EMIKO JOZUKA İSTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News
As a tribute to the 110th anniversary of Yorgo Bacanos, one of the greatest oudists in Turkish music history, the First International Yorgo Bacanos Oud Festival starts Monday. The director of the festival, Necati Çelik, discussed the mystical quallties of this ancient instrument, with its evocative sounds, and commented on its ubiquitous nature.
Master oud player Necati Çelik bubbles with energy and enthusiasm as he talks of the up-and-coming First International Yorgo Bacanos Oud Festival, to be held in İstanbul between Oct. 25 - 31.
Organized under the auspices of the İstanbul 2010 European Capital of Culture, the festival will take place at the Sepetçiler Kasrı in Eminonü and will feature conferences, workshops and concerts from over thirty different oud musicians from diverse backgrounds and countries. The festival promises to be a dynamic fusion of different music styles and will culminate with all the musicians taking to the stage to give an eclectic performance on the final day.
The director of the festival, Çelik, was born and raised in the city of Konya, which is famous for its long tradition of folkloric Turkish music played by the oud. He has performed at international concerts and taught in different musical institulions across Turkey. Çelik noted that although he first picked up the saz when he was seven, due to the popularity of the oud in his city he switched to the latter instrument in the 1970s. He discussed the mystical quallties of this ancient instrument, with its evocative sounds, and commented on its ubiquitous nature.”My teacher, Cinuçen Tanrıkokur, always used to say that the oud is one of the oldest instruments in the world. All countries have an instrument that resembles the oud. I have traveled to Africa, Malaysia and Europe and I believe that it is possible to go anywhere without my oud, yet still find a similar instrument İn another country which I can play. Çelik recalled his debut as an oud player at the Mevlevi rituals in Konya.”Every year in Konya, there is a big ceremony held for Mevlana. I remember that all the master oud players used to attend it. As a youngboy, I was very happy to find myself amidst them.
İstanbul as a musical center
After attending oud festivals in Jordan and Morocco, Çelik decided that he would like to organize a similar event in İstanbul. ”People all over the world know of İstanbul and are aware of Turkish music and the oud. I have attended oud festivals in Jordan and Morocco and İstanbul is an equally important location for music and the oud. For example, in the West, Vienna is considered the center for classical music. I think İstanbul is equivalent to Vienna for Turkish music of this genre. ”The festival welcomes musicians from America, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Australla, Egypt, Jordan and Turkey. Çelik hopes that the festival will grow to be an annual event that will welcome even more artists in the future. ”There are many oud players all over the world and next time it would be nice to double the number of guests, from say 30 to 50 or 60. This is an oud festival where I would like people to get to know the wide variety of styles and hear the different melodies that can be produced by this instrument’
About Yorgo Bacanos This year the International Oud Festival is honored with the name of the reputed master oud player of Greek descent, Yorgo Bacanos. Although Çelik emphasized that the actual festival is more important than the name placed on it, his profound respect for Bacanos is evident. ”Bacanos played his own style of music with a powerful lyricism. Everybody was equally loved and influenced by him. He played fast music and performed with technical expertise. As the oud is a fretless instrument, it is difficult to play. Nonetheless, Bacanos was able to execute each note perfectiy. ”Çelik commented on the importance role that Bacanos played in the Turkish music scene. He peppered the discussion with an anecdote. I imitated Bacanos’ style and my teacher also wanted to imitate him. However, he was unable to and actually ended inventing his own style. ”The inextricable tie binding humans to music and its importance in affecting and shaping our lives is a view shared by Çelik. ”We are exposed to music at every point in our lives. When you are a child your mother may sing you to sleep. Sometimes you might sing when you are either happy or sad. Music is part of every aspect of our lives. It is the best gift from God to humankind.
”The First International Yorgo Bacanos Oud festival, which starts Monday, will be held through Oct. 31 at Sepetçiler Kasrı, Sarayburnu İstanbul. For more information, please visit http : / / www. İstanbulu. dfeslivall. com /
DIRECTOR : Necati Çelik, the director of the 1st İnt’ l Oud Festival, which is organized as a tribute to Yorgo Bacanos (L), decided to organize the event after attending similar events in Jordan and Morocco.