TURKEY • SUFI MUSIC

Nezih Uzel, singing and bendir drum Kudsi Erguner, flute ney Nezih Uzel (1939-2012) and Kudsi Erguner have been two members of the sufi Tekke of the Uzbeks, in Istanbul. They give here a refined rendition of the mystic chants ilahi of the Mevleviyya brotherhood (the “whirling dervishes”) and some nefes of the Bektashi, interspersed by several improvisations on the flute ney, and composed by famous mystic poets of the 13th to the 20th centuries: Yunus Emre, Pir Sultan Abdal, Seyyid Seyfullah, Kemter, Munir Baba, Şeyh Himmet, ‘Aziz Mahmud Hüdaï, Hilmî Dede, Munir Nureddin Selçuk, Zekaï Dede, Derviş Muammer…