Video: Ottoman Sufi Music Night
Organized by the HDS student group, HDS Muslims, this event began after breaking fast; guests enjoyed an hour-long performance by a group of musicians who performed examples of traditional music from Ottoman Sufi Istanbul lodges. This event featured the Istanbul Meshk Ensemble, directed by A. Eylül Yalçinkaya, Ph.D., a visiting researcher at CMES.
This event took place on March 26, 2024.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
SPEAKER 1: Harvard Divinity School.
SPEAKER 2: Ottoman Sufi Music Night. Traditional songs from Istanbul Sufi Lodges. March 26 2024.
SPEAKER 3: Welcome all to a night of Ottoman Sufi Music. My name is [INAUDIBLE]. I am so incredibly honored to host this on the behalf of HDS Muslims tonight. And for those of you who do not know me, I am a second year masters in theological studies student here at the Divinity School. And my studies mainly focus on Islamic literature.
And as one of the only Turkish students at the Divinity school, I was very excited at the opportunity to host an event that celebrates the culture of Ottoman music and bring all of us into this space, as the music encourages the remembrance of God. Especially during this Holy month of Ramadan.
And before we embark on our mystical musical journey, I would like to start by inviting Professor Nicholas Boylston to stage to speak on [INAUDIBLE] music. Professor Boylston is the faculty of the Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations, and he is a scholar of classical Persian literature and Persian Islam.
I learned a lot about Sufism in his Persian Sufi literature class, so I'm really happy to welcome him to the stage.
[APPLAUSE]
PROFESSOR NICHOLAS BOYLSTON: Welcome, everyone. It's really lovely to see everybody here. And very much looking forward to hearing our musicians. So many thanks for inviting me to speak.
When I thought about what to speak about tonight, I thought about connecting some things that I've studied with the theme of the evening. And given the importance of Mevlana Jelaluddin Rumi for the Ottoman musical tradition, in which many of the performers and composers within the [INAUDIBLE] order. I thought I'd read a few lines from Mevlana's poetry, and also just comment very, very, very briefly on it.
So what I decided to recite is actually lines of poetry that are familiar to every single Iranian in the room, if there are any. Because-- So you know. So these are recited-- these are played on the radio every single night in the month of Ramadan. In the famous recitation of [INAUDIBLE], probably the greatest master of singing in the Persian classical tradition. So a family related tradition and one that we'll be hearing tonight. And it's actually selected verses from Rumi's masterwork and [INAUDIBLE] on the theme of fasting. So very relevant to the month of Ramadan.
And it's really famous. I won't read the entire version. But it starts, So I'll read the entire English and then I'll give a brief commentary, actually, just on the first line.
So Rumi says, you've closed this mouth and another mouth is opened order to partake of the morsels of mystery.
Seal your lips to both food and drink and then race towards the heavenly feast.
If you empty this storehouse of bread, it will become filled with glorious pearls
Wean the infant's soul from the milk of Satan, and then become the companion of the angels.
For ages, you have eaten sweet and fatty foods, now try a few days of fasting.
For nights on end, you've been a prisoner to sleep.
Stay awake for a night and gain the bounty.
So I just wanted to speak very briefly about only the first verse of this really rich set of verses. "You've closed this mouth and another mouth has opened in order to partake in the morsels of the mystery." Now, in order to understand this, we actually needed a little taste of Rumi's entire philosophy, which is based on the difference between what he calls form and means. [NON-ENGLISH SPEECH]
That there's this outer form, that's the material world, that's the multiplicity that we engage with every day. But just beyond that is a world of fire. A world of inner meanings. A world of spiritual realities. And beyond that is the divine reality.
So Rumi's poetry is a constant call to transcend this world of forms. To transcend the multiplicity in which we're all arguing with each other. In which we have these vices and selfish desires. In which there's a me and there's a you and there's a it sitting somewhere else, to a plane of inner unity and in a spiritual reality place. And that's the inner meaning of things for Rumi.
