''"Gulistān"—Nocturne for Piano'', commonly known as ''Gulistan'', is a piano piece by

Kaikhosru Shapurji Sorabji Kaikhosru Shapurji Sorabji (born Leon Dudley Sorabji; 14 August 1892 – 15 October 1988) was an English composer, music critic, pianist and writer whose music, written over a period of seventy years, ranges from sets of miniatures to wor ...

written in 1940. Its title refers to ''Golestan'' ("Rose Garden"), a collection of poems and stories by 13th-century Persian poet and writer Sa'di. The piece lasts about 30 minutes in performance and is often considered one of Sorabji's greatest works.Roberge, p. 264

Background and composition

Persian poetry served as a source of inspiration for Sorabji throughout his life. Although not programmatic, Jonathan Powell (n.d.)
"KSS63 Gulistān"
''The Sorabji Archive''. Retrieved 7 June 2020. ''Gulistān'' is inspired by Sa'di's (1210 – c. 1291) book ''Golestan'' ("Rose Garden"), parts of which Sorabji had set to music in his ''Trois poèmes du "Gulistān" de Saʿdī'' (1926, rev. 1930) for piano and

baritone A baritone is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the bass and the tenor voice-types. The term originates from the Greek (), meaning "heavy sounding". Composers typically write music for this voice in the r ...

.Roberge, p. 265 Besides the reference to Sa'di's work, the preface in the manuscript also contains a quotation from ''South Wind'', a 1917 novel by

Norman Douglas George Norman Douglas (8 December 1868 – 7 February 1952) was a British writer, now best known for his 1917 novel ''South Wind''. His travel books, such as ''Old Calabria'' (1915), were also appreciated for the quality of their writing. L ...

. Sorabji began work on ''Gulistān'' before 6 January 1940 and completed it on 13 August of the same year. Though originally dedicated to Frank Holliday, following the rupture of his friendship with Sorabji in 1979, the dedication was transferred to Sorabji's friend, the British poet, dramatist and translator Harold Morland, who, upon hearing the piece that same year, wrote: "This is no garden. But a spirit's Paradise."

Music

''Gulistān'' is written in Sorabji's "tropical

nocturne A nocturne is a musical composition that is inspired by, or evocative of, the night. History The term ''nocturne'' (from French '' nocturne'' 'of the night') was first applied to musical pieces in the 18th century, when it indicated an ensembl ...

" genre, which is often described as evoking a hothouse, rainforest or tropical heat. The opening of the piece introduces a sinuous,

chromatic Diatonic and chromatic are terms in music theory that are most often used to characterize scales, and are also applied to musical instruments, intervals, chords, notes, musical styles, and kinds of harmony. They are very often used as a pair, ...

melody that reoccurs in various guises. Much of the piece uses series of

diatonic Diatonic and chromatic are terms in music theory that are most often used to characterize Scale (music), scales, and are also applied to musical instruments, Interval (music), intervals, Chord (music), chords, Musical note, notes, musical sty ...

chords Chord may refer to: * Chord (music), an aggregate of musical pitches sounded simultaneously ** Guitar chord a chord played on a guitar, which has a particular tuning * Chord (geometry), a line segment joining two points on a curve * Chord (as ...

(usually broken and heard in the lower registers), with the main ones having F, F-sharp, A or C as the

root note In music theory, the concept of root is the idea that a chord can be represented and named by one of its notes. It is linked to harmonic thinking—the idea that vertical aggregates of notes can form a single unit, a chord. It is in this sense ...

, while the middle

voices Voices or The Voices may refer to: Film and television * ''Voices'' (1920 film), by Chester M. De Vonde, with Diana Allen * ''Voices'' (1973 film), a British horror film * ''Voices'' (1979 film), a film by Robert Markowitz * ''Voices'' (19 ...

present chant-like melodies and the upper ones use chromatic figurations.Habermann, p. 56 Despite the active, highly intricate ornamental writing, the piece is to be played at a subdued volume throughout. About two-thirds of the way in, the ornamental writing is interrupted by a slow passage in three-part

counterpoint In music, counterpoint is the relationship between two or more musical lines (or voices) which are harmonically interdependent yet independent in rhythm and melodic contour. It has been most commonly identified in the European classical tradi ...

, following which the earlier writing returns. The piece concludes with a reminiscence of the opening that ends on a low A.

Recordings and assessment

''Gulistān'' occupies a very prestigious position among Sorabji's works. Pianist and composer Jonathan Powell, discussing Sorabji's nocturnes, calls it "arguably his most successful essay in the genre". Pianist

Michael Habermann Michael Habermann (born 1950 in Paris) is an American pianist and private piano instructor. His intense study of the music of English-Parsi composer Kaikhosru Shapurji Sorabji has resulted in five recordings. Sorabji dedicated his piano piece ''Il ...

describes it as a "superb, luscious piece", and musicologist Simon John Abrahams opines that it stands out among Sorabji's works "due to the remarkable integration of the texture and figuration, as well as the richness of the harmony". Musicologist Marc-André Roberge considers it "the most compelling work in Sorabji's entire production for the piano" and writes that " tsgorgeousness is probably unmatched in the entire repertoire". The work has been recorded commercially by Powell, Habermann and Charles Hopkins.Roberge, p. 447 Sorabji himself produced a private recording of the piece in 1962, which is considered more of an improvisation based on the score, given the liberties he took in his performance.

References

Sources

* Abrahams, Simon John (2002).
Le mauvais jardinier: A Reassessment of the Myths and Music of Kaikhosru Shapurji Sorabji
' (PhD). King's College London. * Habermann, Michael (1995)
"Strange Music: The World of Kaikhosru Sorabji"
(

PDF format Portable Document Format (PDF), standardized as ISO 32000, is a file format developed by Adobe Systems, Adobe in 1992 to present documents, including text formatting and images, in a manner independent of application software, Computer hardware, ...

). ''Piano Today'', vol. 15, no. 6, p. 56. Retrieved 7 June 2020. * Roberge, Marc-André (2019)
''Opus sorabjianum: The Life and Works of Kaikhosru Shapurji Sorabji''
(free download of the book in

from its presentation page on the Sorabji Resource Site). Retrieved 22 October 2019. {{portal bar, Classical music, Music 1940 compositions Compositions by Kaikhosru Shapurji Sorabji Compositions for solo piano