Friday, February 20, 2015, 8pm First Congregational Church Jordi Savall & Hespèrion XXI

PROGRAM

Istanbul: Music from Ottoman Empire in Dialogue with the Armenian, Greek, and Sephardic Traditions

I

Der makām-ı “Uzzâl uşūleş Darb-i feth ” Dervis Mehmed, Mss. Dimitrie Cantemir (209)

La rosa enflorece — Maciço de rosas Sephardic (I. Levy I.59, III.41)

Alagyeaz & Khnki tsar Armenian traditional

Der makām-ı Hüseynī Semâ’î Mss. D. Cantemir (268)

II

Hisar Ağir Semai Ottoman lament

Ta xyla (Greek) / Çeçem kizi (Turkish)

Ene Sarére Armenian lament

Der makām-ı Uzzäl Sakîl “Turna” Semâ’î Mss. D. Cantemir (324)

INTERMISSION

PLAYBILL PROGRAM

III

Paxarico tu te llamas Sephardic (Sarajevo)

Al aylukhs Armenian song and dance

Der makām-ı Räst “Murass’a” uşūleş Düyek Mss. D. C antemir (214)

Hermoza muchachica Sephardic traditional Taksim

IV

Hov arek Armenian lament

Koniali Turkish-Greek song and dance

Una pastora Sephardic traditional

Taksim Der makām-ı Hüseynī Sakīl-i Ağa Rıżā Mss. D. Cantemir (89)

This program is presented with the support of the Department of Culture of the Government of Catalonia, the Institut Ramon Llull, and the Culture Program of the European Union.

This program is made possible, in part, by Patron Sponsors Charles and Helene Linker. Cal Performances’ – season is sponsored by Wells Fargo.

CAL PERFORMANCES ORCHESTRA ROSTER

HESPÈRION XXI

TURKEY Hakan Güngör, kanun Yurdal Tokcan, oud

ARMENIA Haïg Sarikouyoumdjian, ney & duduk

GREECE Dimitri Psonis, santur

MOROCCO Driss El Maloumi, oud

SPAIN David Mayoral, percussion Jordi Savall, vièle à archet, lyre & direction

PLAYBILL PROGRAM NOTES

Istanbul: Dimitrie Cantemir’s The Book of the Science of Music and the Sephardic and Armenian Musical Traditions

