Mehmet Bitmez and Istanbul Sazkar Toplulugu
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Mehmet Bitmez and Istanbul Sazkar Toplulugu
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Mehmet Bitmez and Istanbul Sazkar Toplulugu As a part-time resident of Turkey and hopefully by now well-informed about Turkish musical traditions, I am often welcoming visitors to Istanbul and they ioften ask for advice in buying music. I try to just send them to Lale Plak, where the qualified personnel will take this hot potato off my hands (and I do not mean kumpir). But sometimes I am involved personally; the subject is complex and dear to my heart, so selecting just a few titles is painful. One thing that I suggest is to focus on Istanbul's music, leaving Laz songs or Mardin's reyhani for a later visit. There's no shortage to CDs dedicated to Istanbul, by excellent soloists like kanunist Goksel Baktagir. But this Dream of Istanbul by udist Mehmet Bitmez comes as close to a good sightseeing tour of the music of the city as possible in the time allotted by the CD format. And at the same time even connoisseurs will find something unusual or rare in it. Bitmez combines a family tradition of music – he is the grandson, son and nephew of well-known musicians – with formal training at the Istanbul Conservatory, newly formed in the 70's, where he was one of the first graduates and now heads the Plucked Instruments department. His masters and inspirations were the foremost udists of XX Century like Mutlu Torun and Yorgo Bacanos – in fact he plays a instrument made for Bacanos in the 1910's. For concerts and recordings he has reunited a solid, well-trained ensemble that plays a repertoire covering many differents facets of Istanbul's music: the time-tested folksongs from Rumelia, the sophisticated music of the court and of the tekke, the art music of the composers of the last century, as well as his own original tunes and improvisations. Rigorous but full of vigor, the interpretations feature in turn the individual sounds of classical instruments: in addition to ud, we hear kemençe, kanun and ney, with a strong emphasis on the cello, successfully popularized in Turkish music by Mesud Cemil, son of Tanburi Cemil Bey and himself one of the key figures of Republican Turkey's music life. A sound picture of the city emerges from the ancient music by Tatyos Efendi and Dimitri Kantemiroglu and from the modern reinterpretations of Haydar Tatliyay and Saadettin Arel, passing through vivacious oyun havasi, zeybek in 9/8 and stately saz semaisi using the alafranga (French style) ¾. Supported by strong percussionists, including Izzet Kizil, who seems to pop up whenever interesting music is played in Istanbul, the CD is well recorded and produced. It includes complete, fluent English liner notes, the absence of which marred so many Turkish productions in the past. Kudos to AK Muzik, one of the most daring and active labels on the Turkish scene, with a catalog extending from classic and folk to electronic and jazz, all well worth exploring. If you want to come back from Istanbul with a sonic postcard to keep you company until the next visit, this is one of the best choices available. - Francesco Martinelli
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