kemenche

iron chickpeas; three strings classical kemenche

When we say kemanche, although the first instrument that appears in our minds is the Black Sea Kemenche, there are 3 different types of kemanche played in our country. These are, three stringed classical kemenche (Istanbul kemenche), Kastamonu kemenche and Black Sea kemenche. These three kemenches are quite different from each other in terms of sound, performance, form and materials. If we examine the three stringed classical kemenche, which was recently called the Istanbul kemenche, it is an Istanbul instrument as befits the name, it is an instrument of Istanbul culture. 1 Classical kemenche is also called Armudi kemenche (due to its form). This instrument, also known in Greece as “Political Lyra”.

This instrument is one of the most difficult instruments to perform in Turkish music. The reason for this Tanburi Cemil Bey on the left, İhsan Özgen on the right

is that it is played with nail contact and its keyboard is small and missing any frets. Going back to the history, in the 19th century, it was actually in the group of rough reeds, as a result of the works of Tanburi Cemil Bey’s a teacher Vasil b , it was treated under the palace music at the end of the 19th century and joined the thin reeds family and gained its main techniques with Vasil. 2 The name that introduced us to the performance, playing, technique and style of the classical kemenche is Tanburi Cemil Bey. The classical kemenche’s previous performance is unknown. Primary kemenche players which continued after Cemil Bey are; Ruşen Ferit Kam, Fahire Fersan, Haluk Recai and İhsan Özgen etc.

cover, three auger, keyboard, threshold and life post. Trees often used by lutians (reed makers) are cypress tree for the chest; walnut, cypress, maple, cherry tree for cover; ebony for keyboard and augers; and for the bow, rosewood, balsam and fernanbuk. 3 In addition, the hairs obtained from horsetails are used for bows. As of today, primary kemenche makers are Baron, c born in 1843, Izmitli d and İhsan Özgen. 4 Consisted of three strings, this reed, due to the difficulty in performing it, have been tried to make out of four strings but it was not accepted by virtuosos because it did not give the original timbre. The most important reason for obtaining the right timbre from the three-stringed classical kemenche is that the wire lengths are not equal. The length of the rast wire is 36 cm, and the length of the yegâh and neva wires is 32 cm. The sounds of the strings are tuned to the notes of yegâh (re), rast (left) and neva (re) respectively. The frequency of the thinnest wire, neva, is the same as the la of the western music and it is 440 hz. When we refer to the materials used for the strings of the reed; animal intestine (Beam) for rast and neva wires; metal is used for yegâh wire.

Instrument can be placed on a single direction or between two directions, and the augers are played by touching the chest. Kemenche performers are called “Kemenchev” or “Kemenchist”. The biggest living Kemenchev is İhsan Özgen. Tanburi Cemil Bey is undoubtedly the person who gave life to this instrument and shed light on the violinists. He played many instruments throughout his life and got his share in the Classical kemenche. Cemil Bey used the term “Iron Chickpeas” for this instrument in his time. He wanted to explain how difficult it is with this expression.

Personal classical kemenche of Elif Başlı (Asude) © Kerimcan Ayaz

Thanks to my precious teachers Salih Bilgin, Yağmur Damla Bilgin and Hezarfen San’at School.

a Tanburi Cemil Bey (1873-1916), born in Istanbul. He performed classical kemenche, lavta and cello besides tanbur. With his works, he brought a new interpretation to Turkish music. b Vasilaki (1875-1915), real name Vasil, was playing clarinet; after he learned how to play kemenche from Fenerli Yorgi, made his choice with kemenche. c Baron (1843-1900), is the most known person among the Turkish music reed makers (actually Parunak or Baronak). He is Armenian and born in Samatya. Started his working life as a carpenter, and then began to make reed. During Sultan Abdülaziz period, he made tanbur, ud, lavta for the palace. But he is known for his kemenches. d Izmitli (1870? - ? ), also known as “Little Izmitli”, is a Greek lutian and his actual name is unknown. His kemenches often are tortoiseshell or pearl covered. 1 “Derya Türkan Röportajı”. YouTube: Yedirenk Dergi. January 6, 2015. 2 Zilciyan, Varujan. “Vasilaki Efendi”. İslamansiklopedisi.org.tr. Retrieved May, 8 2019. 3 Erdal, Emre. “İstanbul Kemençesi”. Emreerdal.com. Retrieved 19 Nisan 2019. 4 “Türk Müziği Çalgıcıları ve Yapımcıları”. Sazadair.com. Retrieved May, 8 2019. Footnotes References

Elif Başlı FSMVU Undergraduate