Iran. This school was intended
to teach young women skills such as sewing, embroidery, and making artificial

14
Ettehadieh, p. 195.
15
Musaddiq, p. 249.
16
Idem, Introduction, p. 13.
17
He gave all of his notebooks about the history of ancient Iran (particularly that of the Sasa-
nian period) to Saʿid Nafisi in the last days of his life to publish but the tumult of World War II
prevented their publication (Mansura Pirniā, p. 45).
18
Cf. Navāb Safā, p. 584.
84 J. Lewisohn / Journal of Persianate Studies 1 (2008) 79-101

flowers so that they could make a living on their own. He also worked at the
Ministry of Finance where he established the first Office of Statistics. He
served as assistant (moʿāwen) prime minister as well as legal adviser and chief
inspector to Prime Minister Ahmad Qavām (1946-47). His political activities
led him to play a major role in the emancipation of Azerbaijan when it was
under Russian occupation. He had been sent to Azerbaijan by the shah to
form alliances with the leaders of the resistance in order to combat Russian
propaganda and help alleviate the famine caused by the Russian occupation.19
Following the resignation of Prime Minister Qavām in 1947, according to his
son, he was asked to take over as prime minister but declined and retired from
government service.20 At this juncture, just as with his father who had turned
all his energies towards history-writing upon retirement from political life, a
new chapter in Dāvud Pirniā’s life began.21
From his birth, Dāvud Pirniā had been living in his ancestral family’s resi-
dence located in the neighborhood of Lālezār-e now Street in Tehran. In the
1940’s and 50’s this neighborhood was the center of the ‘theatre district’ in
Tehran, full of theatres, concert and music halls, cabarets and fashionable coffee
houses.22 Needless to say, as Dāvud Pirniā paced the streets of Lālezār-e now
19
Dāvud Pirniā later expressed his pride in and admiration for the courage and valor of the
Azari freedom fighters whom he encountered during his mission to Azerbaijan under Russian
occupation (Radio Interview with Dāvud Pirniā broadcast on Tehran National Radio ND circa
1950).
20
When asked why he resigned from government service so unexpectedly at this “high point”
of his political career, his son Daryoush Pirnia (Interview, Maryland, USA, October 11, 2007)
said: “After the resignation of Prime Minister Qavām caused by the Iranian-Soviet oil dispute,
the Shah vacillated between implementing opposite policies of appeasement and confrontation
with the Soviets. The Shah at that time asked my father to become Prime Minister, but on condi-
tion that he would agree to introduce a bill into Parliament which would give the Soviets a
concession to develop the oil reserves in northern Iran, similar to the concessions that had been
granted to the British in the south. This bill was supposed to appease the Soviets and so relieve
Iran of the political pressure exerted by them. My father, being opposed to this policy, declined
to accept the offer to become Prime Minister and subsequently retired completely from public
office. Later, when Ardashir Zāhedi was foreign minister, the Shah invited my father to become
a senator, but he again declined the invitation.” This reason for Pirniā’s refusal to form a govern-
ment was also corroborated in an interview (Los Angeles, Nov. 27, 20005) with his other son
Farrokh Pirniā. See also Dawlatshāhi, 1999, p. 30.
21
Navāb Safā, 2005, p. 584.
22
Nettl’s description of the situation a decade or so later was by and large typical of the
1940s-50s as well: “Western popular music is performed both by Iranian and foreign performers
in nightclubs in Tehran of the same sort that one finds in large European and American cities.
The language of the singing was normally English, French, or Italian. Popular music in the vari-
ous Persian styles . . . is most typically heard in large music halls which in Tehran are concentrated
in one district whose center is Lalezar Avenue. These music halls in contrast to the modern night
clubs, are patronized almost exclusively by men and each of them has a cliental by an occupa-
tion” (Nettl, 1972, pp. 218-39) .
 J. Lewisohn / Journal of Persianate Studies 1 (2008) 79-101 85

during these years, he too had been acutely conscious of these negative outside
pressures on the Iranian musical and literary heritage, which must have caused
him great concern. He had strong mystical leanings and believed in the power
of music and poetry to provide spiritual guidance and insight.23 The degener-
ating state of Persian music and lyrics was a common topic of conversation
among his friends who included many of the famous writers, poets, composers
and scholars of his day, such as ʿAli Dashti, Badiʿ al-Zamān Foruzānfar, Lotf-
ʿAli Suratgār, Hasan Shahbāz, Rahi Moʿayyeri, Kiāmarz Vothuqi and Abu al-
Hasan Sabā. One day during the early 1950s, after returning from a visit to
the home of his friend Kiyāmarz Vothuqi, Dāvud Pirniā concluded that there
was something he could and would do to combat the increasing corruption of
classical Persian music and the continuing decadence of literary traditions. He
would establish a series of radio programs devoted to classical Persian poetry
and music.24

