THE MUSIC OF ISTANBUL
STRINGS AND OTHER BOWED INSTRUMENTS

AULA ROSSINI

Tuesday, September 30^th to Friday, October 3^rd: h. 10:00-13:00 /15:00-18:00

Saturday, October 4^th: h.10:00 – 13:00

The musical atmosphere of Istanbul can be perceived in all its facets along a broad spectrum that extends from the palace to the places where ordinary people live. The city has been a meeting point of different cultures for centuries and this has allowed new musical forms to emerge. Istanbul’s classical music has been nourished by this diversity and has acquired its own unique identity. Interactions between palace musicians and others from various regions and cultures played a decisive role.

Following the historical trajectory of the Ottoman Empire, palace music culture was of great importance especially in the 16th and 17th centuries: many outstanding composers and performers emerged during this period. However, Istanbul’s musical heritage is not only rooted in the palace, but also comes from all the places of everyday life, such as taverns and cafés in various quarters of the city. In these places, music from different cultures meets, giving rise to new styles among the people.

Especially since the end of the 19th century, Istanbul has witnessed a new phase of musical synthesis and modernisation, thanks to its relationship with the Western repertoire and musical styles.
In this workshop, students will perform music composed both in the palace and among the people, from the 16th to the 20th century. Works by composers such as Ali Ufki Bey, Dimitri Cantemir, Sultan Selim III, Hanende Zaharya, Numan Ağa, Hamparsum Limoncjian and Ali Rıfat Çağatay will be performed.

Derya Türkan is a master of the kemenche (classical Turkish three-stringed bowed instrument). He is a great connoisseur of the repertoire of classical Ottoman music, and he uses his experience as an improviser to go into other musical styles.Türkan was born in Istanbul, Turkey in 1973. He grew up in a musical family and his first music lessons were with the well-known Turkish cellist Firat Kiziltug. From 1984 to 1994, Türkan attended and graduated from the Turkish Music Conservatory Instruments Education Department of the Istanbul Technical University, where he studied kemence with Ihsan Oezgen. In 1990, he was invited to join the Turkish Cultural Ministry’s Istanbul National Turkish Music Ensemble, directed by Necdet Yasar.

In 1991 Türkan joined Turkish Radio Television (TRT), Istanbul Radio division. In 2000, he became a permanent employee of the TRT. He had the opportunity to perform alongside such master musicians as Alaeddin Yavasca, Bekir Sidki Sezgin, Niyazi Sayin, Erol Deran, Mutlu Torun, Inci Cayirli and Yavuz Ozustun. During this time, he performed at many concerts both nationally and internationally with well known groups such as the Necdet Yasar Ensemble, and Ihsan Oezgen’s Anatolia Ensemble.

Türkan has given many concerts in the United States, France, Germany, Finland, Italy, Spain, Holland, Belgium, Poland, Greece, Israel and many other countries. In particular, he performed and gave workshops both East and West coasts of the United States in universities such as MIT, Harvard and UC Santa Cruz as well as New England Conservatory.

AULA TEATRINO

Tuesday, September 30^th to Friday, October 3^rd: h. 10:00-13:00 /15:00-18:00

Saturday, October 4^th: h10:00 – 13:00

The seminar is focused on techniques and approaches to the accompaniment with percussion in various musical genres. We will work on the basic and advanced techniques on Tombak and Daf. The class will deal with composed rhythm cycles (7 beat, 9 beat, 11 beat etc.), also combining some polyrhythms and unison (2 or 3 rhythmic lines), as well as improvising and singing rhythmical patterns as a way to feel them before performing them on the drums.

Bijan Chemirani started learning music by his father, the legendary Djamchid Chemirami,  who introduced him to the rich Persian culture, Sufi poetry, classical singing and the radif repertoire (the old Persian melodies that have been passed down from master to student over many generations). Bijan turned first of all to the kamanche (a bowed string instrument), then the piano and the accordion, before returning to the zarb. He studied the zarb with his father and in Trio with his older brother, Keyvan. Then he discovered other percussion instruments, such as bendir, riqq and udu, and conceived a passion for rock, rap and the great singers of Iran.

