In a Persian Garden: A Song Cycle for Four Solo Voices (Soprano, Contralto, Tenor, and Bass)

“In a Persian Garden: A Song Cycle for Four Solo Voices (Soprano, Contralto, Tenor, and Bass)” is an edition of the Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyàm that is composed by Liza Lehmann. (1862-1918) The score uses the Rubáiyát translation by Edward Fitzgerald, drawing form both the first and fifth editions of Fitzgerald’s translations.

The score was published by Metzler & Co in London and G. Schirmer in New York. It was copyrighted in 1896. The score is in English. The score is 76 pages long. This edition is part of the Dr. Sigurd H. Peterson Memorial Collection at Oregon…

It can be difficult to understand the long and storied history of The Rubáiyat of Omar Khayyàm. Barbara Black offers a lens to understand the publication history through. A selection of Barbara Black’s work, On Exhibit, covers the publishing history of Fitgerald’s translation of the Rubáiyát. This includes its extensive history as a gift book. Black describes how the gift book decorations contributed to making the Rubáiyát a “compelling curiosity” to the Western world (Black, 60). Black points out that the language used to describe the Rubáiyát …

This edition, “In a Persian Garden: A Song Cycle for Four Solo Voices (Soprano, Contralto, Tenor, and Bass”, is a musical score that uses various stanzas from The Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyàm. The score contains no artwork outside the cover art. The cover art is a garden like image with pillars on the bottom half sides of the cover, with a flower arch across the top half of the cover. (See Figure 1) It is a very fitting cover for the title’s theming of “In a Persian Garden”.  The cover, along with the title, give the expectation of a kind of nature imagery in the lyrics, as well…

Liza Lehmann composed the music for In a Persian Garden. Lehmann was a popular Soprano in England, performing from 1885 to 1894. Lehmann retired from the stage after marrying her husband and turned her talents to vocal compositions. Lehmann published 334 songs and cycles, which is the most by any female composer in Great Britain and the United States during that period (Christopher).  In a Persian Garden, composed in 1896, is one of her best-known works. Her writing of four voice cycles was common for her time, but In a Persian Garden was also unusual…

My Dearest Herbert,

I have attached with this letter a copy of In a Persian Garden, finally published and in print! You know how hard I worked to find a publisher for my newest piece. (1) Your support of me has meant the world- you always supported the risks I have taken in composing new pieces! To show how much your support means to me, I dedicated In a Persian Garden to you. (2) I made sure that the dedication was the first thing on the first page of the score. The first thing anyone will read is “To My Husband”.  Your support of my transition…