In this recording, Derya
Türkan and Murat
Aydemir, two of the most talented Classical Turkish Musicians of their
generation, present a most colorful collection of well-known works of
virtuoso Turkish composers.
Their incredible talent for performing classical forms
of Turkish Music, as well as the improvisation of different Turkish Music
modes between these compositions has made this album one of the most important
recordings made in the last decade.
Derya Türkan & Murat Aydemir both established
their music career successfully at a very young age and they have already
performed intensively, both nationally and internationally, throughout
the last eight years.
"Profound and very deeply felt performances."
Dave Dalle, CKCU, Ottawa, Carleton University
Composers :
Tanburi Refik Semseddin Fersan (1893-1965)
Refik Fersan, one of the most important composers of
the last period of Turkish Classical Music, was born in Istanbul in 1893.
His early exposure to music was through his father, who was a Hâfz
and a composer. Between 1905 and 1912, he took tanbur lessons from Tanburi
Cemil Bey, and he ultimately graduated from the Galatasaray Sultani School.
After spending years in Egypt and Switzerland to study chemistry, he eventually
abandoned University, and returned to Istanbul to commit his life to music.
He studied with Leon Hanciyan Efendi, from whom he learned the Hamparsun
note system. Subsequently, Fersan became a tanbur teacher at Darülelhan
(The Istanbul Conservatory). In 1923 Fersan became director of the National
Turkish Music Ensemble, where he worked for a period of four years as
a director and musician. In 1948, at the offical invitation of the Syrian
Government, he went to Damascus to establish the Damascus Concervatory
and to teach Turkish music there. Only 142 of more than 400 of his compositions
have survived and have been released complete with their original notes.
In addition to his compositions, Refik Fersan has revived long-ignored
Selmek makam traditions.
Serif Muhiddin Targan (1902-1967)
Oud virtuoso and composer, Serif Muhiddin Targan, was
born in Istanbul in 1902. He took private lessons until the age of eighteen,
during which time he learned Persian, Arabic, French and English. He later
graduated from Law School and the Faculty of Literature. He began to learn
piano when he was three years old, the oud when he was six, and the cello
at the age of fourteen. In 1924 Targan went to New York and worked with
such renowned musicians as Leopold Goddowsky, Prof. Auer Kreisler, Elman,
and others. He performed many concerts for these masters, as well as playing
alongside them. In 1934, he formed the Baghdad Conservatory. Following
this, he was named president of the Research Committee of the Istanbul
Conservatory. Today we are left with only twenty-three of his compositions;
twenty of these are instrumental works and the other three are songs.
Kemani Cevdet Çagla (1900-1988)
Çagla is one of the most important Turkish Music
composers of the last period. He was born in Istanbul in 1900. He was
raised in a musical family, and began to play the violin when he was seven
years old. In 1916 he went to Berlin to study music on a government scholarship.
After his return to Istanbul, he was accepted to the Music Conservatory
as a violin player. During his fifteen years of work there, he played
almost in every recording produced by the Conservatory. In 1926 he worked
on the very first programs of the Istanbul Radio; he later worked in Ankara
Radio, Ankara Music Association, Istanbul Radio, Baghdad Conservatory,
and the Istanbul Technical University National Conservatory of Turkish
Music as a musician, professor and administrator. Today we have eighty-two
of his compositions.
Tanburi Cemil Bey (1871-1916)
Tanburi Cemil Bey was a genius, and was probably the
most creative Turkish Musician of this century. Even as a little boy,
he exhibited an incredible uniqueness and proficiency in the tanbur instrument.
Without making any changes to the characteristics of Classical Turkish
Music, and remaining honest to the traditional structure of Turkish music,
he developed an amazing style which proved his virtuousity both in his
improvisations and compositions. With their delicate structures, rich
melodies and strong characteristics, these compositions and improvisations
carry a uniquely romantic and lyric feeling that Tanburi Cemil Bey developed
from his teacher Tanburi Ali Efendi`s style. Yet, freeing them somewhat
from classical forms, he improved his teacher's style, and vastly benefitted
the period as well. Similar to Haci Arif Bey in vocal music, Tanburi Cemil
Bey established creative development in instrumental music, both technically
and aesthetically. Even though we have only thirty-five of his compositions,
with his thousands of improvisations (taksim) he is an extraordinary force
in Turkish Music. Most of these improvisations were recorded on 78 rpm
discs, and survive in various archives.
