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REKINDLED MELODIES 

More than six hundred makams have been used in Turkish music over the course of history, but for various reasons, there are no extant compositions in nearly three hundred of them.

For the approximately three hundred makams of which examples are available, more than 40% of existing compositions are in the makams of Hicâz, Nihâvend, Hüzzâm and Rast. Of compositions in the twenty most popular makams, over 70% are in these four makams. Those works composed in the remaining 280 or so makams account for less than 30% of the total works; and the repertoire composed in the 200 least-used makams, for around 2% of the total.

These figures provide striking evidence that the variety of makams, which could be considered Turkish music’s greatest source of wealth, is seriously underutilized, and illustrate the importance of the subject and of this project.

As we consider these numbers, we must keep in mind that the traditional mode of teaching and transmission of Turkish music, like many other traditional arts, was not through written material but rather through the oral method known as meşk. This is the reason that many works in the rarer makams have not survived to the present.

It must also be noted that the great majority of the pieces in today’s repertoire were composed in the late 19th and early to mid 20th centuries, a time when Turkish music was bereft of its institutions of education, research and performance, and the chain of meşk was broken. It was during this same period that many of the traditional pieces were notated, or transcribed from older notation systems to the one used today.

The dearth of pieces composed in many makams during this period owes to the fact that the composers were not sufficiently familiar with these makams. After all, these makams are not any poorer, more difficult, complex, incompatible or limiting in terms of scale, course or possibilities than the other makams in which many more works have been composed. Furthermore, all of these rare makams fall into the category of “compound makams,” that is, those composed of other makams. It would be illogical to assume that compound makams, made up of popular makams that are loved and frequently used on their own, should in some way be “poorer” or offer fewer possibilities than the makams of which they are composed. For example the compound makam Tarz-ı Cihân, in which only a very few pieces exist (one of which is included in this album), is in no way poorer or more limiting than the makams Nihâvend and Şedarabân of which it is formed.

No amount of words would be sufficient to express my gratitude to our esteemed researcher, Ûdi Burak Kaynarca, who designed this collection of works in little-used makams, and made it a reality; as well as to producer and ardent supporter of the arts, Mr. Hasan Saltık.

It is my hope that this album will not only introduce these makams, but also draw more attention to the subject and inspire more such projects.

Dr. Timuçin Çevikoğlu

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