Qamar ol-Molouk Vaziri

Qamar ol-Molouk Vaziri [Ghamar is a variant and common spelling of Qamar. "Qamar" is the Arabic word, which is fully adopted into Persian, for "Moon". The literal translation of "Qamar ol-Molouk" is "The Moon of nations".] (1905 , Takestan, Qazvīn Province — August 6, 1959, Tehran) [Born 1284 AH. Died Mordād 14, 1338 AH.] was Iran's first prominent female singer as well as an intellectual.

Early life

As a very young child, Ghamar lost both her mother and her father, so her grandmother became her guardian. Her grandmother, Mulla-Kheyr-al-Nesa (titled to Eftekhar-al-Zakerin), was a singer of the Rozekhani ceremonies (religious ceremony) and Ghamar accompanied her and participated in those ceremonies. These were some of her first acquaintances with the Persian vocal music of the Rozekhani genre.

Rise to Fame

Ghamar became more acquainted with Persian music as the years passed. The beginning of her career took place when she attended a wedding ceremony where the great master of tar, Morteza Neydavoud, was also invited. When she sang in the wedding ceremonies privately, Ostad Neydavood accompanied her on the tar, and he later asked her to sing something else for her. Ghamar did as she was told, and Neydavoud loved her voice so much that he invited her to attend in his class on traditional Persian music to learn the radif repertoire.

She began attending his classes and soon she became one of the best singers of Iran, not to mention that this was a time where most Iranian women were not allowed to sing. Her first concert with Neydavoud was at the salon of the Grand Hotel around 1924 or so. Their second concert was at the Palace Cinema located in the Lalehzar Street of Tehran. As time went on, her fame continued to grow and she was acquainted with several famous poets and writers of her time.

Gradually, she recorded a multitude of gramophone disks and performed several concerts accompanied by the tar of her former master, Neydavood. These only helped to further increase her fame as the decades flew by.

Death

The national radio paid Ghamar a meager superannuation salary when she retired, but nevertheless, she shared whatever she earned among the poverty-stricken. As a result, she was practically destitute when she passed away on August 6, 1959. She is buried in the Zahir od-Dowleh cemetery, Darband, Shemiran, Tehran. [Photograph of the gravestone of Qamar ol-Molouk Vaziri, Zahir od-Dowleh Cemetery: [http://inlinethumb47.webshots.com/38574/2762028830061594669S600x600Q85.jpg] .]

Notes

See also

*Persian women musicians
*Persian women's movement

External links

* [http://www.bbc.co.uk/persian/arts/story/2004/08/040803_pm-mk-ghamar.shtml A moon in the sky of Iranian music] (BBC Persian)
* [http://www.astaneh.com/music/Ghamar.htm Astaneh.com audio collection of her works]
* A rare photograph of Ghamar ol-Molouk: [http://inlinethumb10.webshots.com/33417/2888859770061594669S600x600Q85.jpg]