Radiodiffusion Internasionaal Annexe

♬ گل مریم

Giti Pashaei (گیتی پاشایی ) was born on June 13, 1948 in Tehran, Iran. She apparently inherited her passion for music from her grandfather, Jafar Mansoori, who was a well known poet and musician. Her early life was spent attending the master-classes of such musicians as Faramarz Paywar, Mahdi Foroogh and Mahmoud Karimi. Giti continued her education in New York, where she earned a degree in architecture from CUNY. She also studied “orchestration and harmony” while in Seattle, Washington.

Giti would go on to become one of the most popular Iranian singers. Her biggest hit was the song “گل مریم” – “Gol-e Maryam” or “Maryam Flower” – which was released in 1971. But the Iranian Revolution put an end to her singing career in 1979, since women were now forbidden to sing in public. She made the transition to composer, and scored soundtracks for a number of Iranian movies – many of which were directed by her husband, Masoud Kimiai. She also acted in a handful of films as well. In the late 1980s she moved to Hamburg, Germany where she researched Western Religion and Baroque Music. After moving back to Tehran, Giti died of cancer on May, 7th of 1995. She was buried at Behesht-e Zahra.

Thanks to Ramin and Jesse Kaminsky for helping with the translation and information.

Catalog number ۱۵٢٧٧۴ on Apolon of Iran, released 1971.

i’m a sucker for this cover pic

Comment by pan mietek January 30, 2011 @ 7:27 am

Great stuff, love your blog! Thanks.

Comment by yerdarlingdaily January 25, 2012 @ 12:47 pm