Instrumental Compositions of Turkish Music...

Turkish Music is in possession of an invaluable musical heritage. Brought by the Turkish tribes from the Central Asia, it matured in the Middle East . Its laws and principles were established there during a period when in the Islamic World science, art and philosophy were at the peak. In time it was brought to perfection by our ingenious composers and talented performers who were supported and protected throughout the Ottoman reign.

Turkish Music owes its basic character to the richness of its sound system, natural tones, modal quality, melodic structure and form, the combination of which prepared grounds for the outcome of everlasting masterpieces.

It goes without saying that the flourishing of Turkish music coincides with the flourishing of other art forms such as literature, architecture etc., and that together they constitute our cultural legacy.

Unfortunately, Turkish Music, though an important part of this legacy, was neglected and overlooked for a period of half a century, between 1926-1976, during which it had to survive on its own without formal training, research or any kind of diciplanary rules. Under these circumstances it was naturally subject to undesirable influences as a result of which its true essence, its magnitude and intrinsic value were obscured.

In our day, Turkish Music is confronted with innumerable problems. A great part of these stem from the fact that notation in Turkish music which, from the beginning lacked some of the necessary signs pertaining to time, tempo, mode of articulation, syncopation and such, failed to correspound to the original composition of the artist. Besides, it underwent several alterations throughout centuries. What is more, music survived for more than four centuries in the oral tradition only, which is called teaching by “meşk”. Starting from 1830 Western music writing was adopted. The transition from the oral traditon to written music brought further problems because almost all Turkish music written in this system also lacked a great part of the signs mentioned above, the absence of which obscured the initial intentions of the composer to a certain extent. Whereas in the oral tradition , i.e., the “meşk” tradition, these points were meticulously taught by masters to their disciples during repetitive rehearsals. As a consequence of the afore mentioned deficiencies in music writing ,as well as the unreliability of the oral tradition, wrongly written music is in circulation which is a very serious problem waiting to be solved. These are only a few of the handicaps that have to be overcome for a faithful performance of the original work.

For a successful interpretation further study is required to enable the performer to penetrate into deeper meanings and nuances contained in the work. In other words, a cross disciplinary research has to be made, covering the historical and cultural background of the work, the musical characteristics of the composer, his achievments and contributions. With this aim in view in 2005 we have started to work on a long cherished project. Our objective was to produce an artistic - performance of certain instrumental compositions of Turkish music. Actually, when compared to vocal music, such instrumental pieces are fewer in number, and they are much less known. In doing this, we intended to re-introduce such works that have been left in oblivion but are infact masterpieces of great strength so that new generations will be acquainted with the artistic achievments of instrumental music, and be inspired by them.

“Peşrev” and “Saz Semai” are the two major traditional forms of instrumental Turkish music. Since about a century ago new forms of instrumental music have also entered our music. Of these, such forms as “Sirto” and “Longa” though of foreign origin, being continuously composed within the “makams” (modal forms) of Turkish music, went through a mutation and acquired the characteristics of our music. The “Hicazkâr Sirtos” of Kadı Fuat Efendi and Kemani Sabuh, and the “Şehnaz Longa”, the best known of all Santûrî Ethem Efendi's works are outstanding examples of these forms.

Instrumental compositions in general reflect all the subtleties and refinements of our music and as such they deserve in our day a greater attention and popularity. They were held in very high esteem throughout the 17 th and 18 th centuries, the golden age of Turkish music.

“Peşrev” as an art form goes back a very long way. It means “that which goes first”, and actually all the musical performances, especially the “fasıl” start with the “peşrev”. “Fasıl” is sort of a concert normally consisting of a series of musical forms which must be performed in a row and were composed in the same “makam”, i.e., the same modal system. Classical “fasıl” which was very popular in the 18 th Century used to begin with the “peşrev”, followed by lengthier forms of vocal compositions such as “Kâr”, “Beste”, “Ağır Semai”, “Yürük Semai” and end with the “Saz Semaî”, an instrumental composition. However, “peşrev” is by no means a simple ouverture, an introductory passage to attune the ear to the following music. It is the greatest of all the instrumental forms. In whichever “makam” (modal form) it is composed it contains not only all its intrinsic characteristics, but also various modulations to other “makams”. In all the “peşrevs” composed either in the major or in the minor “usuls” i.e., rhythmic patterns (%85 of the “peşrevs” were composed in the major “usuls” and only %15 were composed in the minor “usuls”), the harmony obtained between “usul” and melody was an aesthetic necessity.

