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Masters of Turkish Music: The Ney 2 CDs (Kalan)
$20.99

An epic work of archiving the great recordings of Turkish music by musical historian Aziz Senol Filiz. The 2 CDs set comes in an illustrated hard-bound, 80 page book with notes in Turkish and English.

Ney
The ney is a Turkish wind instrument with a history extending back to quite ancient times. This well known instrument holds an especially important place in Turkish classical and religious music.

The oldest name for the instrument is ‘nâ’ or ‘nay’, which came into Persian from Sumerian and means ‘cane’, or ‘reed’. The word ‘mizmâr’ used by the Arabs for nearly all wind instruments and means ‘wind pipe’, or ‘voice instrument,’ has also been used for the ney. In Turkish, it has nearly always been referred to as ‘ney.’ It is also called by similar names in various European countries.

Adding the present form zan- of the Persian verb zadan, ‘to strike, to play’, we have the word neyzan, which becomes neyzen in Turkish pronunciation; a player or performer of the ney. The Arabic word nâyî carries the same meaning.

The ney, because of the special quality of its voice, has gained an important place in every society in which it occurs. The instrument is believed to have been in use since 5000 B.C.; the first known ney was used in Sumeria. The oldest example of the instrument found to date, is a ney from 2800-3000 B.C., housed today at the museum of the University of Philadelphia.

In the Central Asian civilizations of the ninth century, the ney was used in different types and constructions by the Arabs and Persians. The instrument is thought to have been used in religious ceremonies in that period also. It is also believed by some that the ney was invented by the Persians. It is known that the ney used by the Hitay Turks, known to be musically advanced, was played since ancient times in Central Asia, and was a transverse flute.

The ney came into frequent use by the Turks upon their acceptance of Islam, and from the thirteenth century on, became the symbol of mysticism. The great mystic poet Mevlânâ Celâleddin Rûmî, who lived in that century, was very influential in this. Looking at source works found in biographies of Mevlevis, one is struck by the frequency of the title ‘neyzen’ in Mevlevis’ names.

The artists and tracks included in this 2 CD set:

1. Neyzen Emin Dede
    Hüzzam taksim (Saadettin Kaynağın taş plağa okuduğu Hüzzam Durak'ın başında yaptığı taksim)
    Melih Özaltıner arşivi

2. Neyzen İhsan Bey
    Saba taksim (taş plak kaydı)

3. Aziz İhsan Bey
    Rast taksim (taş plak kaydı)
    Kürdili Hicazkar taksim (taş plak kaydı) Cemal Ünlü arşivi

4. Neyzen Tevfik
    Saba taksim (taş plak kaydı)
    Ferahnak taksim (taş plak kaydı) Cemal Ünlü arşivi
    Suzinak taksim (taş plak kaydı)

5. Hicabi Bey
Evcara taksim (taş plak kaydı)

6. Şevki Sevgin
    Şevkefza taksim
    Segah taksim

7. Dede Süleyman Erguner
    Rast taksim
    Segah taksim
    Sultaniyegah taksim

8. Burhanettin Ökte
Uşşak taksim (taş plak kaydı) Cemal Ünlü arşivi

9. Halil Can
Uşşak taksim Fikret Bertuğ arşivi

10. Halil Dikmen
Ferahfeza taksim (Ahmet Yakubuğlu kayıtları) Ali Balakbabalar arşivi
    Suzinak taksim (Ahmet Yakubuğlu kayıtları) Ali Balakbabalar arşivi

11. Hayri Tümer
Dügah taksim Ali Balakbabalar arşivi
    Rast taksim Ali Balakbabalar arşivi
    Saba taksim Ali Balakbabalar arşivi

12. Ulvi Erguner
    Hicaz taksim
    Saba taksim
13. Selami Bertuğ
    Ferahfeza taksim Ali Balakbabalar arşivi
    Saba taksim Ali Balakbabalar arşivi
14. Niyazi Sayın
    Evcara taksim
Şevkefza taksim
Sultaniyegah taksim (1970 yılında İstanbul Festivali'nde Nevzat Atlığ yönetiminde Klasik Koronun verdiği konsede Niyazi Sayın'ın solist olarak yer aldığı bölümde Tanburi Necdet Yaşar'ın katılımlarıyla yapılan taksim.)

15. Aka Gündüz Kutbay
    Ferahfeza taksim
    Segah taksim
Saba taksim (N. Sayın'la birlikte)
    Segah taksim
16. Doğan Ergin
    Nihavend taksim
    Segah taksim
Ferahnak Aşiran taksim Şener Yunusoğlu arşivi

17. Fuat Türkelman
    Saba taksim
    Hicaz taksim