The Golhā Programs

Although the concept of these programs was an idea original to Pirniā, it

should be mentioned that the major inspiration and model behind what later
became the Golhā programs, long before the first recorded program (the
‘Immortal Flowers,’ Golhā-ye Jāvidān series of 157 programs) was broadcast
on Iranian National Radio on March 21, 1956, came from dervish séances
and gatherings of Sufi musicians held by Iran’s ex-ambassador to Italy, Nezām
al-Soltān Khwājanuri in a villa in his garden in the village of Qalanduyak,
today located in Lavāsan in northeastern Tehran. Khwājanuri was himself of
dervish persuasion and a great patron of all the Sufis in Iran. In these weekly
gatherings, a number of eminent musicians, singers, as well as many notable
men of letters and scholars participated. These included such notables and
luminaries as master musicians Mortazā Mahjubi (piano), ʿAli Tajvidi (violin),
the Intizām brothers, Abu al-Hasan Sabā (violin etc.), and virtuoso master
Hosayn Tehrāni (goblet drum, “tombak”). Dāvud Pirniā himself regularly
attended and participated in these séances. Darvishes from all paths and
orders were invited to participate in these gatherings. A great sense of egali-
tarianism and unity prevailed among its participants, with generals or viziers,
as well as their wives, sitting shoulder to shoulder with servants, wandering
dervishes, and working people. The gatherings were devoted to listening to

23
Nasirifar, 1998, II, p. 529.
24
Interview with Bizhan Pirnia (son of Dāvud Pirniā), Tehran, September 12, 2005.
86 J. Lewisohn / Journal of Persianate Studies 1 (2008) 79-101

music, singing and declamation of poetry, as well as the discussion and inter-
pretation of the meaning of classical Persian poetry. The participants in these
gatherings wanted to somehow broaden or make the fruits of these gatherings
more widely available. Many different solutions were fielded, from writing a
book, to taping the gatherings, to putting on live concerts and performances.
Eventually the idea of using the national radio was chosen.25
In a radio interview re-broadcast in 1975 (originally broadcast on the occa-
sion of the 35th anniversary of the Iranian National Radio), Dāvud Pirniā
described the history of the Golhā programs.26 He related that the Iranian
National Radio formally invited him to come to the Radio, where he pro-
posed the idea of a program called Golhā-ye jāvidān (Immortal Flowers [of
Song and Verse]) to his friend Parviz ʿAdl. The idea was readily accepted and
accordingly, the first program was broadcast on March 21 (Nowruz), 1956,
with the collaboration of master setār player Ahmad ʿEbādi, the composer and
violinist ʿAli Tajvidi and the singer and composer ʿAbd al-ʿAli Vaziri. As Pirniā
relates, this first program, which was only ten minutes long, consisted of a
short discussion of the poetry of Hāfez, followed by declamation and singing
of three verses from a ghazal by Hāfez, which were:

Salām-i cho bu-ye khosh-e āshenāʾi/ bar ān mardom-e dida-ye rowshanāʾi

Dorud-i cho nur-e del-e pārsāyān/ bedān shamʿ-e khalvatgah-e pārsāʾi
Nemibinam az hamdamān hich bar jāy/ delam khun shod az ghossa, sāqi, kojāʾi?

Like a fragrant breeze of loving intimacy, may salutations go

to that pupil of the eye that gives brightness to all eyes!
Like the light in pious hearts, may greetings go
to that candle burning in the hermit’s retreat!
None of my friends do I see alive and still in place.
My heart is gutted with grief. Cupbearer, where have you gone?27

In the second program of the ‘Immortal Flowers’ series that was broadcast,
Gholām-Hosayn Banān28 sang Rumi’s famous ghazal beginning with the
verse:

25
Interview with Daryoush Pirnia, Maryland, USA, August 17, 2005. Dāvud Pirniā also
began producing the Children’s Program (Bār-nāma-e kudak) on Tehran Radio in 1956 (Navāb
Safā, p. 586).
26
Nasirifar, 2003, p. 23.
27
See Hāfez, Divān, ghazal 483, vv. 1-3.
28
Cf. Caton, pp. 671-77.
 J. Lewisohn / Journal of Persianate Studies 1 (2008) 79-101 87

Man mast o to divāna/ mā-rā ke barad khāna

I am drunk and you are mad, who shall take us back to home?

