The works composed by Ottoman sultans for centuries in Ireland’s capital, Dublin, were performed again at “Sultan Composers’’ concert held at Edmund Burke Theater in Trinity College Dublin.

Ottoman Sultans, who ruled many civilizations on different continents for centuries, received training in various fields to keep their deep-rooted cultures alive and enrich them at the same time. Music education had a very important place for the majority of Ottoman Sultans, who showed a special interest in all kinds of art and had fine taste, and were artistic. The sultans, who specialized in music, performed many different types of music, composed, and gained new positions. The unique works, composed by sultans for centuries, resonated with the ‘Sultan Composers’ Concert at Edmund Burke Theatre in Trinity College Dublin on Friday, May 27, at 19.00. 

While the Ottoman Classic Music from Dublin Yunus Emre Institute (YEI), came to life in Dublin with performances of today’s famous musicians, the audience had the opportunity to discover the music and timbres of the Ottoman Empire sultans, the ancient and close friend of Ireland, with the Sultan Composers Concert.

The artists who took part in the event organized by Dublin Yunus Emre Institute, Turkish Embassy in Dublin, and Turkish Airlines (THY), gave a special concert on the same day at the invitation organized by the Embassy of the Republic of Turkey in Dublin, where Turkish dishes from the recipes in the book “Turkish Cuisine with Centuries-old Recipes” were introduced and attended by the members of the Ambassadors’ Spouses Association in Ireland.  

While there were instrumental works and verbal works from the Ottoman period, the works of Ottoman sultans and palace composers were presented to art lovers.

THE PROGRAM STARTED WITH THE COMPOSITION OF SULTAN BAYEZID 2

The concert started with Neva Peşrev composed by Sultan  Bayezid 2, after the speeches of Turkey’s Ambassador to Dublin Mehmet Hakan Olcay, Head of the Department of Near and Middle Eastern Studies of Trinity College Dr.  Zuleika Rodgers, and Yunus Emre Institute Dublin Coordinator Dr.  Murat Şiviloğlu.

Within the scope of the event, Ankara Music and Fine Arts University Vice Rector Prof. Dr. Serda Türkel Oter and Performing Arts Faculty Member Assoc. Dr. Kibele Kıvılcım Çiftçi, Assoc. Dr. Tolga Oter and Lecturer Tevfik Bilen performed the works of Ottoman sultans and palace composers.

Master artists gave the audience a unique experience of Turkish music throughout the concert.

London Yunus Emre Institute Director Dr. Mehmet Karakuş, Ambassadors of Malta, Portugal, Georgia, and Bulgaria in Dublin, as well as Irish music lovers and academics, attended the event.

The works performed at the concert, which took place on Friday, May 7, 2022, at 19.00, are as follows:

• Nevâ Peşrev (Sultan Bayezid II)    
• Bayâti Yürük Semâî-Gelse nesîm subh ile (Murad  IV)  Evc İlâhi – Uyan ey gözlerim (Wake up, my eyes) (Murad  IV)   
• Bûselik Beste – Sünbül-i sünbül-i sünbül-i siyeh (Şeştârî Murad Ağa)    
• Mâhur Peşrev - Gâzi Giray Han (Kırım Han’ı)   
• Segâh Yürük Semâî – Tûtî-i Mûcize (Itrî)    
• Isfahan Şarkı – Ey gâziler (Selîm III)   
• Pesendîde Saz Semâisi (Selîm III)  
• Neveser Peşrev (Neyzen Yusuf Paşa)   
• Neveser Ağır Semâî- Mecliste bu revnâk (Kömürcüzâde)    
• Hicaz Kalenderî (Mahmud II)   
• Hicaz Şarkı – İndim yârin bahçesine (I went down to the garden of lover) (Dede Efendi)   
• Hicaz Sirto (Sultan Abdülazîz)   

VETERAN SULTANS OF MUSIC

In the 14th century, music had an important place in the Ottoman palaces. Ottoman classical music made significant progress in the second half of the 17th century as the Empire grew and developed in form and aesthetics.
The Master of Music, Padishah Selim  III, who is also known for playing ney in the music community and who invented 15 different musical modes and brought them to Turkish music Selim, Sultan  Mahmud II who brought Western music genres into Turkish music by composing and performing Western style music genres can be shown among the sultans who pioneered the musical studies of this period.