TANBURI CEMIL BEY
Vol. I
CD 4264

Singout!
"This is a remarkable recording, bringing the legacy of a special artist to another generation."

New York Daily News
"...these pieces sway and undulate while Cemil Bey bends notes in a clearly Islamic fashion, Turkish Blues if you like."

The Beat
"... a left-hand technique of comparable strength and agility to that of Jimi Hendrix...the Cemil disc represents a high watermark for archival engineering. Studio technology, as represented here by England’s CEDAR system, in the wrong hands still poses a threat to the raw stuff of music. Fortunately, Cemils performances are treated with care, and the quick silver nature of his genius survives the rumble of worn grooves...a disc that is epitaph and a half for a musician of extraterrestrial inspiration."

Rhythm Music Monthly
"These acoustic records (made prior to the electronic microphone) show the virtuosity of this multi-instrumentalist and composer, the most influential Turkish musician of the past 100 years...essential elements of the Middle Eastern and North African classical repertoire. The extensive liner notes are excellent, and the cover beautifully reproduces a label from one of his 80-year- old Orfeon records."

Album Profile:
Tanburi Cemil Bey is the most renowned composer of instrumental art music from the late period of the Ottoman Empire. His contribution to the suite forms known as pe¬rev and saz semai remain the highest standards of the literature to which modern Turkish composers refer. Acoustic recordings, before the invention of the electronic microphone, were made circa 1910-1914 by the Blumenthal Record and Talking Machine Company featuring Cemil Bey performing his own compositions and in the art of Taksim, Mid-Eastern improvisation. Several of his masterful performances are presented here, transferred from the original discs and digitally remastered with state of the art Computer Enhanced Digital Audio Restoration (CEDAR) system. Total Time 73:14

1) Eviç Taksim (kemençe) 3:37
2) Saba Taksim (kemençe) 3:22
3) Gülizar Taksim (tanbur) 3:21
4) Ferahnâk Taksim (tanbur) 3:19
5) Nihavent Taksim (tanbur) 3:22
6) Nihavent sirto (ud & kemençe) 3:31
7) Zeibek Havasi 3:33
8) Mahur Taksim (kemençe) 3:40
9) Mahur Gazel (Hafuz Yasar) 3:18
10) Çoban Taksim 3:29
11) Bestenigâr Taksim (violoncello) 3:46
12) Bestenigâr Pesrev 6:01
13) Mahur Pesrev 6:12
14) Saba Pesrev 6:00
15) Yegâh Pesrev 5:40
16) Kürdilihicazkâr Pesrev 6:04
17) Gaida Havasi 3:28

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