This was preceded by a discussion and description of Rumi’s Divān-e Shams,

which at that time was not well known among the general public in Iran,29 the
announcer clarifying that it was composed by Jalāl al-Din Rumi, not by a
separate author named Shams. The third program was devoted to Saʿdi, the
fourth to ʿErāqi, containing the following verses from a ghazal by him:30

Hama shab bar āstānat shoda kār-e man gedāʾi

Be khodā ke in gedāʾi nadaham be pādshāhi
Sar-e barg o gol nadāram, ze che ru ravam be-golshan?
Ke shanida-am ze golhā hama bu-ye bivafāʾi.
Be kodām mellat ast in, be kodām mazhab ast in
Bekoshand ʿāsheq-i rā, ke to ʿāsheq-am cherāʾi? 31

Each night I lie upon your threshold like a beggar,

By God, I’d not renounce this beggary for a kingdom.
Why should I go to the garden? I care nothing for any leaf or rose,
For from every rose I’ve only imbued the scent of faithlessness.
In which religion, in which denomination is it permissible
To kill a lover on the charge of being in love?

Dāvud Pirniā concludes by remarking that ʿErāqi’s Divān, just like Rumi’s
Divān-e Shams, was not particularly well-known in Iran during the 1950s,
and in fact only a few members of the literary elite had any idea of who
ʿErāqi was.32
Each program of the Immortal Flowers of Song and Verse (Golhā-ye jāvidān)
began with a signature tune played on the clarinet by Mohammad Shir-khodāʾi
in the musical mode of Mokhālef-e sehgāh, followed immediately by these
verses from Saʿdi’s Golestān that appropriately served to set the mood:

29
Furuzānfar in the introduction to Rumi (1976, I, pp. alif-dal) describes in detail this lack
of common knowledge of Rumi’s lyrical poetry in Iran during the first half of the 20th century.
30
Dāvud Pirniā, Special Program on the History of Iranian Radio (Barnāma-ye tārikh-e
Rādio), re-broadcast on Iranian Radio, July 27, 1990.
31
Nasirifar, 2003, p. 23; also cf. Moshkin-qalam, II, p. 637, who features a text slightly
different from the verses sung in the program.
32
As Bizhan Taraqqi notes in his Memoirs (2007, p. 144), “even though Dāvud Pirniā
benefited from the collaboration of the greatest literary minds and talents of his day, it was he
himself who wrote the introductory remarks and descriptions to the Golhā programs.”
88 J. Lewisohn / Journal of Persianate Studies 1 (2008) 79-101

Be che kār āyadat ze gol tabaq-i?

Az golestān-e man bebar varaq-i.
Gol hamin panj ruz o shash bāshad
V ʾin golestān hamisha khwash bāshad.

What use are trays of flowers?

Take a petal or two from my rose garden.
Roses last but a few days, yet this rose garden
Of mine will stay perpetually in bloom.33

Each program concluded with the words: “This has been an immortal flower
from the peerless rose garden of Persia Literature, a flower that shall never per-
ish. Good night” (In ham goli bud jāvidān az golzār-e bi-hamtā-ye adab-e Irān,
goli ke hargez namirad. Shab khosh! ). In this fashion, verse by verse, song by
song, poet by poet, these programs served to reintroduce the heritage of Persian
poetry to the entire population of Iran. In this respect, the first series of radio
programs, the Golhā-ye jāvidān, which were largely intended to introduce the
literary and poetic heritage of Persian literature to the general public, did
achieve their aim. Although these programs were well received and appreciated
by modernist intellectuals, the unlettered general public and traditionalist Sufi
mystics, after some time Dāvud Pirniā came to realize that they were so-to-
speak too ‘heavy’, too ‘intellectual’ for the broader taste of the general public.
As a consequence, he decided to produce another program called ‘Multicolored
Flowers’ (Golhā-ye rangārang) with more diversity in literary content, that
would contain not only classical Persian singing (āvāz) and poetry, but also
modern poetry, popular romantic ballads (tarāna), and tunes and songs (tasnif ).
It was in this rangārang series of programs that most of the great classical
vocalists and of the last half of the twentieth century, such as Marziya,
Gulpāyagāni, Shajāriān, Nāhid, Elāha, Parvin, Iraj, and Simā Binā, made their
debut, and as a consequence of which they later became acclaimed. As the
name suggests, ‘Multi-colored Flowers’ contained a diverse repertoire of the
classical poets such as Hāfez, Saʿdi, ʿErāqi, Rudaki, ʿAttār and others, as well as
contemporary poets like Rahi Moʿayyeri, Moʿini Kermānshāhi, Bizhan Taraqqi,
Monir Tahā, Simin Behbahāni, Torāj Negahbān and many other well-known
figures of contemporary Persian literature. The Golhā-ye rangārang contained
not only classical dastgāh compositions but also some of the most memorable
songs (tasnif ), composed by the likes of Ruh Allāh Khāleqi, Mehdi Khāledi,
ʿAli Tajvidi, Parviz Yāhaqqi, Hosayn Yāhaqqi, Homāyun Khorram, Jahānbakhsh
Pāzuki and many more. In addition to this, the Golhā-ye rangārang preserved

