Tweet
NEW BOOK COMMEMORATES ARMENIAN COMPOSERS OF TURKISH CLASSICAL MUSIC
Hurriyet
Dec 23 2010
Turkey
A comprehensive book portraying the history of Turkish Classical
Music has been released in collaboration with the Istanbul 2010
European Capital of Culture Agency and Istanbul Armenians. Titled
'Classical Ottoman Music and Armenians,' the book's Istanbul-born
writer, Aram Kerovpyan, encourages today's youth to learn about the
beauty of the past
The author of the book says it is an important resource that goes
back 200 years. DAILY NEWS photo, Emrah GUREL
An Istanbul-born musicologist has released a new book detailing the
contributions Armenian composers have made through the ages to Turkish
classical music.
"All these figures show the richness of our land," said YaÅ~_ar Kurt,
secretary-general of the Istanbul 2010 European Capital of Culture
Agency, which supported the publishing of Aram Kerovpyan's "Klasik
Osmanlı Muzigi ve Ermeniler" (Classical Ottoman Music and Armenians).
"This is an important resource book going back 200 years ago and
showing us who carried Turkish classical music to the present,"
he said.
Kerovpyan, who was born in Istanbul but has lived in Paris for 33
years, told the Hurriyet Daily News & Economic Review that not only
Armenian composers, but also Greek and Jewish composers, had made
great contributions to Turkish classical music.
Turkish music had been a multi-colored identity that made the genre
very rich, Kurt said. "Our common denominator is culture; language,
religion, identity and race are not important... They offered us a
project and we realized it."
The agency had accepted Kerovpyan's book project with great pleasure,
he said.
Fidelity to his teacher
Kerovpyan was a student of Turkish classical music master, zither
and oud virtuoso Sadettin Oktenay.
Commemorating his master, Kerovpyan said their relationship was more
than simply a student-teacher or master-apprentice bond. "We loved
each other just like father and son. I spent the best years of my
early youth with Oktenay," Kerovpyan said.
Asked about Kutahya-born, Armenian ethnomusicologist Gomidas Vardabed,
who was commemorated in both Turkey and Armenia last week on the
140th anniversary of his death, Kerovpyan said the events organized
to remember the great composer were very positive.
"There is no reason to not commemorate him. He is a man of this land.
Turkey's world-renowned poet Nazım Hikmet was banned, too, but he
is openly mentioned today. The world is changing, Turkey is changing,
too," Kerovpyan said, but added that Turkey had had painful experiences
in the past and there were also other problems.
Still, he said, "Time is passing by, relations are being
re-established."
Problems with conservatories
Kerovpyan said there were still problems with the ownership of music,
among other music-related problems.
"Like in many other fields, there are prejudices in conservatories,
too. There is no getting past the perception of official history. It
takes too much time to reach the real truth. The young generation
should learn the truth and perceive the beauty of the past. They will
ask as long as they learn and they will see the richness of this land
as long as they ask," Kerovpyan said.
In the first volume of the two-volume "Classical Ottoman Music and
Armenians" there are chapters covering "Change, Transitivity - National
Music," "Non-Muslims and Classical Ottoman Music," "Armenian Church
Music" and "Notes of Hamparszum - Meeting of Armenians and Ottomans in
Music." The second book includes detailed information about composers
and their works. The book is also set to be translated into French
and English in the near future.
The book was further made possible by contributions from the Yedikule
Sırp Pırgic Armenian Hospital.
Aram Kerovpyan
Kerovpyan was born in Istanbul and started his music education in
Armenian choirs in Istanbul and by attending private lessons with
Saadettin Oktenay.
A graduate of the Istanbul State Architecture and Engineering Academy
Electricity Engineering Department, Kerovpyan moved to Paris in the
1970s and worked with Middle Eastern musicians.
After beginning studying Armenian Church music he formed a group
called "Agn" in 1985, later finishing a doctoral thesis on Armenian
Church music.
Kerovpyan has since organized seminars and conferences and his three
reference books on Armenian music have been released in France.
