The Turkish musician Omar Faruk Tekbilek performed with his ensemble at the Pritzker Pavilion in Millennium Park in Chicago on Thursday, June 17, 2010. The music was lively and engaging and it was fascinating to see the mostly unfamiliar instruments being played.
Omar Faruk Tekbilek Ensemble at the Pritzker Pavilion
Tekbilek played several sizes of end-blown flutes [ney or nar, derived from the Persian nay. They are made of hollow cane and have six finger holes on the front and one on the back.]. For one song, he played a zurna, an instrument with a double reed mouthpiece and a bell-shaped end. (It’s similar to the duduk.) He also played a bağlama, a seven-stringed long-necked lute similar to an oud, but smaller and with an oval-shaped wooden body (shown in photo above). He sang the vocals in Turkish, so I had no idea what the songs were about, but it didn’t matter. In several songs, he begin with the ney, alternating with vocals and then switched to the bağlama.
The ensemble consisted of Tekbilek’s son, who play Turkish drums and others who played acoustic guitar, electric keyboard, drums and kanun, a type of zither that was played with metal picks on the fingertips.
Whenever I attend a concert like this, I always wish there was at least a brief overview of the instruments at some point. I’m always curious about what they’re called, how they produce sound or how they are played. It would save a lot of Google time trying to figure out what I saw.
I usually enjoy music more when the musicians seem to be having a good time, as this ensemble did. I think this is the first time I’ve heard Turkish music live and would definitely not miss an opportunity to see Omar Faruk Tekbilek again.