33
Saʿdi, p. 30.
 J. Lewisohn / Journal of Persianate Studies 1 (2008) 79-101 89

and revived the works of composers and poets such as ʿĀref Qazvini, ʿAli Akbar
Sheydā and Gholām-Hosayn Darvish Khān, to name but a few. The rangārang
series thus combined classical and contemporary poetry and musical composi-
tions, featuring some of the most memorable songs of the twentieth century.
The first program in the series of 481 programs that began with number
100 opens with a poem by Rumi, followed by some verses by Sāʿeb Tabrizi.
Then came a poem composed in a classical manner by the contemporary poet
ʿEmād Khorāsāni (d. 2003), before concluding with a famous song composed
by ʿAli Akbar Sheydā and sung by Marziya.

Suratgar-e naqqāsh-e Chin, Row surat-e yār-am bebin

Yā surat-i barkesh chonin, Yā tark kon suratgari.34

Oh you, the portrait painter of China,

Go gaze at my love’s comely visage.
Either paint an image as good as hers,
Or leave off all pretence to portraiture.

The signature line of each of the rangārang programs concluded by invoking

blessings upon the listener: “This then has been a few multi-coloured flowers
from the peerless garden of Persian Literature. May joy and cheer always be
with you.” (In ham chand goli bud rangārang az gulzār-e bi-hamtā-ye adab-e
Irān. Hamisheh shād va hamisheh khosh bāshid).
The next two programs which Dāvud Pirniā set up were entitled: ‘A Green
Leaf ’ (Barg-e sabz) and ‘One single flower’ (Yek shākha gol).
The Green Leaf (Barg-e sabz) programs featured 312 programs each ranging
from 20 to 45 minutes, consisting solely of declamation of mystical poetry
from the great classical poets, followed by the formal singing (āvāz) of their
poetry, without any popular rhythmical songs or ballads (tasnif / tarāna). In
terms of profundity of Persian Sufi themes, erotic and theo-erotic images and
ideas, the Green Leaf programs comprise a veritable treasury of classical Per-
sian poetry; as a collection, the Barg-e sabz programs form a kind of classical
Canon of Persian mystical song and verse that have yet to be rivaled in their
wide-ranging literary and musical diversity, in arrangement of theosophical
and erotic topics, and in tasteful selection of poets and poetry.
Each program opened with the following mystical verses (attributed to
Farid al-Din ʿAttār): “Open your eyes so you may see the epiphany of the
Beloved displayed upon each wall and door. When you behold this vision, you
will declare: ‘He alone is Lord in all the land’.” (Chashm bogshā ke jelva-ye

34
Moshkin-qalam, I, p. 45.
90 J. Lewisohn / Journal of Persianate Studies 1 (2008) 79-101

deldār dar tajalliʾst az dar o divār. In tamāshā, cho bengari, guʾi: laysa fiʾl-dār
ghayrahu dayyār).
The first Green Leaf program featured Hasan Kasāʾi (ney), Sayyed Javād
Zabihi (vocals) and Jalil Shahnāz (tār), with poetry by ʿAttār and Rumi. It
opened with a declamation of ʿAttār’s celebrated ghazal beginning: “Tonight,
I will set out tipsy and dancing, in hand a pitcher full of wine dregs, and go
down to the street where the wild man is, and there gamble away all existence”
(ʿAzm-e ān dāram ke emshab nima-mast/ pāy-kubān kuza-ye dordi be-dast// Sar
be-bāzār-e qalandar dar neham/ pas be-yek saʿat bebāzam har che hast).35 The
main part of program was comprised by Zahibi’s powerful singing of a ghazal
by Rumi, before concluding with a Sufi apology: “This then was a green leaf,
a humble dervish’s gift. May the Most High (ʿAli) watch over you.” (In ham
barg-e sabz-i bud, tohfa-e darvish. ʿAli negāhdar-e shomā).36 The same two
sentences continued as the regular signature of all the other Barg-e sabz pro-
grams produced under Pirniā’s direction, with the declamation of the above-
mentioned verses always comprising the program’s prelude.
As its name suggests, the ‘One single flower’ (Yek shākha gol ) programs con-
centrated on one individual theme for each program; these were shorter pro-
grams, each of 12-18 minutes’ duration, with 465 programs being broadcast in
all. Thematically they were devoted to the introduction of a particular poet,
whether classical or modern, or a particular composition, event or musician. In
particular, they introduced such poets as Vahshi Bāfqi, Parvin Eʿtesāmi, Amir
Firuzkuhi, Naziri Nayshābori, Malek al-Shoʿarā Bahār, Āzar Bigdeli, Mansura
Atabāki (Zohreh), Parvin Dawlatābādi, along with their bio-bibliographical
data to name just a few.
Finally, there were the Desert Flowers (golhā-ye sahrāʾi), 64 programs of 10-
30 minutes of traditional folk tunes from the various regions and ethnic groups
of Iran. These tunes had been first collected and then orchestrated by great
musicians such as Ruh Allāh Khāleqi and Javād Maʿrufi.

