The Influence of Music
As a little girl in Tehran, I grew up influenced by songs that my Maman sang. She produced her labor at home so after school, my afternoons were embraced in her Persian A cappella. Her songs were often melancholy and nostalgic, but the notes danced magically through Maman’s alto voice.
The two most influential musical pieces of my childhood besides my Maman’s singing, were the Iranian composer Samin Baghcheban’s “Rainbow” children’s song book, and the movie The Sound of Music.
The chorus of women’s voices singing Baghcheban’s songs on the cassette tape haunted me, particularly the soprano voices. And while as a child I did not know the concept of soprano vs alto, I connected to the power their voices carried, and was moved deeply. I tried to mimic their voices, and even this small act of imitation brought me joy and led me to memorize many of the songs.
The song about the snowman is one that I still sing today and while the translated English lyrics may appear comical, the feeling the song brings in Persian through A cappella is haunting and deeply sad:
This snowman,
in front of the bread oven,
As a result of all the baked bread,
is caught on fire
Who has seen snow catch fire?
The March rain
has washed away the snow
I’ve been grappling with what the snowman song means. Is it to teach us and children that seasons end just like any other markings of our lives? That while endings may be sad, there is a new season, a new beginning awaiting us?
The Persian music that enveloped my childhood environment was drenched in deep sorrow. This might be why I was delighted by The Sound of Music because it was filled with joy and freedom. When Maria sang running on the hills, calling out that the “Hill are alive with the sound of music,” I could feel that sensation of freedom. I became obsessed with the movie and must have watched it at least 100 times; I knew the scenes by heart. I didn’t know English but I understood the power of the music, the lightness it brought to the captain’s children who had been living under strict rules without room for fun. As a little girl in a very restricted school environment, I related to the children. My heart must have craved the freedom theirs did when they finally broke rules with Maria, danced, sang in the rain, and experienced full, uncensored joy.
