KlezCalendar

The Istanbul-based ensemble performs the music of the Mevlevi Dervishes
(often referred to as Whirling Dervishes for the spinning dance
associated with their religious practice). The program features both secular
and religious works by Ismail Dede Efendi (d. 1846), the most prominent
composer of this tradition. The religious work featured is a
large-scale setting of the ayin, a musical ceremony unique to the Mevlevi that
was performed as part of their spiritual practice.

In 2001, the Lalezar ensemble released a four-volume recording of
Ottoman music (The Sultan Composers, Music of the Dancing Boys, Minority
Composers, and Ottoman Suite) on the Turkish Traditional Crossroads label,
with extensive notes written by Walter Zev Feldman.

The Mevlevi tradition is a Sufi, or mystical Islamic, tradition that
traces its roots to the great 13th-century Sufi mystic and poet, Mevl⮡
Jal⬵ddî® Rumi. The music of the Mevlevi, or Whirling Dervishes, was
hugely influential throughout the Christian, Jewish and Muslim
religious and cultural communities of the Ottoman Empire, especially among the
educated urban elite. The Mevlevi believed that music itself was a
spiritual discipline that reached beyond religious distinctions. For this
reason, the Mevlevi lodges (combination residences and gathering
places) functioned as conservatories where Greek, Armenian, Muslim, Christian
and Jewish musicians were all welcomed.

The music of the Mevlevi Dervishes (often referred to as Whirling
Dervishes for the spinning dance associated with their religious practice),
has been sustained for more than 600 years. Reha Sagbas, a leading
authority on the music of the Mevlevi, leads the singers and
instrumentalists of the Lalezar Ensemble in both secular and religious works by
Ismail Dede EFENDI (d. 1846), the most prominent composer of this
tradition. The religious work featured is a large-scale setting of the ayin, a
musical ceremony unique to the Mevlevi that was performed as part of
their spiritual practice. The music of the 19th-century Mevlevi ayin
represents the height of the compositional development of Ottoman Turkish
music. On the one hand, its ancient structure and form varies little
from the medieval Persian and Turkish motets on which it is based, but
its melodies and harmonies and significantly more modern.