We Won't Forget You...

Dengbej Gazin

 Dengbej Gazin was a singer from Van in eastern Anatolia, she belongs to a tradition of storytelling through chanting. 

 Consider for example the case of Dengbêj Gazin. She was sentenced to one year in prison for singing two Kurdish songs in 2010 in Tatvan that were deemed by the state prosecution to constitute “propaganda for an illegal organization” (i.e. the PKK). She has moreover been tried for supposedly singing songs “with separatist content” at Newroz celebrations in the same year. After a series of appeals she was acquitted in both cases in 2013.

quoted from here.

and read some more here with the help google translate.

 Dengbej Gazin, who was considered to be Van's first female dengbegi, died this year.

Even without understanding a word you get a message : )

She won't be forgotten. 

 Gazın - Xelîlê Qazî
2007 

 

Tracks:

01. Ze Mende
02. Mendo
03. Avek Rabu
04. Hespe Me
05. Dilemin Loy Loy
06. Jı Me Weda
07. Siltane
08. Gul Sor Bune
09. Nabıri
10. Wele Nabe
11. Hey Bori
12. Xelile Qazi

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 Gülizar’s story brings people together

...

Güle’s continuing story

Barsaghian says that the lament brings women closer together, and creates a shared zone of resistance. It was also through this lament that she came to meet Dengbej Gazin. Gülizar plays a highly significant role in Dengbej Gazin’s life, and she performs Gülizar’s lament live during the performance titled ‘Güle Is Very Beautiful’ that was staged during the opening. Gazin says: “When I was little, my grandmother always used to sing Gülizar’s song. So for a very long time, I thought Güle was my grandmother’s name. And I thought Güle wrote it, about how she fell in love with a man. Only when I eventually asked her, ‘Grandmother, are you in love, why are you singing this song?’ did my grandmother tell me Güle’s story. I felt so bad and offended about it. I was so touched by it, that the first dengbej song I learned was Güle’s lament. I also named my daughter Güle.”

  

Because Gazin’s grandmother did not know the true ending of the story, Gazin did not know Gülizar managed to escape, and believed she had died of grief. So Gazin was shocked when she saw Meliné Ter Minassian, Gülizar’s granddaughter, before her. Gazin finally adds that male dengbejs add “all sorts of falsehoods” when reciting Güle’s lament: “Male dengbejs say that Güle went to Musa by her own will. So if you want the true story, listen to it from female dengbejs.”

‘I thought Gülizar was a much-loved woman’

At the opening, Arménouhie Kévonian’s granddaughter Meliné Ter Minassian, staged a performance titled ‘Güle is very Beautiful’ with Anna Barseghian and Dengbej Gazin. Ter Minassian stated that the performance represented not only her personal ties with Gülizar or Arménouhie Kévonian, but also the social memory related to them, and I asked her how Gülizar’s legendary story was known in the family: “Only one side of our family is Armenian. I was closer to that side of the family as a child, so my story is strongly connected to my grandmother Arménouhie, Gülizar’s daughter. We had a very close relationship. Arménouhie was a very happy woman, she was full of life, and she loved to dance, sang, and constantly made jokes… Other than that, everyone in the family was involved in politics, and that is why everything about Armenian identity seemed very heavy and serious to me when I was a child. Of course, back then I did not know what had happened to the Armenians, you are not told when you are a child. Even after I learned, Armenouhi always seemed a woman dancing with joy to me. She created the same impression when she talked about her mother Gülizar. Until I read ‘Gülizar’s Black Wedding’ I thought Gülizar was a much-loved woman; I had no idea about the stories of abduction, violence and rape. I read the book when I was 14, in a single night. I was shocked.

source

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A House of living history...

  

Mala Dengbêjan
Dengbêj House

   
Mala Dengbêjan 

Gewgewe

 Tracks:

01. Şex Mihemed Emin - Bira Rindo
02. Behiye - Dibe Mih
03. Dengbej Rostem - Dilbere
04. Şah İsmaile Milani - Lo Miro
05. Aşiq Memet - Gede Nezano
06. Dengbej Yusif - Gewgewe
07. Dengbej Silhedin - Xozan
08. Dengbej Tewfiq - Mete
09. Dengbej İzzet - Rizake Xelit

 ♫☆`*♥¸¸.•*¨*•♫☆`*♥¸¸.•*¨*•☆♫

.·.ღ•:*´♥`*:•ღ.·.

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The house which is being using as Dengbêj House is an 100 years old historical Diyarbakir house. Two large rooms and a large courtyard of the house belongs to Dengbêj House. Because courtyard is cooler in summer, Dengbêjs use this site in the summer. Every day about 10-15 Dengbêjs visit Dengbêj House and sing; but some special times such as festivals number of Dengbêjs becomes over 30.

Dengbêj and Dengbêj Tradition

The word Dengbej actually a Kurdish word unifed deng (voice) and bêj-tin (say). Dengbej means the person who tells tragedy, grief, happiness, etc. with rhythm and melody that decorate the music. Dengbêjî (Story Teller) is a Kurdish tradition. People who transmit Kurdish language, literature, culture, history and music are called Dengbêj.

