Assoc. Prof. Dr. Cahit ATASOY
Dr. Cahit Atasoy was born in 1926 in Trabzon. He died in 2002.
He is a faculty member in the State Conservatory of Turkish Music in Istanbul Technical University. He attended the School of Economics of Istanbul University.
Dr. Atasoy’s studies has been focused on both the theoretical and practical aspects of Turkish Music since 1951. He authored numerous articles at various times.
He composed both Turkish and Western style music. He has attended many scientific meetings and presented papers.
EYÜPSULTAN:
A SCHOOL OF MUSIC
(AN ECOLE)
In this piece of writing, first I would like to say a few things on “Eyüp Sultan” and on “Turkish Music,” which form the title of the arti-cle, and then will try to explain why Eyüp Sultan is a School of Music (an Ecole) in the History of Turkish Music.
Eyüp Sultan, for one thing, has been a place where Moslem Turks came to settle before Istanbul was conquered. As the late historian ‹brahim Kafeso¤lu pointed out, similar to the case of the Turks who came to live in Eastern Anatolia before the Malazgirt Victory, these Turks came to live in Eyüp Sultan.
Naturally, the area outside the city walls and along the shores of the Golden Horn, with its woods and streams was very attractive for immigrating Turks. As would be expected, the population of this piece of land continually increased at the time of the conquest and in the days following. After Akflemsettin confirmed that Eyüp Sultan’s tomb would be established in Eyüp, the place acquired a spiritual character, began to attract many visitors and more families came to live there.
Furthermore, a population explosion
occurred when Eyüp Sultan became the admin-istrative center of Çatalca, Silivri, Bak›rköy, Kas›mpafla-Hal›c›o¤lu, Kemerburgaz and more recently, Bayrampafla.
The immigrant Turkish people of Eyüp Sultan, who came all the way from Asia, brought their arts along which flourished in their new homeland.
Actually, the music of these people was just as much appreciated in those far away lands as it was in Eyüp Sultan after their arrival here.
It is known that the Hatay Turks who immi-grated from the Motherland to Northern China used musical notes.
On various epitaphs obtained in Asian archeological digs are figures playing the “saz” (a stringed instrument which somewhat resem-bles a lute and is used to play traditional Turkish music).
Today, we know that in Turkistan Palaces members of the Parliament listened to music during intermissions.
We have the books written on Turkish Music by Fârâbi, a great genius, and his student ‹bnî Sina.
Illustration 1. The ceremo-nial band on Pier Street in Eyüp, 1985.
Urmiyeli Safiyüddin, a physicist of music whose musical knowledge is still valid today, was from the city of Urmiye by Lake Urmiye in Persia. Another Turkish musician is Meragal› Abdülkadir, who comes from Meraga at the other end of the same lake. He is a music genius and a composer with a broad repertoire of Classical Turkish Music who has also estab-lished the Herat School of Music.
Marking rhythm by tapping was intro-duced to Anatolia by the Turks who immigrated from Asia.
Turkish music became an important part of the dervish lodge of the Mevlevi Order in Konya. Similarly, it was played in the dervish lodge of Eyüp Sultan called the Bahariye Mevlevihanesi. Other than these, the melodies of Turkish Music would also frequently be heard in many excursion spots, in mosques, other dervish convents and lodges and in madrasahs.
