Survey Conducted on the Similarities between the Concepts of Iranian Music and Iranian Garden Architecture (Case Study: Kashan’s Bagheh Fin Garden)

Architecture and music, as the manifestations of some parts of the human soul art, have similar beauty and glory in the scope of representation. Although, music is characterized by hearing phenomenon and architecture is represented by the phenomenon of sight, similar aspects between both of them are abundant. In Iranian garden construction and architecture, these lexical and contextual similarities are represented with music more than other artistic forms. The aim of this research is to investigate the similarities between the principles of Iranian music and garden architecture. Since it is one of the most important examples of the Iranian gardens, Kashan’s Bagheh Fin garden was selected as the case study. Based on the fact that there is a close relationship between architecture and music, it seems necessary to study the different aspects of similarities of these arts in Iranian music and architecture of garden. This is a scope that the art of architecture and landscape architecture are manifested concurrently there. In analysis of the similar cases in Iranian garden construction based on Kashan’s Baghe Fin garden and Iranian music study, twelve principles were investigated. The twelve principles are as follows: hierarchy, sound, symbol, mystics, decorations, order, harmony, centrality, the allegory of heaven, privacy, force or severity and line. Sound: there is no music without sound. The concept of sound and silence is considered in Iranian garden like music. The garden’s space is filled with sounds, the sound of water flowing, wind blowing among the branches and leaves, the sound of birds and human, sudden silence and others. Order: the sound of music is based on regular oscillation, mathematical relations and ratios. Baghe Fin garden of Kashan is rational and regular combination of simply decorated and calculated geometry accompanied by order and fitness. Harmony: harmony in music means fitness of the sounds. In a garden’s architecture, all the physical elements like trees, flowers, water passages, garden monuments and nonphysical elements like sounds, odors and colors are in harmony and fitness. Hierarchy: a system has been considered in Iranian music to replace the music forms and in placing corners rows. This trend has been followed in accordance with the defined hierarchy in Iranian architecture. Centrality: in Iranian music, a sound is placed in center of melody. Center is one the main elements of a garden. The centrality principle is seen in the mansion in Iranian garden more than other elements. Symbol: all proportions, coefficients and values are defined in periodical discipline and systemic form based on the holy figures in Iranian music. The Iranian gardens have been sometimes shaped by four parts structure. Mystics: according to our mystics, hearing the sound of lute is like hearing of love bird in religion. The mystical relationship among Iranians, water, tree and flower indicates that Iranian gardens are holy places. Decorations: in Iranian music, decoration involves: painting, stress, plectrum and etc. In Iranian gardens, in addition to trees, different flowers and plants were used as decorations. Allegory of heaven: heaven is the ultimate goal that our spiritual wisdom and original music seeks. Traditional music is representative of the eternal memory of Iranian Muslims. Thus, combination of Iranian gardens is the allegory of the heaven on earth. Privacy: in our traditional music, the hearer who does not try to reach perfection is not intimate. In Kashan’s Baghe Fin garden’s entrance vestibule hall, there is only a passage from adobe monument opposite to the wall that provides access to the internal space of the garden by truing to both sides. Force or severity: there is falling and rising, force and severity in Iranian music. In Kashan’s Baghe Fin garden, the symmetry in the main passage is obtained by planting trees on the sides, the symmetrical geometry of the mansion, and its color contrast with the green color of the trees. Furthermore, intersections of the main passages of the garden and water ways highlight the symmetry. Line: line in music is sometimes horizontal or vertical, parallel or intersecting, inclined and interwoven. In spatial structure of Kashan’s Baghe Fin garden, the combination of the vertical linear discipline of the trees of the main and secondary passages with water ways’ horizontal linear discipline and water passages and basins create the garden’s structural form. The obtained results show that codes with different meaning and common organizing principles are represented in different expressions in these artistic scopes.