The Musician Who Preserved Persian Melodies

Known simply as Mirzá ‘Abd’u’lláh, he was one of the believers during the ministry of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. He, along with his brother Mirzá Husayn-Quli, is known as one of the “fathers” of modern and traditional Persian music, and he was the first Bahá’í musician of fame. In a tablet addressed to Mirzá ‘Abd’u’lláh, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá addressed him as “Divine musician”. Being from a family of master musicians, the two brothers had kept in memory melodies of generations bygone, never transcribed before. Writing musical scores was not known to the musicians of the 19th century and prior to that period in Persia. Musical tunes were kept in memory and transmitted from generation to generation. The old masters kept the secret of their art to themselves and rarely taught it to their pupils. Thus, many invaluable pieces from the Achaemenid period, for instance, have been lost with their authors.

No document has been found to tell us how Mirzá ‘Abd’u’lláh became a believer. He learned music from his father and his uncle, and although music and musicians were of low esteem during the Qájár dynasty of Persia, nevertheless Mirzá ‘Abd’u’lláh’s outstanding talent made him a unique artist musician in the court of the Sháh of Persia. It is possible that Mirzá ‘Abd’u’lláh was one of the believers who kept his Faith to himself; nevertheless he was well known among the friends in Tihrán. It is not clear whether he had ever corresponded with ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, but the Master revealed a prayer for him and encouraged him in another tablet to preserve the melodies by transcribing them into musical score.

Two of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s Tablets on music read:

“O servant of Bahá! Music is regarded as a praiseworthy science at the Threshold of the Almighty, so that thou mayest chant verses at large gatherings and congregations in a most wondrous melody and raise such hymns of praise at the Mashriqu’l-Adhkár to enrapture the Concourse on High. By virtue of this, consider how much the art of music is admired and praised. Try, if thou canst, to use spiritual melodies, songs and tunes, and to bring the earthly music into harmony with the celestial melody. Then thou wilt notice what a great effect music hath and what heavenly joy and life it conferreth. Strike up such a melody and tune as to cause the nightingales of divine mysteries to be filled with joy and ecstasy.”

— ‘Abdu’l-Bahá (translated from the Persian)

“O musician of God! … The songsters of fellowship that abide in the gardens of holiness must pour forth such a triumphant burst of songs in this age that the birds in the fields may wing their flight in a transport of delight; and in this divine festival, this heavenly banquet, they should play the lute and the harp, and the viol and the lyre in such wise that the people of east and west may be filled with exceeding joy and gladness, and be carried away with exultation and happiness. Now it behoveth thee to raise the melody of that heavenly lyre and to perform music on that celestial lute, thus causing Barbud¹ to return to life and Rudaki² to be solaced and Farabi³ to become restless and Ibn-i-Sina⁴ to be guided to the Sinai of God. Upon thee be salutation and praise.”

— ‘Abdu’l-Bahá (translated from the Persian)

Early days at the court of the Sháh

Mirzá ‘Abd’u’lláh had a modest music school in a district of Tihrán called Imám-zádeh Yahyá. A number of open-minded pupils were following his classes, and mobs frequently attacked the building, injured the pupils and broke the musical instruments. Subsequent to ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s advice to preserve Persian tunes, a number of Mirzá ‘Abd’u’lláh’s students were encouraged to travel to Europe and learn the musical score and the way to transcribe them.

Sound recording equipment was brought to Persia, and in 1906 some of the old masters managed to record their melodies on cylinder and later on disks. Mirzá ‘Abd’u’lláh was 65 years old when he started to record a number of gramophone records. It took another seven years to transcribe all the musical scores and make sure that the integrity of the pieces was kept in the best possible way. Reproductions of some of the old recordings can be found in digital format online and on CD.

Mirzá ‘Abd’u’lláh did not stop teaching and performing music until he left this ephemeral world. He was tutoring students while ill in bed, until he passed away in Tihrán in 1918. He was 75 years old.

In a Tablet to another believer, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá wrote:

“O thou attracted one of the Kingdom! Complete thou the study of the art of music and sacrifice thyself more or less to the Lord of the Kingdom.”

— Tablets of Abdul-Baha Abbas, vol. 3

¹ Peerless Persian musician: a singer, player and inventor of many ancient musical instruments who lived at the court of Khosrow Parviz of the Sasanian dynasty about A.D. 600. ² “Father of Persian poetry” (d. A.D. 940). ³ Renowned Muslim scholar; author of a treatise on music (ca. A.D. 870–950). ⁴ Avicenna (Ibn Sīnā, d. A.D. 1037), Persian polymath and physician.

Sources: the compiler drew on Pejman Akbarzadeh, Persian Musicians (Iran Heritage Society, 2008); Ruhollah Khaleqi, The Story of Persian Music (1956); Sasan Sepanta, History of Music Recording in Iran (1987); and Tablets of Abdul-Baha Abbas. The two Tablets on music appear in the Bahá’í World Centre compilations on music and on the arts. As reproduced by Bahá'í Chronicles (https://bahaichronicles.org/mirza-abdullah-farahani-the-divine-musician/).

editors, B. C.. *Bahá'í Chronicles*. https://bahaichronicles.org/mirza-abdullah-farahani-the-divine-musician/