Orient Express

Turkey was the center of the Ottoman Empire between the 16th and 20th century, where many composers and musicians from the Middle East and Southeastern Europe came together and developed a refined music traditions. Until today, hundreds of compositions that are often a century or two old are kept alive by many musicians especially in Turkey.

In this episode we will listen to different compositions of these old Ottoman traditions, performed by three Turkish virtuosos: Ergin kizilay on the ‘ud, Halil Karaduman on the kanun and Erdjument Batanay on the Yayli Tanbur. The three perform the pieces – that are sometimes played in a somewhat dull academic way –  in a very relaxed atmosphere with lots of improvisations and solos between the pieces. They show how lively and timeless this music is. The recording is from circa 1993.