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Turkish wedding music By Rasih Reshad |
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Describe the atmosphere and live music at a local pub, restaurant, festival, church or temple, club night.... inspire other people to check it out!
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 ÌýÌýListen (0'47) to the winning Turkish wedding song, 'Gül Döktüm Yollarina' by Tarkan.
Music is a very important part of Turkish culture. For some ancient musicians Turkish Classical Music - which is still performed widely - became a part of their religion expressed as Sufism and Whirling Dervishes.
Music in weddings was, and still is, even more important than the wedding cake and some other accessories that have been adopted from the west. In the old days wedding ceremonies used to be held in two different venues. The women used to have their celebration separately, accompanied by a blind violin player, in order to feel free to show their dancing skills without being seen by men. The men used to have their ceremony outdoors in the garden accompanied by a two piece band of a "Zurna" (a wooden instrument a little like a clarinet) and a large drum.
Things change in time and so did the Turkish Wedding customs. Today, Turkish weddings are not much different from western weddings. There are still shreds of Turkish tradition in weddings and Turkish music still dominates the entertainment side of the events. Turkish folk music is more widely played in weddings after the popular slow songs that give the couple the opportunity to have the first dance. The bands start playing Turkish folk music, which has a higher rhythm and tends to have some Arabic patterns in its texture, which is a perfect opportunity for the amateur belly dancers among the guests to show off their skills.
In London, which has a great Turkish population, weddings have slightly changed towards western weddings in style, but in the music department nothing has changed. The old Turkish folk tunes are always played while the bride and groom are entering the venue.
A Turkish Musician named Rasit Demirbas has been performing at Turkish Weddings for years in London and in Turkey. He says that the tunes also differ by region in Turkey. For example "If the wedding in is Ankara, the regional music style of 'misket' (with a very high rhythm and plenty of percussion) has to be played. If you are at a wedding in Aydin, they play a sort that is called 'Zeybek'. This is a slow and masculine type of Turkish music and tends to get faster as is goes along". He also admits that there has been a change in the Turkish Wedding culture such as a wedding cake that seems to be a replacement of the individual home made biscuits and lemonade that were served at old time Turkish Wedding ceremonies. He seems happy for his culture to be flexible enough to adopt western elements, but while mentioning the old days he gives away his feelings, making it obvious that he misses the good old Turkish weddings.
Another opinion about Turkish Wedding is from a Turkish Cypriot Singer named Soner. He says that the higher the rhythm of the music at a wedding the better is gets. "Guests at weddings mostly see a wedding as an opportunity to show off their dancing skills. If the rhythm is high and the dance floor is full, I consider those songs as the best"
Soner, is the leading singer of a group with a history of performing in Turkish weddings in London. He has also recorded an album recently which will be released in Turkey in a few weeks time.
Coming from a younger generation, Soner isn't aware of the old culture but still can see the difference between weddings ten years ago and today. "They used to be a little more informal. Everyone was there to enjoy themselves and to wish the happy couple a good life together. But today it has turned a little into a show of clothing and glamour. I think this is something that we shouldn't have adopted"
To name an expert in Turkish weddings you don't need a wide investigation. "Perry's The Wedding Company" owned by Errol and Tony Perry have been organizing weddings in London since the early 50's and are simply one of the best. Their grandfather started the business by playing his clarinet at Turkish weddings and his son took over the company and expanded it by providing everything from music to venue. The sons of the dynasty of wedding planning, Errol and Tony say that music is the essential part of Turkish Weddings. "We believe that only a happy person can dance. And if a song can make someone happy and drag them to the dance floor that is important" Born and brought up in London, the Perry's Brothers have successfully adopted features from western weddings but have preserved the entertainment side of the traditional Turkish weddings. They are the wedding planners that have taken Turkish weddings from dull halls into posh hotels in Park Lane.
Rasih Reshad is Editor of Olay Newspaper.
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