Hayidih

(1942-1990)

Hayidih (1942-1990), female vocalist and one the last great female vocalists who performed ten songs in the Gulha programmes. Her talent as a singer was discovered by ‘Ali Tajvidi who discovered her exceptional voice, provided her with intensive training as a singer, and may have even chosen her stage name ‘Hayidih’. Hayidih was about twenty-seven years old when she first performed with the Gulha orchestra whose conductor and composer at that time was ‘Ali Tajvidii. Her performances are considered as outstanding specimens of powerful performances of Persian classical songs. One of her performances, entitled ‘Azada’  (Liberation) written by Rahi Mu‘ayyiri, coincided with the poet’s last days and thereafter granted her nation-wide fame. She also sung in a number of programmes in the new series of the Gulha (Gulha-yi taza), in one of which she was accompanied by the famous vocalist Muhammad Riza Shajariyan, but these later performances lack the artistic originality, power, and brilliance of those performed under the directorship of Tajvidi.

Like many other female vocalists who made a name for themselves from 1970 onwards, she soon distanced herself from performing classical compositions and turned towards modern music, popular songs, and cabaret performances. Having turned into one of the most affluent Iranian vocalists in the last years of the Pahlavi reign, she immigrated to the United Kingdom  in August 1978 then went to live in the United States in 1982. After the Islamic revolution female singing was outlawed byin Iran. After some eleven years of performance and recording of many valuable Persian musical compositions, she died of a heart-attack She died the day after her concert in Northern California in January 1990.

Sayyid ‘Ali Riza Mir ‘Alinaqi