Nevzat Akpinar Ensemble

Friday, November 9, 2007 at 8:30 PM

By Anastasia Tsioulcas

About the Program

In this precarious and embattled era, it is easy to find broad generalizations in the media about Muslims who have emigrated westward. But it’s far less common to actually have a glimpse into the vivid traditions and rich heritage of one of these communities.

This concert by the Nevzat Akpinar Ensemble, a group of Turkish and Kurdish musicians who now make their home in Berlin, is an opportunity to explore the musical and cultural wealth of the Alevi community, a small minority within Turkey and Islam itself. Although Alevi beliefs and practices have enormous range, their tradition, in its broadest terms, technically belongs within the Shia branch of Islam, and emphasizes a personal and mystical relationship to God that is not unlike the teachings of Sufism.

With incredible skill and great sensitivity, the group sings and plays a number of plucked string instruments within the baglama family. Along with performing a variety of secular music from across Turkey and original compositions, the group’s repertoire includes music from the Alevi tradition, including selections from the semah ritual and the mystical love songs known as deyis.

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Copyright © 2007 by The Carnegie Hall Corporation

Anastasia Tsioulcas is a New York–based music critic who writes for Billboard, Gramophone, and Songlines magazines, as well as others.