sama'ai (middle east)

sad day in kiwiland today with the death of sir edmund hillary
at the age of 88 after an amazing life including conquering mt everest
on my early evening wonder i was reflecting on the occasion
it occurred to me that he was a person beyond reproach
these days our iconic figures dominate in some way
they are successful at sports, politics, business
are maybe even an art - music, writing, acting
but probably not revered across the board
as with sir edmund - respected by all
young and old, male and female, rich and poor
locally and internationally
he led a life of immaculate integrity
and throughout claimed his commonness
no wonder nz is in mourning today - vale sir edmund
it's a shame tibet does not get a mention by songlines magazine
in their definition of the 50 rhythms of the world
would have been appropriate at this time to zone in on that
but alas sticking with the program instead finds us in turkey
and a style known as sama'ai described by songlines here

though the name originally comes from turkish (saz semai)
the development and refinement of this mecurial 10/8 pattern
with strong beats on 1, 3, 6, 8, 9 and 10
is steeped in the arab classical tradition
the way in which a player interprets this during a taqsim (solo improvisation)
is an acid test of musicianship
too heavy an emphasis on the strong beats and the piece becomes leaden
too light a touch and the inner pulse is lost

spent quite a while viewing many youtube videos
a lot of examples of this style but not many worthy of repeat plays
until i encountered one that sounded and looked appealing
it shows a large ensemble titled ensemble tahir aydogdu
he being the leader of the group and playing the kanun
which is the stringed instrument played laid horizontally
it has 26 courses of strings each course with 3 strings - 78 strings
the tune being played by the core trio is titled muhayyer kurdi saz semai
which i suspect is a standard in this part of the world
the other 2 instruments are an oud (guitar) and keman (violin)
3 experts at work weaving their magic
(39 of 50)