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BELLINGHAM — Two great Turkish masters, Necati Çelik and Halil Karaduman, will demonstrate the beauty and intricacies of Ottoman Court music, as well as selections from the contemporary Turkish repertoire, in two performances Wednesday, Sept. 10 sponsored by Western Washington University Libraries. · 12:15 p.m. at the Whatcom Museum of History and Art. Free, but seating is limited. · 8 p.m. in the Admiral Room of the Hotel Bellwether, “An Evening of Turkish Classical and Devotional Music.” Tickets at $10 are available at Village Books and the Community Food Co-Op. Western Librarian Béla Foltin, who has arranged the Bellingham appearance, encourages those who plan to attend the formal concert in the evening to attend the museum performance as well “since it will provide some insights into this complex and exquisite music.” Çelik and Karaduman are internationally recognized virtuosos on their instruments: Çelik on the oud (the progenitor of the European lute) and Karaduman on the kanun (the characteristic trapezoidal zither of the Middle East). Both are well versed in classical secular music, Sufi devotional music and various folk music styles of Turkey. Both are also accomplished vocalists. Each is a well-known master in his own right, and each has recorded and performed extensively in concerts and broadcasts. In addition to classical and devotional music of the Ottoman era, the two masters will select pieces from the contemporary Turkish repertoire, including some of their own compositions. Their performances are marked by extensive improvisations, known as taksims: sometimes freestanding, sometimes performed as introductions to composed pieces or as interludes between compositions. “Because of the spontaneous nature of these improvisations, no two performances are ever the same,” Foltin says. Secular music of the Ottoman courts, Foltin notes, was compiled not only by Turkish composers, but also by brilliant representatives of the Armenian, Greek, Jewish, Balkan and Arabic communities whose cultures were part of the Ottoman Empire in its greatest days—and by the sultans themselves. Sufi religious music, also an important part of Turkish classical music, includes movements from the sophisticated suites performed as part of the ceremonies of the Whirling Dervishes, as well as medleys of ancient devotional hymns, many of which are still popular today. |
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