***

All of the Golhā programs were highly acclaimed by both the intelligentsia and
the general public. Thousands of fan letters were received on a weekly basis
35
Divān, ghazal 55, p. 41.
36
Among educated Persian Sufis, the reference to ʿAli in this phrase is not considered to be an
invocation of, and thus a quasi-polytheistic reference to, the Shiʾite Imām ʿAli ibn Abi Talib
(600-661 C.E.), but rather understood as a supplication of the divine Name Al-ʿAli (the Most
High, the Tremendous, the Exalted One) found in several Qurʾānic verses (e.g. 2: 255; 42:4),
and this oft-cited dervish litany (verd): “There is no force and no power save in God, the Exalted
and Glorious One” (lā hawla wa lā qowwata ellā beʾllāh al-ʿali al-ʿazim).
 J. Lewisohn / Journal of Persianate Studies 1 (2008) 79-101 91

from listeners throughout Iran, so Pirniā was even forced to convene a special
committee at the Radio to compose replies and respond to their comments.37
Several factors lay behind the extraordinary success of the Golhā programs.
Firstly, there was Dāvud Pirniā’s eminent standing in Persian society and the
respect that he and his family name and reputation commanded, which made
it possible for him to attract musicians, singers, composers and songwriters
who might not otherwise have been willing to participate in public perfor-
mances.38 Dāvud Pirniā was not only a master diplomat and statesmen who
had held some of the highest posts in the Iranian state during his lifetime in
public service, but a supremely refined connoisseur of Persian music who was
able to create a genuine atmosphere of comraderie, respect and appreciation
among all the participants in the Golhā programs and their co-workers at the
Radio.39
The second important factor behind the Golhā programs’ success was the
support, complete confidence and respect shown Dāvud Pirniā by Nosrat
Allāh Moʿiniyān, who was both Minister of Information and Head of the
National Radio at the time. Without his support, Pirniā would not have had
the independence—whether culturally, intellectually or financially—to pro-
duce programs of such high quality and lasting calibre.
Thirdly, there was the matter of his own economic independence. During
the eleven years that he worked on the Golhā programs, Dāvud Pirniā survived
on his own independent income and was never paid a regular salary for his
service at the Radio. Often, in the spirit of Persian chivalry (javānmardi) he
would have lunch brought to the Radio from his home for the musicians,
singers and other guests.40 In fact, the creation of the Golhā was completely
separate and independent from the rest of the operation of the Radio in Iran
during the 1950s and 60s under Pirniā’s direction, both in respect to content
and budget (both of which unfortunately became a bone of contention after
Mr. Moʿiniyān left the Radio).41

37
Interview with Prof. Shāh Hosayni (former Director of the Committee of Radio Writers
and Editor of the Radio Iran journal under Dāvud Pirniā) on Nov. 3, 2007 in Tehran.
38
All the musicians and singers in the Golhā programs who I interviewed during 2005-07
stressed this.
39
While interviewing Mr. Haqiqi (who had been in charge of paying salaries, “sanduqdār,”
for the Golhā programs’ musicians and singers during the 1950’s and 60’s) in 2006 at the Radio
station at Maydān-e Arg in Tehran where he was working in the archive, the mere mention of
Dāvud Pirniā’s name was enough for him to burst into tears of nostalgia. Interview conducted
by the author, Dec. 2, 2006, Maydān-e Arg, Tehran Radio, Tehran.
40
Interview with Bizhan Taraqqi, Dec. 2, 2007 in his home in Tehran.
41
Navāb Safā, 2005, pp. 584-586,.
92 J. Lewisohn / Journal of Persianate Studies 1 (2008) 79-101