From: A. Papazian
Hurriyet
Dec 23 2010
Turkey
A comprehensive book portraying the history of Turkish Classical
Music has been released in collaboration with the Istanbul 2010
European Capital of Culture Agency and Istanbul Armenians. Titled
'Classical Ottoman Music and Armenians,' the book's Istanbul-born
writer, Aram Kerovpyan, encourages today's youth to learn about the
beauty of the past
The author of the book says it is an important resource that goes
back 200 years. DAILY NEWS photo, Emrah GUREL
An Istanbul-born musicologist has released a new book detailing the
contributions Armenian composers have made through the ages to Turkish
classical music.
"All these figures show the richness of our land," said YaÅ~_ar Kurt,
secretary-general of the Istanbul 2010 European Capital of Culture
Agency, which supported the publishing of Aram Kerovpyan's "Klasik
Osmanlı Muzigi ve Ermeniler" (Classical Ottoman Music and Armenians).
"This is an important resource book going back 200 years ago and
showing us who carried Turkish classical music to the present,"
he said.
Kerovpyan, who was born in Istanbul but has lived in Paris for 33
years, told the Hurriyet Daily News & Economic Review that not only
Armenian composers, but also Greek and Jewish composers, had made
great contributions to Turkish classical music.
Turkish music had been a multi-colored identity that made the genre
very rich, Kurt said. "Our common denominator is culture; language,
religion, identity and race are not important... They offered us a
project and we realized it."
The agency had accepted Kerovpyan's book project with great pleasure,
he said.
Fidelity to his teacher
Kerovpyan was a student of Turkish classical music master, zither
and oud virtuoso Sadettin Oktenay.
Commemorating his master, Kerovpyan said their relationship was more
than simply a student-teacher or master-apprentice bond. "We loved
each other just like father and son. I spent the best years of my
early youth with Oktenay," Kerovpyan said.
Asked about Kutahya-born, Armenian ethnomusicologist Gomidas Vardabed,
who was commemorated in both Turkey and Armenia last week on the
140th anniversary of his death, Kerovpyan said the events organized
to remember the great composer were very positive.
"There is no reason to not commemorate him. He is a man of this land.
Turkey's world-renowned poet Nazım Hikmet was banned, too, but he
is openly mentioned today. The world is changing, Turkey is changing,
too," Kerovpyan said, but added that Turkey had had painful experiences
in the past and there were also other problems.
Still, he said, "Time is passing by, relations are being
re-established."
Problems with conservatories
Kerovpyan said there were still problems with the ownership of music,
among other music-related problems.
"Like in many other fields, there are prejudices in conservatories,
too. There is no getting past the perception of official history. It
takes too much time to reach the real truth. The young generation
should learn the truth and perceive the beauty of the past. They will
ask as long as they learn and they will see the richness of this land
as long as they ask," Kerovpyan said.
In the first volume of the two-volume "Classical Ottoman Music and
Armenians" there are chapters covering "Change, Transitivity - National
Music," "Non-Muslims and Classical Ottoman Music," "Armenian Church
Music" and "Notes of Hamparszum - Meeting of Armenians and Ottomans in
Music." The second book includes detailed information about composers
and their works. The book is also set to be translated into French
and English in the near future.
The book was further made possible by contributions from the Yedikule
Sırp Pırgic Armenian Hospital.
Aram Kerovpyan
Kerovpyan was born in Istanbul and started his music education in
Armenian choirs in Istanbul and by attending private lessons with
Saadettin Oktenay.
A graduate of the Istanbul State Architecture and Engineering Academy
Electricity Engineering Department, Kerovpyan moved to Paris in the
1970s and worked with Middle Eastern musicians.
After beginning studying Armenian Church music he formed a group
called "Agn" in 1985, later finishing a doctoral thesis on Armenian
Church music.
Kerovpyan has since organized seminars and conferences and his three
reference books on Armenian music have been released in France.
From: A. Papazian