A Ghazal Tune
This piece is a piano solo inspired by one of the ghazal’s by Hafiz, in particular ghazal 19. The reason I chose this ghazal is because of the imagery of the nightingale used in the poem. The nightingale is famous for its song, so I decided to use this imagery to actually set this ghazal to music. Like all ghazal’s, this one is about a strong love the lover has for the beloved. In particular, this ghazal has several lines that refer to wine or alcohol, emphasizing the state of one’s intoxication by love. Other metaphors are used, for example the rose, which is the nightingale’s beloved. The music therefore tries to echo this, though not line by line, it tries to represent deep love set by its melody which I tried to make as pleasant as possible. It also echoes the state of being overpowered by love as indicated by its easy tempo which makes it more lyrical. At the same time the tune also has a measure of joy in it, because ultimately the love the lover has for the beloved, and the idea of finally being with the beloved is joyous, and even if in this particular instance they do not end up together, with the ghazal, and with the kind of love spoken about in Sufi poetry, there is always hope for next time.