Sufi music is known mostly through the music of Pakistani singers
Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan or
the Sabri Brothers, to cite just these names. Lately, Sufi music from other Middle Eastern countries has become available, showing a wide diversity of styles in this music. This release presents Sufi music from Turkey. Two forms of Sufi music are found: unaccompanied voice heard in a mosque and instrumental music, also accompanying voice, heard in a Sufi convent. The music heard on this CD also accompanies the whirling dance of the Whirling Dervishes of the Mevlevis. The ensemble on this CD is led by two well-known Turkish musicians,
Tâhir Aydogdu on kanun and Çevikoglu Timuçin on kudüm and vocals. Both musicians have toured the world, and are regularly performing on radio. The instruments found on this CD are the kanun, a plucked box zither; the kudüm, a small kettledrum; the bendir, a frame drum; the ud, the Arabic lute; the tanbur, a long-necked lute; the kemençe, a short-necked fiddle; a halile, Turkish cymbals; and a ney, the Arabic flute. A Western cello has also become part of the ensemble. This excellent CD is a real discovery! ~ Bruno Deschênes