N 1693 , the city that stands at the crossroads In the present concert, we aim to present Iof the continents of Europe and Asia, the “cultivated” instrumental music of the called “Istanbul” by the Ottomans and 17th-century Ottoman court, as preserved in “Constantinople” by the Byzantines, was ex - Cantemir’s work, in dialogue and alternating periencing a high point in its history. Despite with “traditional” popular music. We have se - the memory and very palpable presence of the lected music from the oral traditions of old Byzantium, it had become the true heart Armenian musicians and the music of the of the modern Muslim religious and cultural Sephardic communities who, after their ex - world. It was an extraordinary melting-pot of pulsion from Spain, settled in the Ottoman peoples and religions, and a magnet for Empire in such cities as Istanbul and Izmir. European travelers and artists. I first began to discover this repertory in Dimitrie Cantemi r (1673–1723) arrived in 1999, during the preparation of our project on the city that year at the age of 20. In spite of being Isabella I of Castile. A year later, on our first ensnared in the political t urmoil of his time, this visit to Istanbul to give a concert with learned son of the ruler of Moldavia became a Montserrat Figueras and Hespèrion XX, we renowned scholar and author. Famous as a vir - acquired a copy of the first modern edition of tuoso of the tanbur , a kind of long-necked lute, the music contained in Cantemir’s The Book Cantemir was also a highly regarded composer, of the Science of Music . Determined to find out thanks to his work Kitab-i ilm-i musiki (“The more about the historical and aesthetic con - Book of the Science of Music”). text of his work, I set about studying both Cantemir’s The Book of the Science of Music Cantemir and the music. is an exceptional document in many ways. As The enormous diversity and cultural rich - a fundamental source of knowledge concern - ness of Istanbul at the time of Cantemir was ing the theory, style, and forms of 17th-century increased by the presence at the imperial Ottoman music, it is also one of the most in - court of Greek, Armenian, and Jewish musi - teresting accounts of the musical life of one of cians. According to the Comte de Saint-Priest, the foremost Oriental countries. This collec - the French ambassador to Istanbul, “Most of tion of 355 compositions (including nine by the Great Sultan’s musical retainers, including Cantemir himself), written in a system of mu - Cantemir himself, who are the musical élite of sical notation invented by the author, consti - the Turkish Empire, are of Greek, Jewish, or tutes the most important collection of 16th- Armenian origin.” and 17th-century Ottoman instrumental Aroun d 1700, Cant emir observed, in his music to have survived to the present day. History of the Ottoman Empire : “I would even Whereas the earliest notation used by venture to say that the music of the Turks is Turkish musicians resembled alpha betical no - much more perfect than that of Europe in tation, the notation invented by Cantemir is a terms of meter and the proportion of words, highly intelligent and precise system, allowing but it is also so difficult to understand that one us to clearly differentiate the various tunings would be hard put to find more than a hand - of the flats and the sharps, depending on the ful of individuals with a sound knowledge of modes used. As for his mastery of the tanbur , the principles and subtleties of this art.” which can be plucked or bowed, Cantemir Cantemir’s remark on the complexity of asserted that it “is the most complete and per - Turkish music concurs with the conclusions fect of all known instruments or those that we we have drawn from our own studies. In the have seen” and one that “faithfully and nine makam that we have selected for the flawlessly imitates the human song and voice.” present concert, the following meters (or

CAL PERFORMANCES PROGRAM NOTES rhythms) are found: 14/4, 16/4, 10/8, 6/4, Without their talent and knowledge this proj - 12/4, 48/4 and 2/4. Of these seven meters, ect would never have been possible. only the 6/4 and 2/4 are usual in the West. All these songs have their history. In the In the process of reducing the vast materi - heroic echoes and the laments of the exile, in als to a coherent concert, we had the difficult the tribute to the beauty of the country and in task of selecting about ten pieces from the 355 the lovers’ repartee, the attentive ear will rec - compositions in The Book of the Science of ognize some constant features. They can all be Music , choosing the most representative and heard here as elements of a strong musical varied pieces from among the makam which identity: all the melodies seem to recall the struck us as being the most beautiful. prevailing symbolism in medieval modes cod - For the Sephardic music, we chose pieces ified by the Church, which no doubt bor - from the Ladino repertoire preserved in the rowed them to some extent from a communities of Izmir, Istanbul, and other re - pre-existing secular repertory, each rhythm gions of the former Ottoman Empire. For the closely identified with the meter of the text. Armenian repertoire, we selected some of the In Western Europe, our image of the most beautiful pieces collected in the Ottoman Empire has been distorted by that Voskeporik , or Thesaurus of Armenian Melodies , Empire’s long bid to expand toward the West. published in 1982 in Yerevan, Armenia, by the We have been blinded to the cultural richness musicologist Nigoghos Tahmizian. and, above all, the atmosphere of tolerance In 2008, as a natural continuation of our and diversity that existed in the Empire during original project on th e dialogue between East that period. The music of this concert sup - and West, we succeeded in bringing together ports a more enlightened view of Istanbul. an exceptional group of musicians ( oud , Jordi Savall kanun ) from Turkey, together with musicians from Armenia ( duduk , ney “Beloul” ), Morocco I would like to thank Amnon Shiloah, Stefan Lemny, and Ursula and Kurt Reinhard for their research and analysis on (oud ), and Greece ( santur ), as well as our prin - the history, music and the period, which I have used in cipal specialist soloists in Hespèrion XXI. documenting some of the sources in my commentary.