It is also known that, during the same period, instrumental “fasıls” were also performed. These concerts start with a “taksim”, improvisional performance of a single instrument as an introduction to the “makam” (modal form) and then to be followed by “Peşrev” and “Saz Semai” with the same “makam”.

Dimitri Kantemiroğlu (1673-1727), Turkish music composer and musicologist of high renown, made a compilation of 16 th and 17 th C. musical compositions .Of the 349 pieces he included in his work, 309 are “peşrevs”, 39 are “saz semais” and only one is a “beste” which shows how popular instrumental music had been then. Charles Fonton, a Euorpean musicologist observes in his work “A Comparative Essay on Turkish and European Music” written in 1757, that a musician composing in the “peşrev” form needs to have a keen memory as well as an immense power of creativity so that he would remember all the “peşrevs” hitherto composed and thus avoid repeating the modal and rhythmic patterns as well as modulations employed by them.

“Peşrev” like any art form reflects the human world and emotions, therefore it can be written in a variety of styles; lofty and pensive when dealing with religious or philosophical themes but it can also be joyous and light-hearted as well as sad and melancholy when it deals with more commonplace human experience. Nevertheless, whatever the theme may be it is always graceful, delicate and subtle, and as such reflect the powerful and versatile character of Turkish music.

“Saz Semai” is the second important example of instrumental Turkish music. It is also a considerably old form and it is used as the closing piece of the “fasıl”. It is brisk and lively. With the exception of a few, “Saz Semais” are written in the same “usul” (rhythmic pattern): “Aksak Semai”. The final parts of “Saz semais” are written in a differnt rhythmic pattern and generally speaking they are more lively and swift. Like the “Peşrev” the “Saz Semai” can be composed in any “makam” (modal system). It carries the main characteristics of the “makam” it is written in, but it also contains masterful modulations to other makams.

“Saz Semais” and “Peşrevs” share similar manners of expression. But they differ in the rhythmic pattern, vivacity, and themes each employs. “Saz Semais” are marked mostly for their brisk and concise manner of expression.

We made a selection of 48 works mostly from amongst the instrumental compositions of the 18 th and 19 th century that we have mentioned above. We have worked meticilously on these texts for a long time, both technically, to assure that the right version of notes were to be played, and artistically, so that the performance should reflect the musical and the emotional strength of the work as well as the real intentions of the composer.

An orchestra suitable for such a performance was required and we set to work to form one such. The orchestra members are all instructors, graduates or students of the Turkish Music Conservatory. All together, there are three violins, two classical “kemençes”, two violas, two cellos, one double-bass, one “ney”, one “tanbur”, one “kanun” and one “bendir”.

The recording of the selected 48 works took a year, during which the orchestra spared no pains to achieve the best possible performance. After the recording, eight more months were spent for the studio work to print the present album consisting of six CDs.

This album which is the result of a long and painstaking endeavour is a humble contribution to our music. Our aim in doing this is to demonstrate the power of expression and diversity of our music, to emphasize the importance of performing this music with a proper interpretation after having solved the technical and artistic problems attached to it, to acquaint the listener with the sources and the true spirit of Turkish music so as to prepare grounds for new compositions of a similar calibre.

Judging our music by its present appearence is not fair. The unfortunate state of our music today is the result of a long interval of negligence. Actually it is a great music endowed with a great potential for development. Large scale studies on history, musicology and performance will reveal this and enhance interest in our music.

We are responsible for the preservation of this cultural heritage handed down to us and to pass it to the future generations. We are also aware that this is a huge reponsibility and requires a heroic effort.