Fourthly, Pirniā’s genius, intellectual acumen and educated literary tastes

must be taken into account. He took great care in the production of the Golhā,
sometimes listening to, editing, demanding changes and revisions in a pro-
gram as much as thirty times over. One of his assistants told the present author
that, while working with Dāvud Pirniā, he had listened to most of the pro-
grams so often that he has most of them memorized to this day.42 On most
days Dāvud Pirniā’s office would be filled with the great and the good of Per-
sian society who would come to listen firsthand to the latest Golhā programs,
offering their remarks and opinions. They would bring along blank tapes in
hope that, if they were lucky, they might obtain a personal copy of a particular
program for themselves.
In addition to attending to and responding to letters from listeners, Pirniā
also enlisted the opinion of his friends and guests and took great stock in their
comments in refining the production of the programs. He solicited the ser-
vices of all the eminent scholars then living in Iran (e.g., Badiʿ al-Zamān
Foruzānfar, Jalāl al-Din Homāʾi, ʿAli Dashti, etc.) in composing program
notes for individual poets.43
The Golhā orchestra performed only one public concert, which was held in
the open air at the then Hilton Hotel in benefit of the victims of the Lār earth-
quake in 1960.44 Dāvud Pirniā even famously charged the performers for
attending the concert. After ten years of devoting himself to the Golhā, Pirniā
retired from his position at the radio for personal reasons. He continued to
practice law and to write articles in various journals until his death of heart
failure in 1971.45

Conclusion: The Legacy of the Golhā Programs

Pirniā’s Golhā programs marked a watershed in the appreciation of music in

Persian culture, leading to the enhanced respectability of musicians and their
art. However, their influence on the evolution of Persian musical culture needs
to be considered within the context of the religious society of traditional Iran.
Heretofore, due to the conservative anti-music bias of the traditional religious

42
Personal Interview with Mr. Qorbāni, Radio Tehran, Maydān-e Arg, March 6, 2007.
43
Interview with Prof. Shāh-Hosayni on Nov. 3, 2007 in Tehran.
44
“6.7 Earthquake Hits Lar Devastating the City,” in B. Tavakoli and M. Ghafary Ashtiany,
eds.
45
From 1965 to 1971, the Golhā programs were produced and directed with the help of Rahi
Moʿayyeri, Mohammad Mirnaqibi, and Jahānbakhsh Pazuki. In 1972 Hushang Ebtehāj began
producing the Golhā-ye tāza programs which continued until 1979.
 J. Lewisohn / Journal of Persianate Studies 1 (2008) 79-101 93

establishment that dominated Persian society music had been practiced behind
closed doors. In the words of Ella Zonis, “the predominant trend in Islamic
culture was anti-musical. . . . When music was practiced at all it was directly in
the face of social and religious disapproval. As a result, art music was rarely
performed in public.”46 Where performed in public spaces, the performers
were tarred with the same brush as popular street minstrels. Until the advent
of these programs, it had been taken for granted by a large section of the soci-
ety that any female performers and musicians were less than respectable.47
However, due to the high literary and musical quality of these programs, pub-
lic perception of music and musicians in Iran shifted forever, insofar as its
participants came to be considered—virtually for the first time in Persian his-
tory of the Islamic period—as maestros, virtuosos, divas and adepts of a fine
art, and no longer looked down upon as merely cabaret singers or denigrated
as street minstrels.
In this respect, Dāvud Pirniā and the Golhā programs performed an
immense service to both Persian literature and Persian music, by gathering
together the most talented musicians, singers and literary figures of his day in
an atmosphere of encouragement, camaraderie and respect. These programs
not only preserved, nurtured and fostered the future development of Persian
classical music, but also introduced to the general public over 250 poets from
the ancients to the moderns.
There was an 80% illiteracy rate in Iran during the 1950s and 60s and there
were only two types of mass media—the printed page and radio—the latter
being the only form of mass communication that the majority of the general
public could take advantage of. With the introduction of the transistor radio,
the Golhā programs quickly penetrated into every village and hamlet through-
out Iran. In accustoming the general public’s ear to the highest quality of Persian
music and musicians, the Golhā programs elevated general musical awareness
and appreciation. They not only deepened the literary appreciation of the wider

46
Ella Zonis, p. 637. Bruno Nettl (1970, p. 186) points out that “the most devout [Iranian
Muslims] rejected music. . . . The effect of the religious prohibition has considerable impact on
musical life. On religious holidays (most of which are days of mourning for the death of martyrs
such as Ali, Hasan, and Hossein, early Imams of Islam), there is no music on the radio and no
public musical events or rehearsals, even if these are days on which other sorts of business takes
place. There appears to be a strong feeling on the part of the populace that even rehearsals should
not be held, for example, some musicians (of Western music) have told me that while they them-
selves had no objection to rehearsing on at least minor holidays, they did not like to be seen
carrying a musical instrument in public. Similarly, on such holidays the music department of the
University of Tehran is closed, while other departments hold classes.”
47
Today in revolutionary Iran, it is still forbidden to broadcast female voices singing on the
Iranian radio and television or in any public venues with mixed audiences.
94 J. Lewisohn / Journal of Persianate Studies 1 (2008) 79-101

public by individually introducing so many poets and having their poetry sung
and read on the radio but also raised the public profile of classical Persian poetry
by giving descriptions and short biographies of hundreds of poets, many of
which even literary historians today would be hard pressed to name.48 Bizhan
Taraqqi, one of Iran’s living poets and famous song-writers, thus summarizes the
legacy of the Golhā programs established by Dāvud Pirniā:

