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Muammer Ketencoglu
Karanfilin Moruna (Kalan Music, Turkey)
$16.99

Also by Muammer Ketencoglu - Ayde Mori

Musicians:

Vocal: Bora Ebeoglu Vocal: Huseyin Tuncel Vocal: Ferruh Gencer Vocal: Gulcan Kaya Solo Vocal: Mehmet Erenler Solo Vocal: Muammer Ketencoglu Guitar: Cengiz Onural Accordion: Muammer Ketencoglu Violin: Baki Kemanci Ney: Aziz Senol Filiz Bendir: Aziz Senol Filiz

Tanbur: Murat Aydemir Drum: Yildiray Kilkislar Darbuka: Suat Berkay Baglama: Mehmet Erenler Cura: Cengiz Onural Kontrbass: Nezih Yesilnil Zurna: Necmettin Undev Zurna: Mehmet Undev Kemane: Ersin Baykal Laouto: Murat Aydemir Santur: Ihsan Ozer

Notes from the artist:
"Ifa wolf grows hungry he climbs down the mountain, if a man grows hungry he climbs up the mountain." An Old Turkish Proverb

I am not going to tell you here about the early 20th Century rebellions by the Efes and Zeybeks of Turkey's Aegean region, nor about their customs or heroism which gave headaches to the Sultan, instead, l will share with you what working on this album has evoked in me -- an album evolved from the song collections of the Zeybeks, to whom we owe the prototypes, which later grew in subject matter and number.

My mind takes me back to the holiday mornings of my childhood. On those special mornings when we needed to rise early, TRT Izmir Radio's announcement of "Zeybeks by davul and zurna" was followed by that magnificent music that would flood in and out of my body. Later in life, when my mother sang to me the same tunes l had heard from her as a child, l would get the feeling of reuniting with an old friend! Then cama the researching of numerous sources, primarily TRT's archives; deep conversations with elderly persons; the challenging and intoxicating path ways of creating something new yet rooted in tradition, and something seemed to materialize from nothing! This is a short psychological travelogue of the album.

Historians and folklore scholars hold two theories regarding zeybek music and traditions. Some base their theory on elements of the nomadic life style brought into Anatolia from Central Asia, while others trace the origin back to Ancient Greece. As an amateur researcher quite involved in the Turkic music of Central Asia, I must say l have not come across any rhythmic hints to suggest zeybek music in that region, although l have not analyzed this subject in depth.

All but a few zeybek tunes have a 9/4 rhythm, and they are classified as very slow, slow, and lively, according to their metronomic values. Lively zeybeks are also called zeybek (songs) tor women. l feel obligated to correct a misconception here; it is a common belief that the zeybek form does not exist outside of the Aegean region. However, we f?nd zeybeks in Central Anatolia, almost every where in the Mediterranean region, and in Cyprus, as well as in the Black Sea region, although fewer in number. Therefore, l have also inciuded non-Aegean songs in my work. The only country where zeybek music is probabiy more common than in Turkey is Greece.

Having traveled to Greece through the Aegean Islands and large-scale migrations, zeybek melodies quickly became popular. The zeybek form "zeybekiko" became not only an indispensable element of Greek folk music and dances/ but it also prompted countless honored examples of contemporary urban Greek music, especialiy Rebetiko. Born in Anatolia, zeybek music has been developed and enriched amazingly in the hands of Greek and Anatolian Greek composers, in terms of both melody and rhythmic variation of structure. l have also noticed the same zeybek rhythm used in some Thracian songs and in selected samples from Central Albanian folklore. Given the reality of this undeniable link, and my own musical background/ it was common sense that l would apply to our own zeybeks certain elements that I had learned from the Greek and Anatolian Greek musicians: matching harmonic selections, various frills, use of the bag(lama instrument.

As a natural outcome of my playing the accordion, l picked tempered songs that don't include microtones. These are choices that best suit my voice and my instrument, which did not originally exist in the zeybek tradition. On the one hand/ selecting tempered songs has left out a large repertoire; on the other, it has allowed me to exercise the harmonies required by the melody with full simplicity, with the exception of "Beyaz geyme toz olur" (Don't wear white; it turns to dust) and "Oduncular dag(dan odun I.ndirir" (Lumberjacks carry lumber from the mountain). You will notice Cengiz Onural's creative harmonic approaches in those two songs. l conceived "Karanfilin Moruna" more as a special anthology featuring the zeybek concept than as a personal album. Therefore, the two zeybek classics played on davul and zurna by Menemenli Kara Memet and Friends, and a song from Ankara performed by maestro Mehmet Erenler with the same warmth as in his old radio recording are indispensable foundation stones tor me/ not mere complements.

l feel joy and happiness in bringing you these songs, not heard on radio or television tor a long lime. Each song is invaluable, presented in the spirll of folk music and with the care my musician friends and l could afford within our abilities. With this album, l dare make the statement that authenticity does not necessarily mean performing with a bag(lama assembiy, nor do new approaches to folk music need comprise computer-aided infrastructures of a cursory nature. And l would like to strongiy emphasize that the greatest guide to reproducing tradition is, after all, the tradition itself. This product of technology that is in your hands is the creation of several musicians blending their knowledge of tradition with their own emotions. l hope it will make you experience the joy of reunion with old friends.