Now, what he says is referred to the fact that you've closed this mouth. Obviously, with [INAUDIBLE] the Muslim doing fast is not eating anything. But then he says another mouth was opened in order to partake in the morsels of mystery. So for Rumi, the five senses and the bodily features that we have in this world are actually mirrored and reflections of the spiritual plane.
And it's actually by limiting oneself on this plane, by controlling the ego, by controlling the negative aspects of our character, and by controlling, sometimes, food or sleep, that it's possible to awaken those inner senses, which are all latent within the hearts of every single one of us.
So connecting it to the music tonight, we love-- that inner sense of sight that the Sufis speak about so much is called the eye of the heart. Just as we can see things outwardly, there's an inwood site. It just needs to be opened through spiritual training.
There's also an inner eating or an inner feasting that Rumi talks about. Just as we have out of feasting-- if one practices asceticism, then one can start to be nourished on the spirit. But connecting ourselves down to the musical tradition, there's also an inner adherent. There's also-- just as we could speak of the eye of the heart, we can also speak of the ear of the heart. Or more commonly in Persian, it's called [NON-ENGLISH SPEECH]. The ear of the spirit.
So something to think about as you listen to the concert today is that physically, you're hearing all this music with your outer physical here. But just beyond that, there's an inner meaning behind all of this music. So try to see what it means for you to listen to the music tonight with the ear of your spirit. Thanks very much.
[APPLAUSE]
SPEAKER 3: And now I would like to introduce Ms. Arzu Eylul Yalcinkaya. A visiting researcher at Center for Middle Eastern Studies where she focuses deeply on the relationship between Sufism and [INAUDIBLE].
Dr. Yalcinkaya with her rich background in theology, Islamic studies, and Sufi history, currently serves as faculty member at the Institute of Sufi Studies at Uskudar University. Beyond the academic realm, she is also a celebrated musician, deeply immersed in the traditions of Islam Sufi Lodges.
Dr. Yalcinkaya has shared the beauty of Sufi music all over the world for over the last decade. And she directs, tonight, the song mesh, Istanbul, as they collectively specialize in Turkish and Mediterranean music. Tonight, they invite us all to join the spiritual and cultural richness of centuries old Sufi music heritage. So please help me in welcoming Dr. Yalcinkaya.
[APPLAUSE]
ARZU EYLUL YALCINKAYA: Thank you. Welcome again here. Tonight, we will be performing some traditional songs from Istanbul Logistic, and we will be performing mostly [NON-ENGLISH SPEECH]. One of Mevlana Jelaluddin Rumi's contemporary. And I would like to recite one of his couplets.
[NON-ENGLISH SPEECH]
Let's get to know one another and ease our burdens together. Let's love and be loved for the world is fleeting, belonging to no one.
So these verses have nourished the souls and minds of nomadic tribes, Refugee Anatolia from the Mongol invasion. In a time that Anatolia was a melting pot of diverse cultures and peoples. The core of [INAUDIBLE], inspired by Islamic mystical thought, urged a sincere embrace of differences and unity.
And he said, [NON-ENGLISH SPEECH]
We love all creation for the sake of the creator. He created all of us.
So tonight, we embrace [INAUDIBLE] from the 13th century with our 21st century spirit. In the first [INAUDIBLE], he will be performing tonight with my musician friends from Michigan. Thank you, guys. And without you, it was impossible to make this night and to get together.
We will be performing [INAUDIBLE] and then [INAUDIBLE]. Then there will be [INAUDIBLE]. It comes from the Arabic [INAUDIBLE], a Turkish author. And it's so melancholic melodies there will be waiting for you in that series. And the last pieces will be [INAUDIBLE].
You can-- please join us. Please join us because there are some many [INAUDIBLE] remembrance of God's words in [INAUDIBLE]. Muhammad is likely enjoying us so then it was always considered as remembrance of God. It's not just someone else's or some Sufi circle singing for his own sake, and dancing. But it is a form of remembrance of god, which means us forgetting about ourselves.
I always felt myself in a Sufi circle, elated, and rid of all my bad thoughts, because I always say, [INAUDIBLE], and I forget myself. It is like we always say, when you are praying [INAUDIBLE] Salah, you do your hands like this. Which means you are forgetting everything in front of god, also yourself, because you are just behind of your head, you know. Everything goes away.
