Parvin

Parvin (1928 -), nee Batul Nurivand, female vocalist performing Persian popular songs (tasnif) and lyrical ballads (tarana), classical as well as modern. Beginning her vocal career in her high school years, she became acquainted with Humayun Khurram during the years 1956-57, performed a number of his compositions and so made a name for herself. One could feel from the woeful melancholic and grave tone of her voice that she was a vocalist with her own peculiar sentimental and psychological world. Despite her remarkable talent and opportunities available to her for being a full-time professional singer, she preferred to work as an amateur out of the limelight and preserve her privacy in order to uphold her own artistic standards and moral principles. Between 1960 and 1964, the Golha programmes and orchestra conducted by Javad Ma‘rufi made good use of her voice, on which she performed a number of classical works by ‘Arif and Shayda wherein she revealed her vocal prowess. She vanished as an artist from the Iranian musical scene around 1970. Over the last forty years (1970-2011) there has not been even the slightest trace of her presence at musical events, related periodicals or the media in Iran. It is said that during these years she has spent her time studying the daf and the setar (two musical instruments particularly favoured by those inclined toward Sufism) and has endeavoured to preserve her privacy – which was always part of her character. Her famous performances include the lyrical songs Imshab dar sar shuri daram (“Tonight I have a passion in my head”) and Ghawgha-yi sitarigan (“Tumult of the stars”), with music by Humayun Khurram and lyrics by Karim Fakur.