Form Features of Necati Giray’s “Ağıt”Trio for Three Violins
“Ağıt”, which means mourning poetry in Arabic, is written in classical literature mostly due to the death of important f igures. “Ağıt”, also known as “Mersiye” in Divan literature, is known as a folk song usually sung after a tragic event. This genre also appears in the creativity of composers in the history of music. Examples of the genre can be found in the creativity of European composers Claudio Monteverdi, Henry Purcell, George Frideric Handel and Tommaso Giordani. The tradition of “Ağıt” in the East dates back to very old times and is included in the works of composers. Turkish composers Muammer Sun’s “Ağıt” for piano (1954), Ekrem Zeki Ün’s “Ağıt for Death” for choir, strings and percussion (1971), Necdet Levent’s “Ağıt” for piano (1979), Necati Giray’s “Ağıt” for string instruments (1981), Azerbaijani composer Rehile Hasanova’s “Mersiye” (“Ağıt”, 1993) for string instruments, wind instruments, vocal quartets and piano are all good examples. Forgotten beliefs and mourning ceremonies in history live on in compositions in the “Lament” genre. The main subject of the study, Turkish composer Necati Giray’s “Lament”, is important in this sense and draws attention in terms of both composition and formal features. Various combinations of the work have been made by the composer, and the aim of this research is to analyze the form characteristics of the “Lament” trio for three violins. The research is a descriptive study. As a result of the research, it was concluded that the work is a singlepart mixed form and has five stages. It has been determined that each stage contains a special title and is generally divided into two opposite parts: “Slow” – “Fast”
Necati Giray’ın Üç Keman İçin “Ağıt” Triosunun Form Özellikleri
Arapçada matem şiiri anlamına gelen “Ağıt”, klasik edebiyatta çoğunlukla önemli şahsiyetlerin hayatını kaybetmesin den dolayı yazılmaktadır. Divan edebiyatındaki adı “Mersiye” olan “Ağıt”, genellikle acıklı bir olayın ardından söylenen bir halk türküsü olarak bilinmektedir. Bu tür, müzik tarihinde bestecilerin yaratıcılıklarında da karşımıza çıkmaktadır. Türün örneklerine Avrupa bestecilerden Claudio Monteverdi, Henry Purcell, George Frideric Handel ve Tommaso Giordani’nin yaratıcılıklarında rastlamak mümkündür. Doğu’da “Ağıt” geleneği çok eskilere dayanmakta ve besteci eserlerinde yer almaktadır. Türk bestecilerden Muammer Sun’un piyano için “Ağıt” (1954), Ekrem Zeki Ün’ün koro, yaylılar ve vurmalı çalgılar için “Ölüm için Ağıt” (1971), Necdet Levent’in piyano için “Ağıt” (1979), Necati Giray’ın yaylı sazlar için “Ağıt” (1981), Azerbaycanlı besteci Rehile Hasanova’nın yaylı çalgılar, üflemeli çalgılar, vokal dörtlüleri ve piyano için “Mersiye” (“Ağıt”, 1993) adlı eserleri birer güzel örneklerdir.
Tarihteki unutulmuş inançlar, yas törenleri “Ağıt” türündeki kompozisyonlarda yaşamaktadır. Çalışmanın ana konusunu oluşturan Türk besteci Necati Giray’ın “Ağıt” adlı eseri bu anlamda önem taşımakta olup hem kompozisyon hem de form özellikleri yönünden dikkat çekmektedir. Besteci tarafından eserin çeşitli kombinasyonları yapılmış olup, bu araştırmadaki amaç üç keman için “Ağıt” triosunun form özelliklerini analiz etmektir. Araştırma, betimsel bir çalışma olmaktadır. Yapılan araştırma sonucunda eserin tek bölümlü karma bir form ve beş aşamalı olduğu sonucuna ulaşılmıştır. Her aşamanın özel bir başlık içerdiği ve genellikle birbirine zıt “Ağır” – “Hızlı” olmak üzere iki kısma ayrıldığı saptanmıştır.
