Sadreddin Özçimi - Ney Taksimleri - Cassette released in Turkey in 1980s or 1990s

Here another beautiful cassette by the great Neyzen (Ney master). Accompanied in the metrical parts by a Bendir.

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M. Sadreddin Özçimi - Ney Taksimleri - Cassette released in Turkey

Here we present a beautiful cassette of Taqsims (improvisations) on the Turkish Ney by Sadreddin Özçimi, the greatest Ney master (Neyzen) of his generation. He is in the tradition of Ney masters of the Mevlevi, the Whirling Dervishes. See here our other Ney posts.

Born in Konya in 1955, he studied under the great Ney masters Aka Gündüz Kutbay and Niyazi Sayın. He has quite a number of cassette and CD releases in Turkey.

See also (in Turkish): http://www.mutriban.com/neyzen-m-sadreddin-ozcimi-ile-musiki-ve-sanat-uzerine/

Sadreddin Özçimi also studied Ebru, the art of marbled paper, from the leading ebru masters of today. He published a book on this art. This is typical of traditional Ney masters: they very often were and are experts in several other traditional arts like calligraphy, ebru or the craft of manufacturing prayer beeds.

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Here beautiful examples by other artists:

Mohammad Reza Shajarian - Mahur - Concert in 1989 - Cassette produced to be sold at the 1989 European tour.

Here a concert by the very well-known Mohammad Reza Shajarian (born 1940), a very accomplished singer who touched publics world wide with his very refined, deep, introverted art. The 1989 tour was especially noteworthy as the repertoire and the musicians were the most traditional imaginable. He was accompanied just by a trio of very traditional artists. 

Especially Dariush Pirniakan, the Setar player, is a great master of both the Tar and Setar. He studied with the great Radif masters of mid last century, especially Ali Akbar Shahnazi, more or less the same masters Dariush Tala'i had, but he seems to stick even closer to what he had inherited. Mahoor released a while ago two solo CDs by him, both on Tar, both outstandingly beautiful. He worked in the late 1980s and early 1990s very closely with Shajarian and made about seven CDs with him: the three volumes from this tour of 1989, first published as cassettes, in Mahur, in Abu 'Ata and in Bayat-e Zand & Afshari, from the tour a year later one in Shur with the same group except that as Tombak player for the first time Shajarians son Homayoun Shajarian appeared. And then three CDs with Ensemble Ava under his direction: "Aram-e Jan" - Concert in Afshari, "Rosvaye Del" - Concert in Segah and "Aseman 'Eshgh" also in Segah.

The other two musicians are Jamshid Andalibi, a fine Ney player, and Morteza Ayan, who plays very elegantly the Tombak. 

I was at a couple of these concerts and bought this cassette at their concert in Cologne. In total I saw over the years at least fifteen concerts by Shajarian, most times with my wife who loved his music very much. At the last ones I was a little sceptical if the concert would still touch me and went there mainly because my wife wanted to go, but it always did touch me surprisingly strongly. He is a strongly introverted artist and hardly moves, everything coming from the chest. The maximum movement I noticed was that in very intense moments his hand would rise about a centimeter or two from his knee and then fall back on it again.

On the artist see:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mohammad-Reza_Shajarian

http://www.iranchamber.com/music/mshajarian/mohammad_reza_shajarian.php

He published over 30 CDs and DVDs. There exist also some books written on him and his art. In 2016 we posted another cassette by him.

One good thing about the 1979 revolution in Iran related to music: as popular, westernised and night club (casino) music was forbidden, including the entertainment version of classical Iranian music played on the radio, a young generation educated by the great Radif masters at the Center for Preservation and Propagation of Iranian Music received an enormous chance to come forward. Starting in the early 1980s singers like Shajarian and many others and instrumentalists like Dariush Tala'i had many cassette and later CD releases and had many chances to give concerts. In this era also the publication of the existing recordings of the great masters, who were completely ignored before, started in exemplary editions. The only downsize: female singers were not allowed to perform in public, except for a purely female public. 

