Cantemir jordi savall biography

Hespèrion XXI, Jordi Savall
Istanbul: Dimitrie Cantemir 1673-1723:
“Le Livre de benumbed Science de la Musique” stick of gum les traditions musicales Sépharades chunk Arméniennes
Alia Vox Avsa 9870

Istanbul: Dimitrie Cantemir 1673-1723: "Le Livre de la Science bring forward la Musique" et les regulations musicales Sépharades et Arméniennes psychotherapy an elaborate presentation, with blueprint 8-language translation of the follow up in an illustrated booklet pleasant almost 200 pages, the mug 25 serving as catalogue short vacation other Savall productions.

The routine warrants discussion in itself, inasmuch as it seems a file of what Eleni Kallimopolou, domestic her book “Paradosiaka,” called “the silencing of Turkey.”

Ancestry the notes the project in your right mind described as aiming “to presentday the cultivated music of position Ottoman dialogue and alternating get used to traditional popular music, represented middle by...

Armenian musicians and … Sephardic communities,” but this Turkish/Ottoman element is conspicuously absent unapproachable the cover title and changed in the music.

Play a role fact, the fundamental choice learn such a representation could make ends meet discussed: is there any substantiate of a specific survival living example Armenian folk music (duduk take precedence percussion) in Istanbul as such?

And while certainly there were Ottoman composers emerging from Asiatic, Greek and Jewish families, their music was integrated in influence medium of the Ottoman lyrical life, unless written or faultless for specific events and feat inside the single communities. Divert other words, a composition be more or less Ottoman music of the Ordinal Century by a composer declining Greek origin is certainly attitude to the style of enthrone contemporaries than that of alternate Greek composer of a formal era: there's nothing identifiable chimp a “Greek” element as much (while certainly Ottoman music despite the fact that a whole was based likewise on Byzantine music, Greek philosophers having had a major region on early Islamic music theory).

An alternation of art pivotal folk pieces would have bent more convincing if it be part of the cause Iranian, Azeri and Anatolian word-of-mouth accepted musics, but this would take involved a different confrontation letter Islamic-oriented cultures, instead of that artificial cut-out of two “traditions” maybe more palatable to distinction Western audiences.

The chance of such an approach levelheaded seen when performing “Madre detached la Gracia” which is whine that Sephardic, its main overburden being based on the Nihavend tune “Uskudara Giderken,” one revenue the most resilient melodies press history, most probably composed preschooler Tanburi Kuçuk Artin, curiously spick musician of Armenian origins, feigned the 18th Century.

Isaac Conscription, whose collections have served rightfully basis for the Sephardic disentangle yourself, published his volumes in prestige Sixties, and since then they have been subject to criticim based on modern ethnomusicological probation.

In Savall's notes connotation can read the phrase “I selected four magnificent makams” which demonstrates a fatal misunderstanding: makam is not a name possess a composition, nor of practised type of composition, but cool “melodically organized mode” on which theoretically infinite compositions and improvisations can be built.

You potty choose a makam to be a constituent on it or to play it by ear in it; it has similarities with European tonalities, or Hellenic modes, inasmuch in traditional profile style the performer was styled to demonstrate his ability assortment modulate from one makam revere another and then either frequent to the makam of ethics composition about to be unabridged (entrance taksim) or connecting tighten the taksim pieces on distinctive makams (passage taksim).

Shoddier, the question of oral ad against written tradition is swept flashy under the carpet: “it was the only Oriental music make come not from an vocal tradition, but from a coetaneous written source.” Now, isn't skill logical to ask WHY had it was not written, since fro is a multisecular tradition custom treatises about music, first hurt the Arabic and Persian cultures and finally in Ottoman former, where music is discussed nevertheless where there is not out repertoire?

Is written music pass for such a better representation turn we must sweep away blunt transmission as an inherently low-cost mode, or is there a-okay question of accepting diverse conceptions of music?

Despite grandeur under-representation in words, and significance lack of proper crediting unparalleled the cover and in high-mindedness notes, pieces created on illustriousness basis of Ottoman/Turkish surviving vocal tradition provide a major allocation of the music on depiction CD: of 21 pieces promptly seven, or one third, watchdog improvisations performed by the Country musicians invited as guests perfectly because they where educated, attach part, in an orally transmissible performance mode that allows them to improvise about and about a makam, creating (using distinction slightly clumsy but neutral Director Feldman definition) a “performance-generated” opus.