Necati Giray is one of the important names of contemporary Turkish music. Composer and cellist Necati Giray stood out with his unique style and contributed various works to Turkish music. The composer has made great contributions, especially to the cello repertoire. Necati Giray has composed works for many instruments, including the cello, by making polyphonic works. Among these compositions, the work “Ağıt” has an important place in the composer’s creativity.
The Arabic word for mourning poem, “Ağıt”, is mostly written in classical literature for the death of important figures. “Ağıt”, also known as “Mersiye” in Divan literature, is known as a folk song usually sung after a sorrowful event. Ağıt which have the same meter and rhyme scheme as folk songs, usually consist of 7, 8 and 10 syllables. The most common is 8 syllables. The “Ağıt” tradition is very old and is sung a lot in Anatolia. They are “Ağıt” in the form of mani, sung in 7syllable meter, seen in Azerbaijan and in Kars and Erzincan under the influence of Azerbaijan.
The genre of “Ağıt”, which has a long history, is similar to “Lamento” in Western European music. The common point that unites “Lamento” in both Western European and Eastern music is its connection with religion. Church music in Europe developed first under the influence of folk music and then under the influence of world music. Church music in Western Europe and religious music in the East became the only professional music genres among the peoples of both sides. Thus, this musical genre, which has meanings such as mourning and lamentation, is called “Lamento” in Western Europe and is encountered in the works of European composers. An early example is Claudio Monteverdi’s “Lasciatemi morire” of Ariadne, the sole survivor of the lost Arianna. Other examples include Dido’s Lament (“When I am laid in the ground”) (Henry Purcell, “Dido and Aeneas”), “Lascia ch’io pianga” (George Frideric Handel, “Rinaldo”), “Caro mio ben” (Tommaso Giordani) can be counted.
The obvious examples of “Lamento” in the works of Eastern composers are “Ağıt” and “Mersiye”, and they have also taken their place in the creativity of Turkish and Azerbaijani composers. Among the Turkish composers, Muammer Sun’s “Ağıt” for piano (1954), Ekrem Zeki Ün’s “Ağıt for Death” for choir, strings and percussion instruments (1971), Necdet Levent’s “Ağıt” for piano (1979), Necati Giray’s “Ağıt” for string instruments (1981) and the Azerbaijani composer Rehile Hasanova’s work “Mersiye” (“Ağıt”, 1993) for string instruments, wind instruments, vocal quartets and piano is a good example of these. In this sense, the work of Rehile Hasanova, who has made a name for herself with her style among contemporary Azerbaijani composers, “Mersiye” is of great importance. Azerbaijani musicologist and composer Prof. Dr. Ələsgərli evaluates R. Hasanova’s creativity as follows; “In many of R. Hasanova’s works, it is possible to trace the ancient traditions and characteristics of our people. The revival of the great ceremonial aesthetics in contemporary music is connected with the fact that composers are monuments of our people’s national and civil thought. In this sense, some of Rehile Hasanova’s works are ceremonial. These compositions are “Kosa Kosa” ballet pantomime, “Dervish”, “Sema”, “Kaside”, “Mersiye”, “Pirabadil” etc.
Contemporary composer Necati Giray is an artist who has made a place for himself in Turkish music with his unique style. The composer has come to the fore with his polyphonic works by composing works in various musical genres and forms. Necati Giray’s works include works in different genres. Among these works, especially the piece “Ağıt” has an important place in the composer's creativity. The work has been rewritten in several versions by the composer.
Forgotten beliefs and mourning ceremonies in history live on in compositions in the “Ağıt” genre. Necati Giray’s work “Ağıt” draws attention in terms of both composition and form. Various combinations of the work were made by the composer, and in this research, the trio of the work called “Ağıt” for three violins was examined and its form characteristics were analyzed.