Living in Marseille, Bijan is in close contact with the Mediterranean culture and with that of Occitania. His dexterity and his very broad palette attract artists from all backgrounds. He performs in concerts and make recordings with musicians such as Ross Daly, Dariush Talai, Ballaké Sissoko, Jean Guihen Queyras, Sylvain Luc, Sting, Socrates Sinopoulos, Serge Teyssot Gai, Renaud Garcia Fons and many others. He also learned to play the Iranian kamancheh repertoire with Cyrus Rangbar. At the age of twenty-two he recorded his first album, “Gulistan, jardin des roses”, in Athens and Marseille, with Ross Daly.

In 2007, with his sister Maryam and Greek singer Maria Simoglou, Harris Lambrakis (ney flute), Kevin Seddiki (guitar) and Pierlò Bertolino (hurdy-gurdy), he formed the group Oneira, The group’s first album, “Si La Mar“, was released in March 2009. It was followed in 2012 by “Tâle Yâd“. 

As well as appearing with Oneira, Bijan Chemirani finds time to play with the Trio Chemirani, the Lopez-Petrakis-Chemirani trio, the Forabandit project, which brings him together with Sam Karpienia (former singer with the Marseille group Dupain) and the Turkish musician Ulaş Özdemir, and to work on solo recording projects.

AULA VERDI

Tuesday, September 30^th to Friday, October 3^rd: h. 10:00-13:00 /15:00-18:00
Saturday, October 4^th: h10:00 – 13:00

The workshop will explore the principles and the practice of modal melodic language through musical examples from both the traditional repertoires from the Eastern Mediterranean region and contemporary compositions, to facilitate experiential understanding.
As part of this, we will also focus on the form of improvisation.
The goal of the workshop is to help participants in developing a personal and sharp connection with the expressive power of modal melody, using it as a form of human language: that is like understanding the past while speaking in the present time.

Eugenios Voulgaris started studying Byzantine music in 1985. Since 1992 he has been dealing with the interpretation of Eastern music styles, studying in Greece with Christos Tsiamoulis, and in Istanbul with Fahrettin Cimenli and Murat Aydemir. He also attended many Labyrinth seminars in Houdetsi, on oud, rebab, composition and orchestration.

Since 1992 he has been supervising the School of Traditional Instruments of the Diocese of Ilia in Pyrgos and Amaliada. He has been teaching at the Municipal Conservatory of Patras as the head of the Department of Greek Music. Since March 2005 he has been teaching oud, yaili tambour, organology and ensembles at Technological Educational Institute of Epirus, where he founded the Oriental Music Laboratory in the Department of Folk and Traditional Music in collaboration with Marco Skoulios, Toli Tsardaka and Pano Poulos.

He performs in Greece and abroad, participating in many recording sessions in solo, with his band Romioi, and featuring other groups and artists.
His compositional work includes music for theatrical performances and the work “The message of the prince”(together with Christos Galanopoulos). In 2006, under the auspices of the Department of Folk and Traditional Music (TEI of Epirus), a collection of 200 songs from the repertoire of rebetiko music of the interwar period was published, transcribed in the ways of oriental music (in collaboration with Vassilis Vantarakis).

AULA BOCCHERINI

Tuesday, September 30^th: h. 15:00-18:00

Wednesday October 1^st to Friday, October 3^rd: h. 10:00-13:00 /15:00-18:00

Saturday, October 4^th: h10:00 – 13:00

In this workshop we will learn folk songs from different parts of Greece, focusing on the stylistic details of each region: ornaments, musical intervals, rhythmic nuances. At the same time, we will consider the ethnographic context of each song, the rituals it accompanies and how they fit into the annual cycle of festivities. Studying music from different regions will give us the chance to find connections between Greek folk singing and the broader tradition of modal music in the Balkans and the eastern Mediterranean.

Martha Mavroidi is a singer, lutist and composer from Greece. Her critically acclaimed debut album “The Garden of Rila” established her as a first class folk musician and singer of the new generation, as well as an accomplished composer and orchestrator. Martha’s extraordinary voice combines the Greek and Middle Eastern ornaments and microtonal subtleties, with the rich colors of Bulgarian singing. Her dazzling technique on the lafta and the saz, is often compared to the skills of master musicians of both folk and jazz origin.

Her second album, “Portaki”, features the Martha Mavroidi Trio, with which she has toured in Sweden, Spain, France, Turkey, Cyprus and Greece, and has performed at Womex Globalkan Scene in 2012. Constantly working on new projects, performing also with her acoustic quartet and different music ensembles, she composes music for films and dance show. Martha Mavroidi is the artistic director of Tinos World Music Festival.