Γεια σας,
Έχω βρει ένα ωραίο άρθρο για το τούρκικο gazel, με ενδιαφέρουσες πληροφοριές και παραδείγματα. Ο τίτλος είναι “The Life and Death of the Turkish Gazel: A Review Essay” και μπορώ να το στείλω σε μορφή PDF σε όποιον ενδιαφέρεται (παραείναι μεγάλο για να το προσάπτω στο Φόρουμ). Στείλτε μου ένα ΠΜ και θα το έχετε.
Ο αρθρογράφος μιλάει, μεταξύ άλλων, για τον “κατατρεγμό” του gazel από το νέο καθεστώς του Κεμάλ, που θυμίζει τον κατατρεγμό του αμανέ στην Ελλάδα. Παραθέτω ένα απόκομμα από το άρθρο:
That is, the elusive language of gazel poetry and the improvised manner of gazel performance served to endorse (for Republican commentators at least) the oriental provenance and the anachronistic character of the genre. Gazel recordings seemed to symbolize these concerns. Gazel vocal techniques were denigrated for their chest register, guttural nasality, sobbing character, and amplitude. Gazel performance was criticized for its ornamental contour, melancholic character, textual inaccuracy, incorrect pronunciation, and scruffy presentation. In addition, many gazel performers appeared to live a degenerate lifestyle of alcoholic excess and, by implication, sexual promiscuity. This lifestyle was cultivated within the nocturnal confines of drinking houses (meyhaneler) and equated with the debauched characteristics and multicultural provenance of Ottoman musical practice.
Γράφει επίσης για το ρόλο των δισκογραφικών εταιριών στην εξέλιξη και τη διάδοση του gazel (ένα τέταρτο από τις ηχογραφήσεις στην αρχή του εικοστού αιώνα ήταν gazeller):
From another perspective, the gazel was energetically advanced by the recording industry. While classical renditions of gazel performance were no longer commercially viable, a younger group of popular singers continued to perform vocal improvisations during the period; these artists utilized the honorific title “hafiz” for strategic effect and employed the genre category “gazel” for commercial success. In this respect, exponents of the popular gazel emulated the practices of the past by freely mixing folk and classical styles following an Ottoman prototype. For instance, Hafiz Burhan Sesyllmaz (1897-1943) initially recorded popular renditions of regional genres such as turki (Kalan CD072:11) and dagi (Ocora C560081:7,8) before achieving fame as a gazel performer (gazelban), in a manner due more to the brilliance of his voice than to the depth of his musical knowledge (Kalan CD067:2). This new trend in gazel performance reflected the commercial success of non-Muslim artists in Turkey (like the Jewish cantor Izak Algazi, 1889-1950) who continued to perform vocal improvisations in a distinctive style and with classical distinction (Rounder CD1051:4; Rounder CD1111:19; Kalan CD072:9). It also reflected the popularity of gazel performance outside Turkey. Appealing to a new generation of immigrants expelled from Turkey, vocal improvisations (such as amane and gazel) were performed in a Turkish style by rebetika vocalists (like Roza Eskenazi, 1903-69). On the other hand, the Turkish gazel was promoted in former Ottoman territories (such as Egypt, Greece and Iraq) and in those countries (such as America) where former Ottoman subjects were newly resident. In this way, the record industry benefited from the diaspora of Turkish musical tastes. By promoting Turkish performers and Turkish styles beyond Turkey, they were able to reap the financial rewards of global expansion through the strategic manipulation of a local aesthetic that was inscribed within and disseminated through the Turkish gazel.
Record companies developed powerful transnational networks during the 1920s. Through coupling, the companies were able to market copies of Turkish recordings outside the country. For instance, Columbia (1933), His Master’s Voice (1930, 1931) and Victor (1930) feature Turkish performers in Greek catalogs. Further, Columbia (1928) printed a special catalog in Arabic of Turkish recordings for an Egyptian audience. It is also noteworthy that Victor and Columbia re-issued Turkish recordings in the United States to satisfy an expanding demand for ethnic labels in the home market (see Spottswood 1990). The dissemination of Turkish recordings was facilitated by radio transmission after 1926, a new medium that enabled the diffusion of Turkish music to former Ottoman territories. In addition, Turkish vocalists and Turkish instructors regularly performed and taught respectively Turkish music in neighboring countries.
Έχω ένα από τα σιντί που αναφέρω ο O’ Connell, το “Gazeller: 78 Devirli Ta Plak Kayitlar. Ottoman-Turkish Vocal Improvisations in 78 rpm Records” και το συνιστώ σε όποιον ενδιαφέρεται να ακούσει περισσότερα (έχω καιρό να επισκεφτώ το sealabs, αλλά νομίζω ότι και εκεί υπάρχουν μερικά gazeller, π.χ. το “Makber”).
Εύα