INDEX
- A Master Five Feet Away (New)
- Do You Do My Dance In America?
- Oakland
Tribune - Rhythm of the planet
- Contemporary
World Music
- Music of
the Turkic Peoples
- Eastern Turkestan
in China (Xinjiang): Uyghurs, Kyrgyzstan,
Kazakhstan,
Uzbekistan,
Turkmenistan,
Tatar,
Bashkir,
Tuva,
Altai,
Azerbaijan,
Turkey,
Balkans,
Contemporary
World Music
By
Kutay Derin Kugay
First
I would like to express my gratitude and happiness towards
a very special person that I had the good fortune of working
with: Michael Santoro. Without his overwhelming dedication
and sacrifice this festival would probably not take place.
World
music is at a crossroads. Vernacular music is being pulled
away from its centuries old roots. Traditional music forms
are not being used in new compositions. Regional instruments
are being replaced with European instruments. Playing methods
are being altered. Despite all the attempts, at this juncture
of time, world music is not a specific genre of music, academically
speaking. It may be more correct to call it "music
of the world or "music from the world". In other
words there is not a typical sound, instrumentation or vocalization
of this music. It comes from all over the world. From its
inception until it reaches our ear it totally belongs to
the people and the culture it comes from. There are ongoing
efforts to create a peculiar vacuous electronic sound with
a few indigenous acoustic instruments thrown in and audio
effects that would find a niche in the vast plethora of
music. So far these efforts have been dismal failures, with
very few exceptions (like the legendary Shakti group). These
attempts have focused on creating an Euro-American sound
that would be more palatable to supposedly Euro-American
tastes.
Another
attempt was focused on "collaborations" of Euro-American
musicians with indigenous musicians playing indigenous instruments,
thus forming a so-called "fusion". This overused
term for most of its existence meant a superficial overlay
of European tonal music with non-European modal music with
disappointing results. Oftentimes this sort of effort leaves
much to be desired. Either the level of musicianship is
lacking parity and sincerity, or more often the dominance
factor of the Euro-American musicians and instruments are
but too obvious. In general modernization and technology
have not been beneficent to the arts and music.
This
brings us to the fact that the playing field of the world
music scene is not at all level. Certain presumptions are
taken for granted; like there's such a reality as a "western
ear", and whatever this ear is, it is not accustomed
to listening to, for instance Korean or Persian classical
music. It may be partially this presumption that prevents
commercial radio-television, print media, even internet
to present music from around the world in its authentic
form to American audiences.
Yet
there may be more sinister commercial interests at play
to prevent the free flow of music in our earth. Market forces
share the responsibility of manipulating the type of music
being distributed, aired on the radio and television. Control
of the commodification of music ultimately benefits the
corporate interests.
However,
contrary to above situations, I know first hand that when
great music is presented in a respectful manner audiences
in this country respond very positively and enthusiastically
to the most obscure musical traditions. Musical instruments
in Asia, Africa, Latin America as well as Europe are disappearing
through disuse, and musical forms such as ragas, maqamat,
and dastgahs are threatened with neglect. This is humanity's
tragedy. Electric guitars, keyboards, computerized music
are invading the sacred grounds of our collective heritage.
21st century sound does not mean abandoning 3000-year-old
traditions. It is history's process and filtering that teaches
us what's left for us from our ancestors is a precious musical
gift that got passed from generation to generation and it
proved itself through people's celebrations, weddings, laments,
spirituals.
It
must be a law of nature that music does not stay static
as long as it has a supportive audience. With vibrant listeners
music thrives in the hearts and minds of the people: but
without the appreciative audience music stagnates, repeats
itself, becomes lifeless.
I
am not proposing musical puritanism. I would like to see
respectful joint work between sensitive equals. On our horizon
there are tremendous collaborative possibilities among master
musicians of our times to create fresh contemporary musical
traditions. There are few precious performers like Zakir
Hussain, Shujaat Khan, Keyhan Kalhor, Yildiz Ibrahimova,
Parisa, Erkan Ogur, Ali Akbar Khan, late Nusrat Fateh Ali
Khan and composers like Hossein Alizadeh who have produced
memorable new music that many future generations will enjoy.
Wishing joyous music for your heart.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Kutay
Derin Kugay is owner of 7/8 Music Productions, host of KPFA’s
“Music of the World, (on Mondays 10am-12 noon) & Associate
Producer of the SF World Music Festival. This article was
commissioned by the San Francisco World Music Festival and
first published in the Program in May of 2000.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Todd
Mundt Show:
March
26, 2002
The
term "world music" labels a type of style, but
it also indicates the indigenous music of the peoples of
the world. Kutay Kugay joins Todd to talk about preserving
world music, who's following it, and the San Francisco World
Music Festival. Kugay hosts a weekly program of world music
on KPFA in Berkeley, California.