PLAYBILL ABOUT THE ARTISTS

Jordi Savall (vièle à Creole villancicos of Latin America, and much archet, lyre, direc - more. Guided by the energy and commitment tion ) is one of the of Mr. Savall and Ms. Figueras, Hespèrion XXI most multifariously has succeeded in uniting the common threads gifted musicians of of disparate cultures. his generation. His career as a concert Driss El Maloumi i

performer, teacher, k (oud ) was born in s w e

researcher, and cre - z 1970 in Agadir, s a n

ator of new projects, g Mor occo. He earned I

d i

both musical and v a master’s degree a cultural, make him D from Ibn Zohr one of the principal architects of the current University in Arab revaluation of historical music. Together with literature in 1993. Montserrat Figueras, he founded the ensem - At the same time, Mr. El Maloumi was study - bles Hespèrion XXI, La Capella Reial de ing classical music forms of the Middle East Catalunya, and Le Concert des Nations. He and Western Europe, and received three prizes has recorded ov er 170 CDs, most of which are (1992–1994) from the Conservatoire National on Alia Vox. In 2001, Mr. Savall received a de Musique in Rabat for his out standing Grammy Award for Dinastia Borja and the oud playing. Midem Classical Music Award for Jerusalem, Combining his love for words and music, City of Two Peaces. In 2008 he was appointed Mr. El Maloumi has written and composed as an Artist for Peace into the UNESCO such French shows as Les Oiseaux de lune , Goodwill Ambassador’s program, and in 2009 L’amour sorcier , and Caravane de lune . He has he was appointed as Ambassador of the earned a reputation for successfully mixing European Year of Creativity and Innovation traditional Moroccan Sufi music with jazz and by the European Union. Most recently, he re - baroque idioms in such albums as Noches and ceived the Léonie Sonning Music Prize in Jazz aux Oudayas . Denmark, joining the company of Daniel In addition to his work with Jordi Savall Barenboim, Cecilia Bartoli, Mstislav and Hespèrion XXI, Mr. El Maloumi has ap - Rostropovich, Olivier Messiaen, and others. peared with other leading musicians from Europe, as well as Iran, India, the Middle East, For 39 years, Hespèrion has led the way into and Africa. In his innovative project “ 3M A,” the vibrant world of medieval, Renaissance, he collaborates with musicians from and baroque music. From Hespèrion XX’s be - Madagascar and Malawi. ginning in Basel, the founding director, Jordi Savall, and his co-founders Montserrat Born in Ankara, Turkey, Figueras, Lorenzo Alpert, and Hopkinson in 1973 , Hakan Güngör Smith never wavered from their initial moti - (kanun ) received his first vation. Thanks to the energy of its members, music lessons from his Hespèrion XXI has conquered a new world of father, Ali Osman nations and extracted the precious ore of their Güngör, a professional musical traditions. Harvesting the music of oud player. Following his Europe, the Middle and Far Easts, and the early kanun lessons New World, Hespèrion XXI has revealed with Ozhan Kayhan, Sepharad through live performances and Mr. Güngör studied for two years at Gazi recordings of Judeo-Christian songs, Golden University. In 1992, he matriculated into the Age Spain, the Madrigals of Monteverdi, the Composition Department of the Turkish