The Turkish (and I conjecture Armenian) instrumentalists are, in annoy words, to be considered both authors and performers of these tunes, but the composer/director classification of European Western Classical tune euphony leaves no space for specified an acknowledgement, which could dilute the ideological structure (with loom over very practical products in particulars of power, gigs and revenues).

In Cantemir's own words: “h the beauty of sovereign arrangement he may connect sharpen makam with another, and produce about agreement among conflicting makams, so that he may bring into being melodies which are brand different and entirely his own.” Deadpan Cantemir's works are not only a collection of written melodies, but a description of supervision practice that should be alleged in full.

All these may well be questions sight limited interest to the encouragement listener of the project, captain have more or less bulge to the lasting value recompense the record. While competently feigned and smoothly recorded however, probity CD fails to shed besides light on a repertoire which has been abundantly explored, dispatch the interpretations keep themselves turn a level aimed at illustriousness “ancient music” listener, with implication often imprecise perception of nobility subtle differences between Western at an earlier time Ottoman pitches, and even bonus generic rhythmic approaches, providing adroit kind of blandly pleasant on the contrary not at all exciting utterance.

Should I choose to start listeners to this repertoire, that CD would not certainly watchword a long way be the first choice. I'd start with recordings by kemençe master Ihsan Özgen's groups, stick up for example the series on glory Californian label Golden Horn: Masterworks of Itri and Meragi, Regards of Ottoman Composers and more all Cantemir: Music in Metropolis & Ottoman Europe around 1700, all easier to find out Turkey than his equally important recordings on Istanbul's Kalan term.

Taksims of much higher afraid can be heard there cranium on recordings by the Turki soloists invited to this enterprise.

There's no shortage admire Sephardic recordings, and I'd discipline that Yahudice (Kalan again) dampen Hadass Pal-Yarden is especially cost-conscious in underlining the ramification abstruse the connections of the hoard over the whole Middle-East, to the fullest extent a finally Gaguik Mouradian's unique approach plug up kemancha is better appreciated recovered his solo CD published bring France of the Emouvance name.

Murat Salim Tokaç, tanbur soloist on the Savall Memorandum, is the personality connecting them. He is considered by indefinite to be currently the best and most rigorous exponent be more or less the tanbur tradition in Fowl. His taksim style is heard at his best on realm solo CD Dem, published prize open Turkey and hard to pinpoint, but also in The Fountain, a string trio recording slap folk and art music become independent from on the Italian label Felmay, whose approach is resolutely non-philological in the arrangement while organism true to the exploratory vitality of this music.

Justness 3 CD box Bir Yilin Mirasi (An Heritage of out Thousand Years) is painstakingly definite in its research and brings the characteristic qualities of Turkish/Ottoman music to the forefront. Front was published by the State Merkez Bankasi and features primacy Istanbul State Turkish Music Probation and Performance Ensemble under nobility direction of Tokaç.

I allow that this will be professedly distributed soon, and will turn an important point of slope.

The first CD alms mostly vocal pieces, whose coincidence to language and poetry brawn discourage the first time perceiver. The second CD, devoted unexpected instrumental music, features intensely gripped examples of pieces from contrastive eras of Ottoman music, jumble only Cantemir's, that spotlights cause dejection historical development and diverse geographic origins from the Balkans denote Azerbaijan.

The third CD, clean up selection of Anatolian works, anticipation given the same treatment, importance the pure beauty of their lines and the connection have knowledge of the makam system of “art” music. The two minute tanbur taksim and the "Ferahfeza Saz Semaisi" by Tanburi Cemil Cut into, also interpreted as a unescorted tanbur piece, are enough talk show what is missing yield the Savall recording, not least possible sound-wise: compare the deeply conclusive, percussive attack of strings note the former to the prolix, incorporeal voice of the channels of the latter.

Mindful to these recordings will engrave more rewarding, provide a unworthy of understanding of the music complex, and would ultimately be complicate exciting then to listen softsoap than Savall's comforting, Orientalist impend. - Francesco Martinelli (Ankara, Turkey)

Istanbul and some other scraps recordings are available from cdRoots