So let's try to forget about everything and concentrate on the unity. This good feeling that we surround around, and music.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
[NON-ENGLISH SINGING]
[APPLAUSE]
ARZU EYLUL YALCINKAYA: I would like to share this story with me sometimes. My first concert in this village chapel, it was 11 years ago, in 2013. I was introduced this chapel by a Harvard man. And then I was alone and I just gave my own country. And imagined that maybe someday I can give concert. So I'm so happy tonight, you know.
A dream in life, my-- one thing I will [INAUDIBLE] hearts in this, you know. In Turkish tradition, when we invite guests to our house, we generally give them presents saying that it is the rent of your teeth. Because you ate our food and your teeth got a little bit tired so we have to pay for it because-- yeah, it's still interesting because we are getting all the praise from God because we serve you food. So this concert is your [NON-ENGLISH SPEECH]. Rent for your teeth. OK.
[APPLAUSE]
[MUSIC PLAYING]
[NON-ENGLISH SINGING]
[APPLAUSE]
ARZU EYLUL YALCINKAYA: After [INAUDIBLE]
They were composed in 17th century by Turkish musician, [INAUDIBLE]. It was so impressive that even in the midst of a bazaar and in the midst of daily problems, if you hear that [INAUDIBLE], immediately, you can be catched by the spiritual reality or celestial reality. It's so catchy song.
I really would like you to try it. You can find the notes or lyrics of the paper in [INAUDIBLE]. And then we will be performing [INAUDIBLE].
[MUSIC PLAYING]
[NON-ENGLISH SINGING]
[APPLAUSE]
ARZU EYLUL YALCINKAYA: Thank you [INAUDIBLE]. It's [INAUDIBLE], he says. You know, sometimes you feel excited and you say, [INAUDIBLE]. Sometimes someone else start to not when we didn't expect him to do, or improvisations. This is mesh. It is not a concert, you know. You cannot definitely sure about what is next. We say [NON-ENGLISH SPEECH], you know. It is [INAUDIBLE].
So I felt like a lovely gathering tonight. Thank you for having us here.
SPEAKER 3: Thank you all for being here tonight. But we especially want to thank each and every member of the Istanbul Mesh Ensemble. So I would like to have them each up on the stage just to also introduce them by name. We'll start with Dr. Yalcinkaya, please.
[APPLAUSE]
Thank you so much. And [INAUDIBLE], please.
[APPLAUSE]
And can I please have [INAUDIBLE].
[APPLAUSE]
Michael Harris.
[CHEERING]
Megan [INAUDIBLE].
[CHEERING]
And last but definitely not least, [INAUDIBLE].
[APPLAUSE]
Thank you all so much for coming with us today and allowing for HDS Muslims to host this event. We're all very grateful.
[APPLAUSE]
SPEAKER 4: All right, guys. This was a warm up. We have about 10 more hours to go. I could stay here all night and just enjoy the beautiful music. And I think they've done a lot of justice to Sufi music today. Thank you so much, all of you, for sharing--
[CHEERING]
I also want to thank you all for coming here today. It takes a brilliant heart to appreciate the work that they're doing. So thank you for showing up here today, for appreciating their music, and for encouraging them. And for making HDS a better place.
I want to share special thanks to the Office of Student Life, Ms, [INAUDIBLE] specific. [INAUDIBLE].
[APPLAUSE]
They are our seniors and no matter how much we appreciate them, they always went above and beyond. And you would not even believe how much help they provided. Ms. [INAUDIBLE] literally set up the food by herself. And yeah. So there is brilliant people here and I want to take a moment to appreciate.
Thank you so much for attending this event on behalf of HDS Muslim Association. You all have a brilliant night. As I said, we still have three more hours of performance to go. So you want to stay outside, you can do that. Thank you.
[APPLAUSE]
[MUSIC PLAYING]
SPEAKER 2: Sponsor, HDS Muslims.
SPEAKER 1: Copyright 2024, the President and Fellows of Harvard College.