SUFI WHIRLING DERVISHES

After his first European appearances in company with his old companion Nezih Uzel, Kudsi Ergüner soon become well known through his intercultural experiments with Peter Brook and Peter Gabriel, amongst others.

Kudsi Ergüner has explored nearly all possibilities of the Ney, a very old type of flute which is representative of what is conventionally called Ottoman music and closely linked to the Sufi movement.

The term Sufi refers to the wisdom and mysticism of Islam, and the Sufi movement dates back to the 7th century. It is based on a profound believe in a union between god and the individual through mystical love. The Sufi made great use of music and poetry for their mystical expression, leaving a considerable heritage of poetic and musical creation. Mevlana Jelal Edin Roumi, master and teacher of the fraternity of the Whirling Dervishes introduced the Ney flute as the symbol of the mature man.

The central part of this performance is the Ghazal (or Gazel), a poetic form dedicated to express love for women, for spring time and vine, which has been transformed by the Sufi to express an abstract and spiritual love. Most of these Ghazal have been set to music and now establish the basic repertory of the Sufi music and classical music, heir of the Ottoman Empire ( 1288 – 1923).

The singers of the Ensemble Kudsi Ergüner are among the best representatives of this art. The Ensemble consists of 8 musicians (5 instrumentalists and 3 singers) or, in a smaller version with one singer, one percussionist and two Ney players.


 

PRODUCTION DATES
Milano, Italy, Villa Palestro, 4 -6
August 1994
 

Images
Index

Home