TOP
Music
of the Turkic Peoples
This
article deals with the seemingly ambiguous term "Turkic"
which became better known since the collapse of Soviet Union
and the formation of new Central Asian countries, such as
Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, and Azerbaijan.
Simply put it refers to peoples of Central Asia that speak
a language related to Turkish. Yet most of the people of
Central Asia, with the exception of Azerbaijan, had a very
different historical and cultural development in the past
1000 years than that of Anatolian Turks. So, studying Turkic
peoples as a single group is in itself quite problematic
because of the divergent characteristics of these peoples
within the various expansive regions.
However,
in this brief introduction to the music of the Turkic peoples
we will not have a homogenizing approach but an eclectic
overview of a demographically focused, geographical point
of view. In each region, naturally there's sharing of musical
influences among the various neighboring ethnic groups.
This
article basically deals with the traditional music of each
region.
The
geographical areas mentioned in this article are: Eastern
Turkestan (Xinjiang) Uyghur, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan,
Turkmenistan, Tuva, Tatar, Bashkir, Azerbaijan, Caucasus,
Turkey and the Balkans.
What
is a makam? (Various spellings of the same word: maqam,
muqam, mugam, mugham)
The
word makam literally means a place, a situation from the
Arabic word maqam.
Most
of the traditional and classical music of Turkic people
is modal and use non-tempered intervals. There are unequally
distanced microtones within the makam system that do not
exist in the modern European music.
Most
of the Asian Turkic music is neither based on harmony nor
use large orchestras. Usually an individual musician or
a small group of 2-5 musicians perform the music.
According
to Walter Feldman "Unlike the predetermined melody
in" European "music, a makam consisted of a general
melodic progression, a melodic idea as it were, usually
in a 4 or 5 note unit (tetrachord or pentachord), with specific
musical rules-- concerning, for example, the upward or downward
direction of melody or which notes within a scale were prominent
and which were considered starting or stopping points."
Most of the traditional instruments were developed to play
the unequal, untempered scales. Most makams take their names
from the notes they start, rest or end with such as Neva
(re), Dugah (la).
Makams
do not correspond to the European scales. In modal Turkish
music makams are the source and structure of the music.
In Ottoman music there may be over 100 modes. Each makam
is a system founded on an ascending or descending mode,
having "two poles of gravity" around which the
melody "turns". In studying the repertoire belonging
to each makam, the musician internalizes this specific structure
and gradually develops his/her own style of unmeasured taksim.
Taksim is the ultimate vehicle where the performer shows
the depth of his/her understanding and interpretation of
the makam by finding new ways and paths of expression in
the form of improvisation. The taksim improvisation may
also include modulations between several makams.
The
use of makam system compels the music to remain monodic,
only to be enriched by the multiplicity of sounds and modes
as well as by the diversity of the rhythmic cycles used,
called usuls. Some of these rhythmic cycles are 5/8,
6/8, 9/8,10/8,14/8. Since the second half of the 16th century,
Ottoman music was arranged as a suite known as fasil.
Fasils begin with an instrumental peshrev, include
several improvisations (taksims), vocal compositions, and
end with instrumental piece known as saz semai.
TOP
Eastern
Turkestan in China (Xinjiang): Uyghurs
Uyghurs
use the term muqam to mean a "suite of compositions"
or in some cases to mean "classical music". Even
if there is modal coherency between different pieces in
each suite, modulations occur as the suite unfolds completely
obscuring the initial mode, so that it is often impossible
to identify certain sections of a muqam from their single
mode. For the Uyghur, the term muqam implies that it has
a muqam heading (bash), and a suite of pieces whose structure
correspond to certain modal and rhythmical requirements,
which must follow the introduction.
The
most well known are the twelve mugams of Kashgaria. There
are also Dolan muqams.
Instruments:
-
Chang
(14 quadruple strings, hammered dulcimer)
-
Ghijak
(2 melody several sympathetic strings, bowed parchment
covered)
-
Tanbur
(5 metallic stringed lute)
-
Dap
(small frame drum, donkey skin)
-
Dutar
(2 silk stringed mulberry lute)
-
Kashgar
rawap (parchment membrane sound board, 1 melody 6
sympathetic stringed lute)
-
Dolan
rawap (skin covered carved body, 3 melody 14 sympathetic
strings)
-
Qalun
(plucked zither of 16 double strings)
-
Satar
(bowed 10-12 strings)
-
Ajek
-
Dombura
(2 stringed lute)
-
Tash
(stones)
-
Qashuq
(spoons)
-
Sapay
(rattles)
TOP
Kyrgyzstan
Epic
of Manas sung a capella (ir). Instrumental music is called
kuu. song are based on diatonic scale. Solo instrumental
playing being more traditional; ensemble playing is a recent
development of the past 50 years.