Dengbêjs not only tell stories or sing, they are also transmitters of Kurdish culture and oral literature. They are witnesses of history, memory and poets of Kurdish people, with their powerful voices.

They are not only singers; they are also story and legend tellers, poets, composers and musical genius...

They are the Kurdish 'Homer's...

 

source

Kurdish Storytellers Sing Again

Dengbêj of Diyarbakir

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The art of the Buzuq (1)

 

Issa

L'Art du Bouzouk

2001

Tracks:

01. Chahnaze en 5
02. Maqam Ajam
03. Maqam Kurd
04. Qadi Sero
05. Maqam Nahawend
06. Maqam Husseyni
07. Voyage à travers les Maqams
08. Maqam Hidjaz
09. Retour aux sources

♫☆`*♥¸¸.•*¨*•♫☆`*♥¸¸.•*¨*•☆♫

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Issa Hassan (artist name also: Issa), born December 25, 1970 in Lebanon, now living in France, is a Kurdish musician, Bouzouki player and composer. 

  

 
Issa’s story began long time ago, in a small village in Turkish Kurdistan, when his grand-parents took the road to exile, to a country which, at the time, represented a degree of safety: Lebanon. About thirty years later, someone was born there who is becoming one of the Masters of the bouzouk and one of those Eastern musicians whose contact with other musical horizons make it possible to look forward enthusiastically to what the century present will offer. Because Issa has become a Parisian and gives us the pleasure of hearing a music both rooted in Kurdish culture and impregnated with the flavours and scents of his travels.

His playing shows virtuosity together with the originality one expects from a great musician and the broadminded spirit and musical humour that his fluency in the modal system of the Eastern music allows. But, whether he plays with jazzmen or flamenquists, he is never separated from what constitutes the heart very heart of his music: the Kurdish soul. With his bouzouk he has crossed the world and sung in places as varied as the Institute of the Arab World, the Wild Cabaret, the festivals of Ris Orangis or of Médina of Tunis, Jerusalem or Kensington Town Hall in London. Today, as cultural consultant of the Paris Kurdish Institute Foundation, Issa is as enthusiastic about traditional as by contemporary Kurdish artistic expression.

read it all here

The word buzuq is Turkish and occurs in 'bashi-buzuq,' the name given to the Ottoman troops, literally meaning 'burnt head' or 'uprooted.' In its folk form, the buzuq is a larger and deeper-toned relative of the Turkish saz and has a body carved from a single piece of wood. In its modern, urbanized form, the body is constructed from separate ribs and has mechanical, rather than wooden pegs.

A long-necked fretted lute, the buzuq is usually furnished with two courses of metal strings, a double (C4) and a triple (G3), played with a thin piece of horn or a plastic plectrum. The metal strings give the instrument a bright sound quality, while the fret distribution (~24 movable frets) offers many microtonal possibilities.

The buzuq, typically used as a solo instrument, is not considered a member of the standard Arab ensemble. It is found in both folk and urban contexts in Syria, Lebanon, Palestine and Jordan, and is associated with itinerant Gypsy musicians. The Rahbanis (Lebanon) latety popularized the use of this instrument and made it more mainstream.

The buzuq is slightly limited for the execution of the Arabic maqam, given that it's fretted. However frets are usually added for the most common quarter tones (E, A and B), and can be moved for additional fine tuning. Despite that fact a slight difference in intonation is noticed when the buzuq plays alongside a oud or a qanun for example.

Masters of the buzuq: Mohammad Abdel Karim (Syria), Matar Muhammad (Lebanon - Gypsy), Ali Jihad Racy (Lebanon).

source

buzuq

wiki

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Persian Santur

 
Ardavan Kamkar
Over the Wind 

2001

Tracks:

1 - Memory of Friends
2 - Dance of the Wind
3 - Three Drops of Blood
4 - Azari
5 - Trotting
6 - Zagros

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.ღ•:*´♥`*:•ღ.

♫☆`*♥¸¸.•*¨*•☆♫`*♥¸¸.•*¨*•☆♫

  

 Ardavan Kamkar (Persian: اردوان کامکار‎; born 1968 in Sanandaj, Iran) is an Iranian-Kurdish musician from Iran. He is a part of the Kamkar ensemble.

Ardavan Kamkar was born in 1968 in Sanandaj, Iran. He began learning to play the Santur (dulcimer) from his father, Master Hassan Kamkar at age 4. During his childhood years he worked with several Cultural & Art groups and the radio.