Nothing else, other than poetry and music, seemed to exist in Ka¤›thâne and Sadâbat. Many composers of the Tulip Age of the Ottoman Empire, whose names occupy a significant place in the History of Music thrived there. The names of these great musicians are mentioned one by one in Atrabü’l Âsar(a biography of com-posers) written by fieyhülislam Mehmet Esat Efendi, still another Tulip Age composer: Kara ‹smail Agâ, Odabafl›-zâde Efendi, Parsa-zâde Abdülbaki Efendi, Tosun-zâde, Tesbihçi-zâde Emir Çelebi, Çar-fleb Mustafa A¤a, Serhanendegân Hasan A¤a, Haf›z R›fat, Reflit Çelebi, fiehla Mustafa Çelebi, Kabudan-zâde, Molla Mehmet Efendi, Nazim Çelebi, Nâbi Efendi (poet), Yusuf Çelebi, Acem Salih A¤a, Kas›m Mehmet, Salihzâde (a kadi (judge) from Edirne), Halil Efendi (the muezzin of Cerrahpafla), Ali Dede (Nâli-zâde), ‹zzettin Efendi, fieyh Bursal› Hac› Eflref-zâde, Abdurrahman Bahir Efendi (Arap-zâde), Hüseyin Dede (Eyyubi Dervifl Neyzen), Zaharya, Tanburi Mustafa Çavufl, Ahmet Vefki Efendi, Haf›z Ali Efendi, Boncukçu, Benli Zakir
Hüseyin Efendi, Molla Hüseyin Efendi, Mehmet Çelebi, Muhsin Çelebi, Mahmut I (Gazi sultan-› Evvel), Mehmet Tulûhi Efendi (sheikh), fieyhülislam Dâmar-zâde Feyzullah Efendi, Kemanî ve Tanbûri H›z›r A¤a, Tab’î (Kassam-zâde Ser-müezzin-i fiehriyari Hattat Mustafa Efendi), Tanbûri ve Hanende Dilhayat Kalfa and others...
Music never ended in waterside residences along the Golden Horn, particularly in the palace of Mustafa Faz›l Pasha, the nephew of Egypt Khedive. These residences were on the banks of Golden Horn in the Baharîye area, the promi-nent ones being the Bahariye Mevlevihane (Mevlevi Dervish Lodge) and the fiahsultan Tekke (Dervish Lodge). These served as Schools of Turkish Music until the law closing dervish lodges was passed.
It was so much so that just like on the nights of the full moon on the Bosphorus, people would come close to the banks of the Golden Horn in their boats to listen to the melodies fill-ing the air.
The music teachers of the times used to give lessons at their own homes or at the residences of their pupils.
The first name that comes to mind in this respect is Ebubekir A¤a, the great composer of the Tulip Age. Then there was Eyyubi Mehmet Bey, a composer who was Zekâi Dede’s teacher. He was a person full of encouragement who at one point introduced Zekâi Dede to Dede of Akb›y›k in Sultanahmet to help him further his knowledge of music. Dede’s teachings turned out to be extremely beneficial for Zekâi Dede who ended up memorizing the music prior to Dede’s time, as well as Dede’s personal pieces, preventing them from sinking into oblivion.
Zekâi Dede worked hard to educate stu-dents in music until his death, mainly at the fiahsultan Dervish Lodge, but also in his own home or at Darüflflafaka School.
Hüseyin Fahrettin Dede transformed the Bahariye Mevlevi Dervish Lodge into a School
of Music, as in the case of fiahsultan Dervish Lodge, where he trained many capable students.
The Bahariye Mevlevi Dervish Lodge was the third dervish lodge, after Yenikap› and Galata Lodges, where the theory and practice of Turkish Music was taught. Here, Mevlevi order music was played during worship and other immortal pieces were practiced before going on stage for the public at Semâhane. As in all other dervish lodges, the music performed in hr Bahariye Mevlevi Lodge was not limited to reli-gious pieces, but other forms of Turkish Music such as Kâr(the first piece sung after the peflrev -an overture played at the beginning of a song- in a classical fas›l-a program of musical pieces all written in the same makam or mode), beste(a musical composition consisting of four verses
each followed by the same melodic passage),
semâi (a rhythmic pattern of three beats) and
flark›(song- a rhythmic pattern of thirteen beats) were also played. Fas›l used to be practiced twice a week in the Bahariye Mevlevi Lodge. The famous names of the time such as Zekaî Dede, Hafiz fievki Bey, Dr. Suphi Ezgi, Tophaneli Sabri, Müstantik Avni Bey (the Examining Magistrate), Ortaköylü Aziz Efendi, Darüflflafakal› Sakall› Kaz›m, Sad›k Bey (the Accountant of the Municipality), Saadettin Efendi (the Sheikh of the Tafll›burun Dervish Lodge), M›z›kal› ‹smail Hakk› Bey, Ahmet ‹rsoy (Zekaî Dede’s son) and Münir Kökten (Zekaî Dede’s grandson) also took part in these prac-tices. Ziya Pasha, the statesman, advanced his knowledge of music there.