Instruments:
- Komuz
(3 stringed fretless lute)
- Ooz
komuz (mouth harp)
- Temir
ooz komuz (metal mouth harp)
- Kil
kiyak (2 stringed bowed)
- Choor
(wooden flute)
- Chogoyno
choor (long flute)
- Chopo
choor (clay flute)
- Sornai
(shawmn)
TOP
Kazakhstan
Traditional
vocal music of the Kazakh is called Zhir, an or Oren.
Instrumental songs are called kyui. Outstanding musicians
are called akyn.
Instruments:
TOP
Uzbekistan
Classical
Uzbek music is based on maqam repertoire. Three maqam traditions
are Bukhara tradition named shash maqam, Khiva tradition
called alti yarim maqam, and in Khokand chahar maqam. Uzbek
music shares much of its repertoire with Tajik and Afghan
classical music.
Folk
song styles are bakhshy and akyn, a bard tradition.
Instruments:
- Tar
(cow's heart membrane covered, 6 courses, 11 strings)
- Rubab
(fish skin covered plucked lute)
- Gijak
(fish or goat skin covered, 4 strings bowed)
- Sato
(3 strings bowed)
- Setar
(hallow neck, 3 double strings plucked)
- Dotar
(2 strings long lute)
- Kushnai
(double piped clarinet)
- Surnai
(shawm)
- Karnai
(long brass trumpet)
- Tash
kairak (2 hallow long stones)
- Nai
(bamboo flute)
- Doira
(41 cm frame drum with rings)
TOP
Turkmenistan
Distinctive
vocal tradition of the bakhshy accompanying himself/herself
on the dutar is the identifying characteristic of
the Turkmen music. There are 5 distinctive geographical
areas of vocal styles of bakhshy singing.
Instruments:
- Dutar
(2 strings, plucked)
- Gidjak
(4 strings, bowed, covered with lamb skin)
- Garghy
tuyduk (long end blown flute)
- Dilli
tuyduk (shepherd's single reed flute)
- Qopuz
(Jaw harp)
TOP
Tatar
Most
Tatar music is monophonic and pentatonic.
Instruments:
- Kuray
(long copper flute)
- Kubiz
(Jaw harp)
- Violin
TOP
Bashkir
Instruments:
- Kuray
long wooden, end blown flute
- Kubyz
jaw harp
- Dumbyra
plucked lute
- Bayan
accordion
- Mandolin
TOP
Tuva
The
premier throat singers of Asia come from Tuva. Singing two
to four notes or musical lines at the same time by one person
is called khoomei. There are several styles of throat singing
in Tuva (also called overtone singing) khoomei, sygyt, kargyraa,
borbangnadyr, ezenggiteer, and chylandyk.
Instruments:
- Igil
(two strings, bowed)
- Xomuz
(jaw harp)
- Doshpuluur
(plucked lute)
- Tuyug
- Xapchyk
- Dunggur
(drum)
- Marinhuur
- Dazhaanning
khavy (rattle made from bull's scrotum and sheep kneebones)
- Amarga
(deer horn)
- Chanzy
(zither)
- Guitar
TOP
Khalas,
Altai, Yakut
Altai
Instruments:
- Olonkhosut
(bard singing)
- Khomus
(jaw harp)
TOP
Azerbaijan
Traditional
Azerbaijani music shares with Persian, Arabic and Turkish
music the concept and practice of muqam, and also its propensity
for improvisation of a mode (taksim, radif) on a solo instrument.
There are 12 principal, ten secondary modes besides a number
of short muqams. Historically, classical Persian, Arabic,
Georgian, Armenian, Turkish and other Caucasus nationalities
have influenced Azerbaijani musical culture. Nevertheless
it has a very definite specific character both in song and
dance.
Instruments:
-
Tar
(eleven strings, moveable frets, plucked, covered with
skin)
-
Daf
(frame drum, fish skin, with rings in the inside)
-
Kemancha
(spike fiddle, covered with fish skin, cylindrical neck,
4 strings)
-
Balaban
(double reed wooden flute)
-
Nagara
(double sided lap drum)
-
Gosha
nagara (two small kettle drums played with sticks)
-
Ney
(reed flute, end blown)
-
Karaney
(clarinet)
-
Garmon
(Azeri accordion)
- piano
Caucasus (Karakalpak, Meshkit, Nogay, Karachay)
TOP
Turkey
Turkish
music derives its roots from Central Asian, ancient Anatolian
(Byzantium, Armenian, Pontic, Greek, Kurdish, Laz, Mesopotamian,
Assyrian, Circassian, Georgian, Azerbaijani, Arabic, Zoroastrian,
Yezidi, Rom) Balkan (Greek, Rom, Rumanian, Bulgarian, Hungarian,
Bosnian, Serbian, Croatian) and Ottoman traditions.