Traditionally, the santur is tuned diatonically to the notes of two primary tonalities in a dastgah (Persian classical mode): the tonic is usually place in the middle row of strings on the second (F), third (G) or sixth (C) note (counting upward from the first bridge) in order to make the different positions accessible to the player, while the secondary tonality, in the same dastgah, is usually tuned on the lower notes played on the row of strings to the right. This method makes the santur playable in only one dastgah at a time and omits the possibility of modulation to other tonalities, limiting the musician to playing only one tonality in a given register, which sometimes eliminates the correct voice leading. Ardavan, however, has developed a tuning method by which he can take any note as a tonic and with some radical tuning sometimes have both chromatic and diatonic scales on the same santur in different registers. Therefore he has created the possibility of having up to four different tonalities at the same time to which he can modulate on one santur, allowing his melodies to be more colourful as well as having a correct voice leading. These technical innovations, driven by his singular musical sensibility and skill, make Ardavan Kamkar a distinguished voice among all santur players today.

In addition to playing the santur, Ardavan has taken music composition, harmony and counterpoint lessons with Houshang and Arsalan Kamkar.

He released his first album named "Darya" (literally 'Sea') at age 16 which contains 6 pieces played by solo santur...

 Ardavan Kamkar

Born in Sanandaj in 1968

He began to learn playing dulcimer from his father when he was four years old and cooperated with different art and culture groups in the radio. Ardavan went to Tehran in 1979 to learn techniques of playing dulcimer under the supervision of Pashang Kamkar, as well as lines of the instruments and traditional Persian music. Through listening to the works and studying the scripts of the pieces which were available he was completely familiarized with the local and country music of different parts of Iran in addition to the styles of the preceding players of dulcimer and other musical instruments.

However, the traditional style of playing dulcimer could not satisfy his creative mind and questing soul. He intended to expand the new techniques of playing, and eventually mingled the elements of the global music and his mentalities as well as his technical capability to create a modern style for playing this traditional instrument. The accurate composition of different melodies, similarity of the power of striking the left and right plectrums, playing full and separate melodies by the both plectrums, increasing the sound volume, accurate and timely order in striking the left and right plectrums in playing the melody along with the percussion instruments and changing the common tunes of dulcimer are among his unique techniques. In addition to playing Ardavan learned different lessons in the area of composition, harmony and counter point from Houshang and Arsalan Kamkar. In order to introduce the Persian dulcimer he performed many concerts in different festivals around the world. As a teacher he has trained many students in the area of solo dulcimer and as an instructor he has trained capable teachers of this instrument who are now busy working with different music bands. Parts of his works are:

On the crown of daybreak (concertino for dulcimer), a month for the new year (dulcimer and string orchestra), Siachamaneh (kordish melody for symphonic orchestra), Sea and Over the Wind albums (solo), music track of the movie "Santoori" (dulcimer player) (directed by Daryoush Mehrjouie), and music track of the movie "The Iranian Prospect" (directed by Touraj Mansouri).

 Green Man Review:

Ardavan Kamkar is a member of a large Iranian Kurdish musical family. In his early 30s, he has risen to prominence as a soloist on the santur, a Persian hammer dulcimer. Over the Wind, recorded in 1998 in Teheran, is a knock-out showpiece of his skill on the instrument.

Nearly an hour of solo hammer dulcimer may not sound like your cup of tea, but I urge anyone who likes World, Middle Eastern, and even Western neo-classical music, to give this a try. Kamkar takes this highly specialized instrument and makes it speak a universal language.

Apparently, if you’re familiar with the techniques and classical repertoire of the instrument, Kamkar’s playing is nothing short of astonishing. But even for the novice, this can be highly enjoyable music with a small investment in concentration.

The CD’s six tracks mostly flow from one to the next with little or no interruption. Over the Wind opens with the hypnotic and moving “Memory of Friends,” which in many places is similar to a Bach fugue, in others resembles Beethoven’s “Fur Elise,” and elsewhere could be the late Sandy Bull creating a classical-jazz hybrid on banjo and piano. This is powerful music, impressive technically and in its emotional range.

The next track is the aptly named “Dance of the Wind.” It starts off with slow, stark arpeggios that establish the mode, then rapidly picks up tempo into a controlled frenzy of tremolos. The sound is very piano-like at times, and the main section is extremely rhythmic, almost like jazz-rock fusion.

The third and fourth tracks, “Three Drops of Blood” and “Azari,” are tone poems, less rhythmic, more Eastern sounding. The former is mysterious and enigmatic, at times sounding like an Ennio Morricone spaghetti western film score, the latter a tour-de-force of arpeggios, tremolos and other rapid series of notes. The middle section includes a series of downward, bell-like runs, sounding for all the world like “Carol of the Bells.”

“Trotting” is another apt title. This fifth track contains four distinct sections that feature driving rhythms and complex melodic schemes. “Zagros” seems influenced by 20th Century modernist piano pieces, with a dual melody line in a call-and-response scheme that emerges from lengthy runs that leap up and down the scale in a barely controlled frenzy.

Kamkar’s music can be approached on different levels. It could conceivably be played as background music like the New Age piano of Scott Cossu or George Winston, but it also rewards close attention with many nuances and subtleties. And it’s also an impressive display of technical mastery of a difficult instrument. Exotic and yet relatively accessible to Western ears, Over the Wind rings true.

more info

wiki

let me just say: more pure gold. Go get your copy. I cherish mine : )

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