Kemani Tatyos Efendi (1853-1913)
The composer and musician Tatyos Efendi, of Armenian
origin, was born in Istanbul in 1858, and he rose to fame under the name
of Kemani Tatyos. He learned the kanun from his uncle Mofses and violin
from Sebuh, he also studied music with Civan and Astik. He has been largely
accepted as a Master Armenian musician of his period. He was a remarkable
composer, commanding an outstanding knowledge of notes and note-writing.
Today we are left with sixty-two of his compositions.
Necip Gülses (1952- )
Gülses was born in Istanbul. He had his first musical
education from Ali Gülses, who is one of most famous Hafiz of Turkey.
He graduated from Istanbul Technical University Turkish Music Conservatuary
in 1980. In the following year he started to work as a tanbur teacher
at the same institutation. In 1985 he began working as a tanbur player
at Turkish Radio and Television. In 1996 he won a special prize with his
Usak Sirto composition at the Tanburi Cemil Bey Instrumental Composition
Competition. In 1997 he was appointed a member of Turkish Radio Television,
Turkish Music Performance Supervision Division. Besides working in this
Institution, he works also as a composer and tanbur player, and has twenty-five
compositions in various musical forms.
Instruments :
Tanbur
The Tanbur is a long necked, stringed instrument with
the widest tonal range of any stringed instument indiginous to Turkey.
It is played with a mzrab (tortoise-shell plectrum). Throughout the centuries,
a variety of tanburs have been developed and used: Tambur-i horasan, tambur-i
kebir-i türki, tambur-i rûd and tambur-i çirvinan. Today's
tanbur was first used by Dimitri Kantemirolu (1673-1723) to document Turkish
Classical Music.
The Tanbur's body has a hemisperic shape and is constructed
from mahogany, walnut, balsam, rose, chestnut, juniper, and plane trees.
Its long neck, which is about 29-33 inches (73-84 centimeters) long, is
fretted. Playing is accomplished at the lowest string with a mzrab. The
player plucks the strings which causes a vibration, resulting in resonance
on the totally covered soundboard of the tanbur. A sound which is referred
to as tannaniyet is produced. A tanbur player moves the neck of
the tanbur up and down lightly to produce different expressions and moods.
Today's tanbur has eight strings. Of these eight, half
are made from brass and the other half from steel; the steel strings are
thinner. Compositions are played on the lowest strings one and two (yegâh).
The traditional sound of the tanbur is achieved from the lowest yegâh
string. The middle strings (3 and 4) are used as harmony strings as well
as to achieve lower sounds than yegâh. The rest of the strings are
used to produce harmony.
A tanbur can be tuned in a variety of ways, which can
be based for a specific makam or even a composition. However, there is
a classical tuning system that is generally used. This system can best
be described from the base to the top : strings 1 and 2 yegâh (re),
strings 3 and 4 kaba rast (sol), kaba dügâh (la), strings 5
& 6 yegâh (re), 7th string kaba rast, kaba dügâh,
kaba kürdi, kaba segâh (re), kaba bûselik and lastly
the 8th string for kaba yegâh. This tuning is called bolaheng.
Classical Kemençe
The earliest Turkish bowed instrument was called ikl.
The Turks brought this instrument to Anatolia and in time it came to be
called a kemençe,which literally means little keman (violin).
In Turkey, there are different instruments called kemençe.
From these varieties, the Karadeniz Kemençesi (Blacksea Kemençe)
and the Türkmen Kemençesi (Southeastern Kemençe) are
used in folk music. The Blacksea Kemençe has a narrower body and
its shape is more rectangular. The instrument used in Turkish Classical
Music is called Klasik Kemençe (Classical Kemençe) which
has a wider and rounder body. All kemençes are played with a bow.
Unlike a classical kemençe player, however, the Blacksea kemençe
player plays while standing.
The classical kemençe has been used in Turkish
Classical Music since the middle of the 19th century. Especially after
Tanburi Cemil Bey, it has become an essential instrument of Classical
music ensembles. This kemençe has three strings; it is placed on
the left knee with its top leaned against the player's chest. The strings
are not plucked with the fingers; rather, they are pushed with the finger
nails lightly from the sides.
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