The concert here consists of a long Dasgah Mahur with these sections:

Side 1:

Pishdaramad

Chaharmezrab

Saz va Avaz (vocal improvisation accompanied by an instrument) - Ghazal by Hafez

Tasnif - Ghazal by Hafez

Saz va Avaz (vocal improvisation accompanied by an instrument) - Ghazal by Hafez

Side 2:

Zarbi

Tasnif - Ghazal by Hafez

Saz va Avaz (vocal improvisation accompanied by an instrument) - Ghazal by Hafez

Tasnif

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Akagündüz Kutbay (1934-1979) - Mevlana - Instrumental Dervish Music - LP published in Turkey in the 1970s

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About the artist see: Wikipedia and Facebook

In 2009 Kalan released a wonderful set of two CDs in a small book:

Aka Gündüz Kutbay (1934-1979) – Ask – 30 yilin özlemiyle…, Book (English text included) + 2 CD: CD 1: Segah Taksim (4:12), Ferahfeza Bas Taksim (Ayinden) (7:02), Acem-Asiran Müsterek Taksim (5:18), Saba Müsterek Taksim (3:01), Saba Pesrev (Osman Bey) (1:57), Saba Seyir (0:57), Hicaz - Saba - Ferahfeza Taksim (6:25), Müstear Taksim (1:30), Rast Seyir (0:53), Hüseyni'den Isfahan'a Geçis Taksimi (3:56), Buselik-Asiran Taksim (2:04), Bayati Taksim (9:34), Saba taksim (3:36), Saba - Ferahfeza - Rast Taksim (8:55), Hüzzam'dan Segah'a Geçis Taksimi (5:42), Müstear'dan Ussak'a Geçis Taksimi (4:40), Saba Bas Taksimi (Ayinden) (4:45), CD 2: Pençgah Bas Taksim (Ayinden) (6:24), Segah Taksim (7:22), Hicaz Pesrev (Veli Dede) (4:07), Hicaz Taksim (3:08), Muhayyer-Sünbüle Taksim (2:21), Nisabur - Ussak Taksim (1:08), Hicaz Müsterek Taksim (1:30), Nihavend Taksim (4:09), Saba'dan Rast'a Geçis Taksimi (2:50), Eviç'den Segah'a Geçis Taksimi (1:24), Evcara Taksim (3:51), Segah Seyir (1:36), Ussak'tan Hicaz'a Geçis Taksimi (8:53), Segah Taksim 2 (2:27), Kürdilihicazkar Taksim (1:15), Rast Taksim (4:20), Segah'tan Rast'a Geçis Taksimi (6:06), Ferahfeza Son Taksim (Ayinden) (1:51), Suzidil Taksim (3:46), Buselik Saz-Semaisi (Beste: Mutlu Torun) (5:33), KALAN, 481-482

Aka Gündüz Kutbay was the most outstanding Ney player of the 2nd half of the 20th century. Excellent recordings. Two CDs in a bilingual (Turkish & English) book of 119 pages.

And another one, together with the legendary singer Kani Karaca:

Kani Karaca (1930-2004) (Vocal) & Aka Gündüz Kutbay (1934-1979) – Mesk - …tükenmeyen istiyak, Book (English text included) + 2 CD, CD 1: Kar-i Natik (Hatibzade Osman Efendi) (29:55), Makam Tarifi (1:59), Eviç-Buselik Taksim (1:40), Eviç-Buselik I. Beste (Ismail Dede) (7:58), Eviç-Buselik II. Beste (Ismail Dede) (2:42), Eviç-Buselik Agir Semai (Ismail Dede) (3:35), Eviç-Buselik Nakis Yürük-Semai (Ismail Dede) (6:08), Hicaz Durak (Haci Arif Bey) (6:37), Nühüft Durak (Güfte: Niyazi Misri, Beste: Ali Sir ü Gani) (4:04), Ferahfeza Sarki (Fehmi Tokay) (3:13), CD 2: Sultani-Irak Taksim (1:53), Sultani-Irak I. Beste (Abdülhalim Aga) (7:35), Sultani-Irak II. Beste (Küçük Mehmed Aga) (6:25), Sultani-Irak Agir-Semai (Abdülhalim Aga) (5:53), Sultani-Irak Nakis Yürük-Semai (Küçük Mehmed Aga) (8:00), Sevk-u Tarab Mevlevi-Ayini (Ismail Dede Efendi) (22:48), Bayati Beste (Moris Kordova) / Ibranice (5:30), Hüzzam Beste / Ibranice (4:15), Segah Sarki (Kani Karaca) (3:45), Kürdilihicazkar Sarki (Kani Karaca) (3:40), KALAN, 483-484