All the major names in Persian letters and poetry in contemporary Iran partici-
pated in these programs—all reputable musicians, radio announcers, famous
song-writers, poets, composers, and scholars worked side by side with Pirniā, a
man of incredible competence and ability, to make the Golhā orchestra and its
programs a success. Abetted by them, Pirniā created a work that will be impossi-
ble to ever again duplicate, since all these cherished artists, aside from a handful,
have now withdrawn themselves beneath the lids of the earth. Yet in the realm of
Art their works of genius remain immortal just like the ‘Immortal Flowers of
Song and Verse’ themselves.49

To conclude this survey of Dāvud Pirniā and the Golhā programs, I can do no
better than offer three learned opinions about them gleaned from recent inter-
views with some of the greatest living figures in classical Persian music:

Farhād Fakhreddini, at present (2008) Conductor of the National Orchestra,

pronounced,

The Golhā programs were the most successful radio programs in Iran in those
days. . . . They made people appreciate music much more and attracted people to
good music, because they gave people a taste for it. All those who participated in
the creation of the Golhā program, such as Abuʾl-Hasan Sabā, Mortazā Mahjubi,
Tajvidi, Dāvud Pirniā and Rahi Moʿayyeri, were people of high culture and extraor-
dinary human beings. It should be emphasized that we didn’t have any other enter-
tainment at that time. One might go to the movies once a week, but there was no
TV for us to watch. We would turn on the radio, and the best program of all at the
time was the Program of Immortal Flowers. Then came the Program of Multi-col-
ored Flowers. First, Messrs. Tajvidi, Mahjubi, and Sabā worked on these programs,
and then Ruh Allāh Khāleqi, who had a good-sized ensemble (he was in fact the
founder of the Golhā orchestra) appeared on the scene.50

Dāryush Safwat, founding member and former Director of the Society for the
Preservation and Propagation of Music (Anjoman-e hefz va eshāʾa-ye musiqi),
recently opined:

48
See also Daryush Pirniā and Erik Nakjavani, pp. 94-95.
49
Bizhan Taraqqi, pp. 146-47.
50
Interview conducted with the author in Tehran on October 2, 2005.
 J. Lewisohn / Journal of Persianate Studies 1 (2008) 79-101 95

The Golhā programs constituted an effort to perform authentic Persian music.

They were inspired by private gatherings in which the best musicians participated.
Many of these musicians were getting old and it would not have been appropriate
to ask them to give public concerts. But they had a musical knowledge that was
in danger of becoming lost forever, which they wished to put at the disposal of the
people. Mr. Pirniā performed an invaluable service in producing these programs.
The Golhā not only had a great influence on Persian music, but significantly
increased peoples’ appreciation of Persian literature. When the Golhā were being
broadcast, it was a common practice for people to drop whatever they were doing
to listen to the radio.51

I shall leave the last word to Iran’s greatest living classical vocalist Mohammad-
Rezā Shajāriān, who voiced his opinion about the legacy and significance to
the Golhā programs as follows:

It is my belief that Persian music owes a huge debt to Dāvud Pirniā, since at a
crucial moment in the history of Iran he effectively rescued our music from perdi-
tion. If it wasn’t for his efforts, Arab music, Turkish music, or Western pop music
would have all but drowned out and obliterated Persian music. In establishing the
Golhā programs, Mr Pirniā created a sanctuary where Persian music could survive
and flourish amongst all these conflicting and corrupting influences, so that even
today the Golhā programs are still cherished among the populace at large.52

References

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Mohammad-Ebrāhim Bāstāni Pārizi, Talāsh-e āzādi, Tehran, 1383/2004.
Edward G. Browne, The Persian Revolution 1905-1909, repr. Washington D.C., 1995.
M. Caton, “Banān,” EIr, III, pp. 669-78.
Fath Allāh Dawlatshāhi, “Pirniā va golhā-ye jāvidānash, Part 3: Tanavvuʿ dar āsār va yādgārhā-ye
adabi va muziki-e Pirniā,” Javān, Issue 611, Los Angeles, February 1999, pp. 30, 109.
Mansoureh Ettehadieh, “Constitutional Revolution iv. The Aftermath,” in EIr, IV, pp. 193-99.
Zavin Hacobian, ed. Majlla-ye musiqi, Tehran 1956-66.
Hāfez, Diwān-e Khwāja Shams al-Din Mohammad Hāfez, ed. Parviz Nātel Khānlari, Tehran,
1959/1980.
Ruh Allāh Khāleqi, “Hadaf va ravesh-e Majalla,” Majalla-ye chang, no. 1, March 21, 1946,
p. 3 (editorial)
Idem, “Yek pishnehād-e mofid,” Majalla-ye chang, no 4. Jan. 21, 1947, p. 3 (editorial).
ʿAli Mazhari, “Hājji Pirzāda, darvish-e sāfi-zamir”. Fāl-nāma-e Sufi, Persian edition, London,
Fall 1998, pp. 7-16.

