Turkish Music

 

Classical Turkish music is a centuries old music tradition which was passed from generation to generation by means of personal training rather than through written instructions. Its vastly rich repertoire which contains tens of thousands of musical pieces was inherited from master composers of the previous centuries. Some well known composers from 18th and 19th centuries include Dede Efendi, Haci Arif Bey, Zekai Dede, Sevki Bey, and Rahmi Bey among many others.  

This sophisticated music genre was embraced by cultured men and women alike, at the Ottoman Court, at elite houses in Istanbul, as well as other big cities. It was also believed to possess medicinal qualities and was used to cure many mental or physical illnesses by soothing the mind.

Classical Turkish music is a modal music which excels in masterful use of melody as opposed to harmony. It uses many more notes in an octave than western music does, and its instruments are designed to be able to produce those microtones. Some authentic classical Turkish music instruments are ud, kanun, kemence, tanbur, yayli tanbur and ney.

Maqams (guidelines of melodic structure) are the basis of Turkish music. Each song belongs to a maqam (the one which is most suitable for expressing its sentiment), but there are also transitions to many other maqams within the same song, in order to make it more interesting. Some of the well known maqams are hicaz, nihavend, kurdili hicazkar, huzzam, ussak, segah and mahur.

Classical Turkish music is a passion for those who are fortunate enough to have encountered its treasures.

Merhum Dr. İrfan Doğrusöz’ün Amerika’da çalıştırdığı koronun solist ve koristlerinden olan Ayça Yeşim Hanımı, Kadir Has Üniversitesi’nde 2002 yılında gerçekleştirdikleri bir konserde tanıdım.

Daha sonraları; müziğe, şiire ve sanata olan büyük sevgisi, ve öğrenme konusundaki azmi sebebiyle birlikte çalışmalara başladık; yurtiçinde ve yurtdışında çok sayıda konser gerçekleştirdik.

Yurtdışında yaşayıp da kültürümüzü asla unutmayan, tam tersine yaşadığı yabancı ülkede bile onu sonsuz bir gayretle tanıtmaya çalışan nadir insanlardan biri olan Ayça Yeşim, “Ankara Rüzgârı” isimli ilk albümünde icrâ ve üslûbu ile hayli beğeni kazananmış idi.

“Canlar Dayanmaz” isimli bu albümüne ismini veren şarkısı ile şairliğinin ve solistliğinin yanı sıra müzik dünyamıza bestekârlığını da müjdelemiş oldu.

Elinizdeki albümün eserlerinin seçimi de tamamen kendisine âit olan Ayça Yeşim’i bu kıymetli çalışmasından dolayı tebrik ediyor hocası olarak başarılarının devamını yürekten diliyorum.

 

Osman Nuri Özpekel

 

I first became acquıinted with Ayça Yeşim - who had been a member of the choir conducted by late Dr. İrfan Doğrusöz in the USA - during a concert they performed together at Kadir Has University in 2002.

Subsequently, and as a result of her deep love of music, poetry and arts, and her keen determination to learn, we began to practice together, and we gave many concerts together both in Turkey and abroad.

Ayça Yeşim’s performance and style in her previous album “Ankara Rüzgarı” has been widely appreciated. In this new album, “Canlar Dayanmaz (The Heart Can’t Resist)”, she proves herself as a composer and a poet in addition to a voice soloist.

As her tutor, I congratulate Ayça Yeşim for her performance in this album, and sincerely hope that her musical accomplishments continue in the future.

 

Osman Nuri Özpekel

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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