“Mesk” means: master/apprentice relationship. “After Hafiz Ali Efendi and Sadettin Kaynak, Kani Karaca was greatly indebted to Sadettin Heper for a great portion of his musical education. When Heper began to grow old, he encouraged Karaca to continue practicing the music he had taught him with Aka Gündüz Kutbay. There, as he sang the songs he had learned from Heper, Kutbay would serve as Karaca’s “eyes” and together they worked with many pieces. Through the pieces they sang they would do a “makam analysis” and strive to perfect their performance. These “Harbiye Mesks”, with tea and food served by Süheyla Kutbay, would last until late into the night, and were sometimes attended by Abdi Coskun (Tanbur) as well.

Returning from a concert abroad, Aka Gündüz Kutbay brought an AKAI brand tape recorder of recording studio quality, with which he recorded a portion of the pieces he worked on with Karaca in his home.”

Kani Karaca, the legendary blind singer of the Whirling Dervishes, other forms of Sufi music, old classical Makam music and at the same time a famous Qur’an reciter,  was the last great singer of old style Turkish Maqam music - both classical and Sufi – with an immense repertoire of old compositions and outstanding vocal melismatic qualities. Aka Gündüz Kutbay was the most outstanding Ney player of the 2nd half of the 20th century. Excellent recordings of a rare old repertoire. Two CDs in a bilingual (Turkish & English) book of 83 pages.

As always, these can be obtained from info@raga-maqam-dastgah.com

Flutes Orientales Sacrées des Derviches Tourneurs - LP published in 1971 in France

Here a LP of music of the Whirling Dervishes which was wide spread in the 1970s and which sticks out by the participation of two outstanding musicians: the Ney player Hayri Tümer and the singer Münir Nurettin Selçuk (1900-1981). 

On Münir Nurettin Selçuk see: 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M%C3%BCnir_Nurettin_Sel%C3%A7uk

On Hayri Tümer see our post of a LP here.

For me Hayri Tümer is the greatest Ney player I ever heard. His music has something like an extra dimension. It is like blazing flames. Unfortunately he is today forgotten.

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Mahmud Karimi (Vocal) (1927-1984) & Mohammad Musavi (Ney) - Iran 3 & 4 - Anthologie de la musique traditionelle - Double LP published in France in 1981

There was on LP 1 some other kind of Iranian music in the background. No idea how this happened. I transferred these LPs already about 10 or 15 years ago into wave files. I made now a new transfer without these background noises. Sorry for the inconvenience. Here it is:

LP 1 & Scans - wave

LP 2 - wave

LP 1 & Scans - mp3

LP 2 - mp3

Hassan Kassa'i (1928-2012) - Iran - Le Ney - LP published in France in 1973

Hassan Kassa'i, the great Iranian master of the Ney, passed away on 14 June 2012. 

Hassan Kassa'i was born on 25 September 1928 in Isfahan, Iran, and died on 14 June 2012 (aged 83) in his home town Isfahan. He was considered the greatest master of the Iranian Ney, an end-blown reedflute, of the century. He started learning the Ney from Mehdi Navai at the age of 12. He also learnt the basics of traditional Persian music and the Radif from master Abolhassan Saba. As he was an exceptional improviser, his performances always sounded fresh. Amongst his best students are Mohammad Mousavi and Hossein Omoumi.

In the last ten years more then 15 CDs of his music have been published in Iran, some with recordings from the 1960s or early 1970s, some with recent recordings. They can be obtained from: info@raga-maqam-dastgah.com
See also his website: http://www.kassaimusic.ir

Here we present in his memory his only LP published in the west:

Side A:

Dastgah-e Shour (22:33)

Side B:

Dastgah-e Mahour (23:14)

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Hayri Tümer - Flute en Turquie - Mystique Ney - Arabesques 9 - LP published in France in 1979

Hayri Tümer - Flute en Turquie - Mystique Ney -

Soufi - Recital à Istanbul - Arabesques 9 -

Anthologie phonographique du recital oriental

LP SONOPRESSE 2 S 062 53.232 (1979)

Side 1:

Introduction en Makam Hicaz (6:10)

Modulation par le Makam Rast (7:00)

Modulation en Makam Ferahfeza (3:00)

Side 2:

Modulation en Makam Segah (7:35)

Modulation en Makam Nikriz (4:00)

Conclusion en Makam Hicaz (4:15)

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