There
are primarily three genres of music: Ottoman (instrumental,
vocal and military), folk (dance, Alevi/Bektashi ashik,
bard-singing), urban folk (sarki and arabesk). All of these
traditional music types use the makam system.
Instruments:
-
Saz
(Generic name for musical instrument, but more often
used for long necked lute with moveable frets)
-
Cura
(smallest of the saz family)
-
Baglama
(most common saz size, set of 3 double strings, plus
a bam string))
-
Divan
sazi (large saz, favored by ashiks)
-
Meydan
sazi (largest of the saz family)
-
Tanbur
(classical Turkish music lute very long neck)
-
Kanun
(zither, played with picks attached to index fingers,
usually 72 strings with moveable mandals)
-
Ud
(classical lute)
-
Yayli
tanbur (bowed tanbur with a metal body and skin covered
face)
-
Klasik
kemence (bowed classical lute, 3 strings)
-
Cumbus
(urban lute, metal body, skin covered, with or without
frets)
-
Karadeniz
kemencesi (favored bowed lute of the Eastern Blacksea)
-
Tar
(Azerbaijani fretted, skin covered lute, used in folk
music)
-
Kabak
kemane (bowed lute made from gourd)
-
Keman
(violin)
-
Rebap
(bowed lute)
-
Akordiyon
(accordion)
-
Tulum
(guda) (bag pipes, goat skin, Eastern Blacksea folk
instrument)
-
Ney
(transverse, end blown reed flute, used in sufi music)
-
Sipsi
(very small reed flute)
-
Mey
(double-reed, carved wood flute)
-
Kaval
(wooden flute with a mouth piece)
-
Dilsiz
kaval (long wooden flute without a mouth piece, end
blown)
-
Zurna
(double-reed shawm)
-
Asma
davul (large double sided frame drum, played hung over
the shoulder)
-
Kasik
(carved wooden spoons)
-
Bendir
(large single sided frame drum of the Sufis)
-
Daire
(large frame drum)
-
Def
(frame drum with snares)
-
Kudum
(two side by side drums played with sticks)
-
Nakkare
(higher pitched drum played with sticks)
-
Darbuka
(goblet shaped lap drum, used for dances)
TOP
Balkans
In
the Balkans there are communities of Turkish speaking people
in Bulgaria, Bosnia, Serbia, Croatia, Greece, Albania. Some
of their music is accessible.
Elsewhere
There
are also communities of Turkic people in Iraq (Turkmens)
and in Iran (Azeris, Kashgai, Avshar, Turkmen).
Discography:
- 1.
Turkestan ChinoisXinjiang, OcoraC559092-93,
- 2.
Asie Centrale, OcoraC560035-36,
- 3.
Kazakhstan,King RecordsKICC5166,
- 4.
Kyrgyzstan, King RecordsKICC5210,
- 5.
Musiques du Kirghizstan, Buda92631,
- 6.
Uzbekistan, King RecordsKICC5108,
- 7.
Ouzbekistan, OcoraC560060,
- 8.
Ural-Traditional Music of Bashkortostan,Pan2018CD
- 9.
Chirgilchin, Pure Nature MusicPNMCD001
- 10.
Musiques De La Toundra et de La Taiga,IneditW260019
- 11.
Turkmenistan,VDECD-651
- 12.
Turkmen Epic Singing, UnescoD8213,
- 13.
Music of Bards from Iran, Kereshmeh KCD-106
- 14.
Haidar Begichev, SALO11096,
- 15.
Azerbaijan, Le Chant du MondeLDX274901,
- 16.
Rahman Asadollahi, 7/8Music110006,
- 17.
Azerbaijan Land of Flames,Pan2012CD,
- 18.
Azerbaijan,UnescoD8045,
- 19.
Azerbaijan-Alim Qasimov,OcoraC560013,
- 20.
Muharrem Ertas,KalanCD112.
- 21.
Tanburi Cemil Bey, Traditional Crossroads CD4264,
- 22.
Erkan Oğur-Gülün Kokusu Vardı, KalanCD086,
- 23.
Yildiz Ibrahimova, RaksMuzik
Kutay
Derin Kuğay
May
2001
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