51
Interview conducted with the author in Karaj, on September 1, 2005.
52
Interview conducted with the author in London, on Nov. 5, 2005.
96 J. Lewisohn / Journal of Persianate Studies 1 (2008) 79-101

Saʿid Moshkin-qalam, ed., Tasnifhā, taranahā va sorudhā-ye Irān-zamin, 2 vols., Tehran,

1378/1999.
Mohammad Mosaddeq, Musaddiq’s Memoirs, ed. H. Katouzian, tr. S. H. Amin and H.
Katouzian, London, 1988.
Habib Allāh Nasirifar, Golbāng-e Golhā: sheʿr va musiqi, 2 vols., Tehran, 1377/1998.
Idem, Golhā-ye jāvidān va gulhā-ye rangārang, Tehran 1382/2003.
Esmāʿil Navvāb Safā, Qessa-ye shamʿ: khāterāt-e honari, Tehran 1384/2005.
Bruno Nettl, “Attitudes towards Persian Music in Tehran, 1969,” Musical Quarterly 56/2, April
1970, pp. 183-97.
Idem, “Persian Popular Music in 1969,” Ethnomusicology, 16/2, May 1972, pp. 218-39.
Jalāl al-Din Rumi, Kolliyāt-e Shams yā Dīvān-e Kabir, ed. Badiʿ al-Zamān Foruzānfar, 10 vols.,
Tehran, 1355/1976.
Moshir Homāyun Shahrdār, “Qadamhā-i ke barā-ye behbud-e musiqi-ye Irāni-ye Rādio [sic.]
bardāshta shoda ast.” Rādio Irān, Sharivar 1335/1956, no.1. p. 13.
Daryush Pirniā and Erik Nakhjavani. “Golhā, Barnāma-ye,” in EIr, XI, pp. 92-95.
Mansura Pirniā, Ardashir Zāhedi, farzand-e khānadān-e Zāhedi va Pirniā: afkār va andisha,
revāyat-e Ardashir Zāhedi, Maryland, 2004.
Saʿdi, Golestān, ed. Khalil Khatib Rahbar, Tehran, 1379/2000.
Bizhan Taraqqi, Az posht-e divārhā-ye khātera, 2nd ed., Tehran, 1386/2007.
B. Tavakoli and M. Ghafary Ashtiany, eds., Seismic Hazard Assessment of Iran, Tehran, 1060.
Donald B. Wilber, Iran, Past and Present, Princeton 1967.
Ella Zonis “Contemporary Art Music in Persia,” Musical Quarterly, 51, 1965, pp. 636-48.
 J. Lewisohn / Journal of Persianate Studies 1 (2008) 79-101 97

Dāvud Pirniā in his private office in Moshir al-Dawla’s House in Lālezār-e

now, Tehran

Rahi Moʿayyeri and Dāvud Pirniā at Maydān-i Arg Radio Studio Tehran.
98 J. Lewisohn / Journal of Persianate Studies 1 (2008) 79-101

Adib Khwānsāri, Mortazā Mahjubi, and Marziya at Maydān-i Arg Radio

Studio, Tehran.

Abuʾl-Hasan Sabā, ʿAli Tajvidi, Mortazā Mahjubi at

Maydān-i Arg Radio Studio Tehran, circa 1955.
 J. Lewisohn / Journal of Persianate Studies 1 (2008) 79-101 99

Golhā female singers. From left to right: Purān, Yāsamin and Elāha (seated),
with Iren (the actress).
 100
J. Lewisohn / Journal of Persianate Studies 1 (2008) 79-101

Golhā Benefit Concert for Lār Earthquake Victims at the Hilton Hotel, Tehran (1960)
 J. Lewisohn / Journal of Persianate Studies 1 (2008) 79-101 101

Seated (right to left): Ahmad Ebrāhimi, Bizhān Taraqqi, Hosayn Tehrāni,

Parviz Yāhaqqi. Second row (right to left): Solaymān Amir-Qāsemi, Far-
hang Sharif, Zabih Malekpur, Mortazā Mahjubi, Ebrāhim Sahbā, Sādeq
Sarmad. Above Mortazā Mahjubi: Nabizādeh (Toyuri).