The music life of the Bahariye Mevlevi Lodge also included various weddings, ceremo-nial occasions and entertainments. For example, the poet Yeniflehirli Avni Bey (Hüseyin Fahrettin Dede’s uncle) was one of the people who resided in this lodge. When his daughter Muhsine Han›m married Haf›z fievki Bey (the son of Hafiz Abdullah Efendi who lived in Eyüp and served as the Head Guard of the Palaces), the wedding took place in the Bahariye Mevlevi Lodge. An excellent group of musicians who played traditional Turkish music composed of
Kemâni (violinist who plays Turkish music) Mike, Udî (player of the lute) Sürur, Neyzen
(player of the reed flute) Aziz Dede and Kanunî
(player of the zither) Ziya Bey (Ziya Pasha) was gathered. Zekâi Dede lead the performance. The waterside residence had its liveliest night ever. The waters of Golden Horn quivered in beams of light. Various musical compositions were played following an instrumental improvisation in Suzinak by Kemâni Mike and a Suzinak Peflrev by Emin A¤a.
Upon request, Head Kudümzen (player of small double drum used for rhythm in Mevlevi music) Zekaî Dede replaced Arif Dede in the Bahariye Mevlevi Lodge after his death. The composition called suzidil, which is the original
Illustration 2. The Mehteran Nevhet (Eyüp Sultan Mosque square, Mehteran-› Eyüp Sultan).
Mevlevi order music played during worship, was composed by Zekaî Dede through the encourage-ment of Mustafa Faz›l Pasha and its first perfor-mance was held in this Mevlevi Lodge. After the death of Aziz Dede, (the Neyzenbafl›or the head player of the reed flute in Bahariye Mevlevi Lodge), Hakk› Dede became the new Neyzenbafl›. The Music Board of the Lodge included Çerkez Ahmed Dede from Gelibolu and Salih Dede, another player of the reed flute. Emin Dede and Sabri Bey from Tophane were also members of the Board as keepers of the Lodge. In addition to this Mevlevi Lodge, the waterside res-idences in Bahariye included the Abdurrahman Pasha Residence, the ‹brahimhanzâde Residence which came after fiahsultan Mosque and the Mustafa Faz›l Pasha (the nephew of the Egypt Khedive) Palace a bit further. Zekaî Dede taught and performed music particularly at Mustafa Faz›l Pasha Palace. Among the waterside resi-dences, there was also the fiahsultan lodge which had an entrance through a courtyard from Silahtar A¤a Street. Similar to the Bahariye Mevlevi Lodge, this one was also like a conser-vatory. Zekaî Dede used to teach his students there. Dr. Suphi Ezgi Nazarî, the great genius of music, wrote the following introduction in the first volume of his giant work on Practical Turkish Music: “By the time I was seventeen, I had learned to read the notes for many songs and peflrevi’s. At that time, the late Udî Otakç›larl› Ahmet Efendi, my music companion, introduced me to master composer Hafiz Zekai Efendi who accepted me into his Circle of Instruction. Once a week and on Sundays, Zekai Dede came together with the Sheikh’s son Burhanettin Efendi, his son-in-law Avni Bey, Otakç›larl› Ahmet Efendi, Kemençevi Dr. Arif Atâ, and Hafiz Aziz Efendi at the gathering place of the fiahsultan lodge in Eyüp to make music which I was destined to join. Later, Muhibbim Ahmet Efendi (postal and telegram legal adviser), Kanunî Hadji Arif Bey, Üsküdarl› Hanende Hüsamettin (Singer Hüsamettin from Üsküdar) and Rauf Yekta Bey also became our companions.”
Now, to emphasize the power of these peo-ple as teachers and to stress the accomplish-ments of their students, the lives and contribu-tions of some of them will be briefly reviewed.