CAL PERFORMANCES ABOUT THE ARTISTS

Music Conservatory of Istanbul Technical Dimitri Psonis (santur ) University, where he studied for six years with studied music at conser - its esteemed faculty. Studies in kanun technique vatories in Athens, and other aspects of Turkish classical music al - Madrid, and Amsterdam. ternated with courses in Western classical In his native Athens, he solfège, composition, harmony, and counterpoint. studied not only such the - Since 1993, Mr. Güngör has performed and oretical disciplines as recorded with many renowned artists. In ad - analysis, harmony, and dition to Jordi Savall and his Hespèrion en - counterpoint, but also performance practices sembles, he has appeared with Yo-Yo Ma, of a wide range of Mediterranean instru - Kudsi Ergüner, Renaud Garcia-Fons, Fazil Say, ments, such as the santur , Moorish guitar, and Okay Temiz. Mr. Güngör is on the faculty oud , tzura , and various percussion instru - of Halic University, is a resident kanun player ments. At the conservatory in Madrid, at Istanbul Radio House, and produces the Mr. Psonis earned the top degree in percus - popular Műzik Deyince show for the music sion and musical pedagogy. channel of Turkish Radio and Television. An enthusiastic ensemble player, Mr. Psonis founded the groups Metamorphosis, Krusta, A frequent member of Acroma, and P’An-Ku, and he has worked Jordi Savall’s ensembles with singers and instrumentalists of many na - since 2005 , David tions. His music interests range from special - Mayoral (percussion ) is a ized studies and interpretation of classic wide-ranging and versa - Ottoman music, to the performance of popu - tile percussionist. In his lar music of Greece and Turkey. His work can student years he worked be heard on CDs and film soundtracks. with renowned masters Collaborating with early music ensembles like of piano, ear training, historical percussion, the Limoges Baroque Orchestra and and classical Arabic percussion, and studied in Speculum, Mr. Psonis has performed and formal courses and master classes with Glen recorded regularly with Jordi Savall and Velez (frame drum, req ), Keyvan Chemirani Hespèrion since 2000 . (zarb ), and Pejman Haddadi ( zarb , daf ). Many ensembles devoted to medieval, Haïg Sarikouyoumdjian Renaissance, and baroque music invite Mr. (ney, duduk ) made his Mayoral to perform and record with them. He début on the duduk in has appeared in concerts throughout the 1998 at the age of 13. world, performing traditional ethnic music as Subsequent studies with well as the fusion of musical traditions. He has different Armenian mas - been heard in venues from Carnegie Hall in ters of the double-reed New York to the Cervantes Institute in Beirut, instrument refined his from the Festival of Sacred Music in Fez to the knowledge of playing techniques, as well as of Oud Festival of Jerusalem. He is a founding the traditional repertoire of the duduk . With member of Transit, an educational project these teachers, he learned the subtleties of in - that presents a journey through the musical tonation and intervals, ornamentation, rhyth - traditions of India, Cuba, or the Middle East mic complexities, and the modal scales of through their percussion instruments. traditional Armenian music. Mr. Sarikouyoumdjian was profoundly in - fluenced by his collaboration with the duduk master Gaguik Mouradian, with whom he has performed and recorded. Their exploration of

PLAYBILL ABOUT THE ARTISTS the tradition of medjlis , assemblies of the poetic 1989 to 1997. In 1990, he was appointed as an and musical heritage of Armenia, combines oud performer to the Istanbul Government contemporary music with the traditional arts of Music Ensemble. the Caucasus regions. He has collaborated with Mr. Tokcan has combined traditional per - Jordi Savall and Hespèrion since 2009 . With formance practices with music and instru - them, he has participated in many performing ments of today. He is also an avid and and recording projects around the world. Their respected teacher of the oud in workshops and collaboration on the CD Armenian Spirit , re - master classes. Active in the music culture of leased in 2012 , has been widely praised. his homeland, Mr. Tokcan founded the Istanbul Sazendeleri (“Musicians of Istanbul”) Osman Yurdal Tokcan in order to encourage the spread of instru - (oud ), born in Ordu, mental Turkish music. In addition, he has Turkey, in 1966 and grad - performed and toured with ensembles uated from the Turkish throughout the world. He has worked on film Conservatory of Istanbul scores ( The Passion of the Christ and Kingdom Technical University in of Heaven ) and on many CDs released in 1988. While completing Europe and the United States. Among them his master program, he are two recordings with Jordi Savall, Sublime joined the faculty as an oud instructor from Porte and Dimitrie Cantemir: Istanbul .

CAL PERFORMANCES