Dr. Suphi Ezgi - Composer and a genius of Turkish Music. Besides a five-volume theoreti-cal work on Turkish music, he authored books such as the songs of Tanburî Mustafa Çavufl and “Temcit-Durak-Naat” (prayer praising God sung from the minarets during the months of
Rajab, Sha’banand Ramadan- a form in religious Turkish music - a poem praising the Prophet Muhammad). He composed around onehun-dred and seventy pieces of classical style music. Hüseyin Fahrettin Dede - (He was a student of Zekai Dede) - He played the flute and the reed flute and performed double-vocal music. He composed very few pieces, but his Acem Aflirân Ayinî (a makam/mode in classical Turkish music) is the king of all music used in religious services.
Rauf Yekta Bey - He was a scholar of Turkish Music and taught courses on the histo-ry and theohisto-ry of music at Darülelhan Istanbul Conservatory at the time it was founded. Later, he served as the head of the selection committee. He was interested in physics of music and acoustics. The Turkish vocal system is ascribed to him, together with H. Saadettin Arel and Dr. Suphi Ezgi. He was an excellent composer in the classical style and composed about fifty pieces of music. His numerous articles appeared in the press of his time and he authored the section on Turkish music in Lavingnac Encyclopedia pub-lished in Paris.
Hadji Faik Bey - A Turkish composer. He wrote beautiful songs and composed great pieces of music. He taught Dr. Suphi Ezgi the music notation of the West and learned from him the kind of music notation which uses cer-tain letters invented by Hamparsum.
Ahmet Avni Bey - A Turkish composer and scholar who learned music from Zekai Dede and practiced it with Hadji Kerâmi Efendi. He
was a good singer who also composed forty-one pieces of music. “Kâr-› Nat›k” is a special com-position which he composed to use in teaching different modes of music. We have his work called Hanende which is the best text magazine for music.
Medenî Aziz Efendi - A Turkish composer and singer who played the piano, the lute and the lavta(an instrument like the lute now out of use). He trained many students among whom are ‹smail Fennin Ertu¤rul, Leylâ Saz and Dr. Suphi Ezgi. Among his compositions in kâr (the first piece sung after the peflrev in a classical
fas›l), beste( a vocal composition of four verses each followed by the same melodic passage),
semaî(a rhythmic pattern with three beats) and
ilahî (hymn) musical forms, we only have the one in ‹sfahan makam(mode) today. His songs are among his beautiful pieces of music.
Muâllim Kâz›m Uz - A Turkish composer who was a student of both Zekai Dede and Fahrettin Dede. He composed religious musical pieces in forms known as ayîn and durak, as well as hymn, operetta, peflrev (an overture played at the beginning of a song- in a classical
fas›l-a program of musical pieces all written in the same makam or mode), and saz semâi (an instrumental form in four movements). He wrote a book on Musical Terminology. Among the students of these great names in Turkish music are Ahmet Irsoy, the son of Zekai Dede,
Münir Kökten, his grandson, Abdülkadir Töre and Santûri Ziya Bey.
The great teachers and students of Eyüp Sultan Music have made the area home for the Turkish music.
In writing about the great musicians of Eyüp Sultan, one should also mention those who were born and lived there and are buried in one of the Eyüp cemeteries.
‹zzettin Hümayu Elçio¤lu, a composer who was the teacher of Yesarî As›m is buried in Edirnekap› cemetery. Again, the composer Mükerrem Ak›nc› rests in the same cemetery. Hadji Arif Bey, a song composer, was born in Eyüp. Similarly, Saadettin Heper was born in Eyüp and his grave is in between the Kaflgari Dervish Lodge and the road going to Piyerloti. Ebubekir A¤a was born in Eyüp Sultan and Mustafa Itrî, whose grave is on Fethu Çelebi Street in Eyüp, lived in his farm outside of Edirnekap› where he grew Mustâbey pears. Eyyubî Mehmet Bey’s grave was somewhere near Piyerloti, but it no longer exists.
The composer ‹smail Hakk› Bey rests in the family graveyard in Edirnekap›. Kemani Memduh (violinist) is buried in Tokmakkap› cemetery. The song composer Rahmi Bey is at the K›rkmerdivenler cemetery in Eyüp. The vio-linist Mustafa Sunar lived in Eyüp. Abdülkadir Töre’s grave is at the cemetery where the Kaflgari Dervish Lodge is. Hüseyin Fahrettin Dede and the Grand Vizier, the Reed Flute play-er Yusuf Pasha rest at the Bahariye Mevlevi Lodge. Mehterenbafl› Hasan Tahsin Parsadan (chief of the band of musicians) and Ali R›za Sengel are at the Edirnekap› cemetery for the martyrdom. Zekâi Dede, his son and grandson are buried at the cemetery on Piyerloti Road.
Finally, the following should also be men-tioned:
There are still active places in Eyüp Sultan where music is made. One of these is the Eyüp Musical Society which was founded by Mustafa Sunar in 1915, but was later closed. It was
initi-Illustration 3. The opening ceremony at the Eyüp Sultan Mosque square in 1972. (Metin Türkmeno¤lu Archive)
ated again in 1985 by Nihat ‹ncekara, who is a member of the town council and the place today serves as a core conservatory where the theory, sound and instrumental techniques of Turkish music are taught, in the best possible way. The institution has a chorus which gives concerts periodically. The most intriguing aspect of this school of music is its children’s chorus. No other institution in Istanbul or other provinces has this feature. The Musical Society in Üsküdar is working towards this goal, but the one in Eyüp is so far the promising one for the future.
Music is also made in Ümmü Sinan Dervish Lodge in Eyüp Sultan. The Eyüp Municipality has established a Cultural Office which has a music library where they are trying to collect all books and documents, old and new, related to the art of music. This Cultural Office is also active in organizing symposiums and confer-ences, as well as putting out various publica-tions about Eyüp.
Another favorable accomplisment of the Eyüp Municipality has been the formation of a
mehtergroup (band of musicians) in the old tra-dition, which gives concerts at various times on television or elsewhere and performs at the square of the Eyüp Mosque before Friday prayers. Such activities are controlled by Osman Sak, the Assistant to the Chief of the Municipality.
Some of the following are the musicians who still live in Eyüp Sultan and some are the ones who recently died:
Rahmi Sönmezocak, the repertoire teacher at Istanbul Technical University. State Conservatory of Turkish Music and the singer Mediha fien Sancako¤lu both grew up in Eyüp and Aka Gündüz, who plays the reed flute, is a teacher in Eyüp Musical Society. Mesut Peker, a student of Emin Dede, retired as the chief muezzin of the Zal Mahmut Mosque and lives in Eyüp.
Safiye Ayla, the late famous singer, was a member of the Eyüp Musical Society. Kadri fiençalar whose grave is in Eyüp was the person
who had the grave of Zekai Dede built. In the History of Turkish Music, the heart of the Turkish Classical Music will forever beat in Eyüp Sultan, where it found expression under different roofs and was immortalized by extraordinary scholars of music who passed their knowledge onto generations of great musi-cians over the centuries.
REFERENCES
Nazari ve Amelî Türk Musikisi, Dr. Suphi Ezgi, 1933-Vol. 1. Büyük Türk Musikisi Ansiklopedisi, Y›lmaz Öztuna, MEY Yay›nlar›, 1990.
Lâle Devri Bestekârlar›, Arzu Kopuz, ‹TÜ, T.M.Dev. Konservatuar› Yüksek Lisans Tezi.
Büyük Larousse Sözlük ve Ansiklopedisi, 1986. Hofl Seda, ‹bnül Emin, ‹fl Bankas› Yay›n›, 1958. Lâle Devri, Ahmet Refik Bey.
Atrabü’l Asâr, Mehmet Esat Efendi. Istanbul Ansiklopedisi, Reflat Ekrem Koçu.
Eyüp Sultan Tarihi, M. Necmi Haskan, Eyüp Belediyesi Yay›n›. Musiki Mecmuas›, 1948.
Esatizi Elhan, Rauf Yekta Bey.
Türk Musikisi Antolojisi, S. Nüzhet Ergun, 1943. Mevlevî Ayinleri, Saadettin Heper, Konya. Hüseyin Fahrettin Dede, M, Refik Kaya ‹TÜ. Türk Müzi¤i Devlet Konservatuar› doktora tezi.
