The following two songs were recorded in Armenia in 1909 by the London Gramophone Company, which had an office in neighbouring Tbilisi between 1901 and 1918 (responsible for the Caucasus and Central Asia).
Both these songs are to be found on an amazing CD compilation of old recordings entitled "Before the Revolution: A 1909 Recording Expedition in the Caucasus and Central Asia by the Gramophone Company", which is available on Amazon and on the other usual websites. Will Prentice of the British Library was the man responsible for compiling this CD, and he has written an excellent article on the activities of the London Gramophone Company in the Caucasus and in Central Asia in the 23rd edition of Playback, the bulletin of the British Library's National Sound Archive. - -
Hamlet Gonashvili is THE voice of Georgia, and arguably the most famous Georgian singer of all time. Born in eastern Georgia in 1928, he began singing at a very early age, and his highly-praised interpretations of Georgian songs (particularly those of the Georgian regions of Kakheti and Kartli) won him many awards and prizes. He became the star soloist of the renowned "Ensemble Rustavi", with whom he recorded many of his best-known songs. He died at the height of his fame in 1985, when he fell from an fig tree... (Fig trees are reputedly dangerous in Georgia, apparently; they are easy to climb, but their branches easily snap or droop.)
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(Gonashvili's demise must rank among the strangest and most tragic in the world of music, on a par with that of the brilliant French composer Charles-Valentin Morhange - known as Alkan - who supposedly died at the age of 74 when he was crushed under a bookcase in his home whilst reaching for a copy of the Talmud. This apocryphal story was later disproved by one of Alkan's pupils, who wrote that the composer actually met his end when he became trapped beneath a falling porte-parapluies.)
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The following YouTube video is a (very silly) music video made for Georgian television of one of Gonashvili's most famous songs, an interpretation of the Georgian song "tsintskaro", "before the [water] spring" sung by him and the Ensemble Rustavi.
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- And a video of Gonashvili and the Ensemble Rustavi singing the amazing "shen bitcho anagurelo". -
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A magnificent photograph of Urfa in southern Anatolia, taken by Hans Mast (www.hansmast.com) -
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The city of Urfa in southern Turkey is famous for its holy fish (which swim lazily in beautiful pools of water built next to the mosques) and for its music and singers. During a recent (2005) trip to Urfa, I bought an amazing double-CD compilation of old recordings: "Urfa'dan Üç Musiki Ustası", or "Three Master Musicians of Urfa", complete with lavish and informative booklet in English, &c., released by Kalan Müzik in 2004.
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Here are some of the songs which feature on the CDs:
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Hamza Şenses (1904-1939, who was known as "Bald Hamza", because he grew bald at a very early age) singing "Aya Bak Yıldıza Bak", "Kışlalar doldu bugün" ("The Barracks filled[-up] today"), and the oddly-named "Ne Hoş Olur Mahpushane Havası" ("How good the air is in prison"!)
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Hamza Şenses (1904-1939)
- BakırYurtsever (1908-1985)
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Bakır "the Watchman" Yurtsever and "Bald" Hamza Şenses must rank among the finest singers the world has ever known. Kalan Müzik, who released the double CD compilation with their songs, included a small but lavish Turkish/English book with biographical information on the Master Singers. Here is what they had to say about Kel Hamza:
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Of all Urfa’s vocal artists of the past century, one of the first to come to mind is Hamza Şenses. Because he lost his hair at a young age, he was known by the nickname "Kel Hamza" (Bald Hamza).
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HS was born in 1904 , in a house on Hilal Street behind the Selehettin Eyyuubi Mosque, in the Büyük Yol area. On his mother Zeliha’s side he descended from the Tanburacıoğlu famıly. His father Mustafa worked in the fur trade. He had one brother, Ibrahim Halil, who also was a furrier, and died in 1968. His wife, named Hanım, who died in 1978, was the his mother’s brother’s daughter. They had three daughters, Hayriye, Zeliha and Türkan, who died in childhood.
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Hamza Şenses never attended school, but taught himself to read and write because of his own interest. From a young age, he wrote poetry and composed music.
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His real profession was feltmaking. At work, he would sing türkü and hoyrat to himself. In the exuberance of his youth, he also wrote a few songs of his own. One day as he was singing hoyrat, his master and his friends listened to him, and asked "Hamza, you have a nice voice, why don’t you make a record?” In Urfa during that period, music was made for the joy of it; to play or sing for money, to become a professional performer, was considered quite shameful. For this reason Hamza thought long and hard, then went and explained the situation to his uncles. They gave him permission, saying “you’re an orphan, you’re poor, you have a beautiful voice, you are free.” He started singing at various places, and gaining some popularity, he went to make a recording. When the record came out, his fame spread beyond Urfa, and he began to get offers to sing in gazinos (music nightclubs) in other cities. Thus until his death, he worked as a singer in many provinces, playing in a variety of musical gatherings, concerts and gazinos.
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Living in the same period as the famous singer Mıkım Tahir, Hamza Şenses also played bağlama, tambur and cümbüş, and performed in Şanlıurfa’s Çardaklı Cafe and the Aynzeliha Gazino. At one point he was performing on the stages of Diyarbakır, Gaziantep, Adana and Istanbul.
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Performing with various ensembles in the sira geces of Urfa, overnight gatherings in the mountains, and other musical events, he got his practice and training from the master musicians of the time, and participated in radio programs for the anniversary of Urfa’s liberation on April 11 as well as other programs. He also performed for many years with the ensemble at the Urfa Halk Evi (a local venue) and gave countless concerts.
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He had six records to his name, and was an important source for Turkish Radio and Television (TRT) and added many of his türkü and uzun hava to their repertoire, such as “Diyarbakır Bu Mudur”, “Adam Ağladan Oldum”, “Aşkın Ne Derin Yâreler Açtı Ciğerimde”, “Kışlalalar Doldu Bugün”, “Ne Hoş Olur Mahpushane Havası”, “Nere Gidim Kardaş”, “Urfa Dağlarında Gezdiğim Çağlar.”
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He had a beatiful voice; powerful, clean and passionate, and sang hoyrat and gazels especially well, moving his audience deeply. His voice was so strong that when he sang one night in the Urfa Castle, he could be heard in Karaköprü, six or seven kilometers away. He sang his uzun havas in his own personal style, which is emulate by many contemporary artists when they sing these pieces. His uzun hava “Kışlalar Doldu Bugün” made Muzaffer Akgün and several other artists
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Hamza Şenses was a meticulous man who liked to dress neatly, always wearing a suit and tie and a fedora. Dressing this way in Urfa in the 1930s and 40s, he was quite ahead of the times.
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He was very polite and sensitive, and was deeply devoted to his children, loving to talk and joke with them, and buy them presents. Thus the loss of his daughter Türkan, who fell from a rock and suffered a brain hemorrhage and dying after many years of illness, was a devastating blow to him. Upon her death, he composed the uzun hava beginning with the words “What deep wounds love has opened in my heart, this great world has turned into a grave in my eyes.”
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Though he made only a small number of recordings, his voice was known throughout the entire country, and he was one of the most famous singers of his time.
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During the 1940s, Hamza Şenses was performing several times a week at Urfa’s spot for drinking and music, the Çardaklı Cafe . One night when he was not performing, feeling bored, he got dressed to go the the Çardaklı Cafe. He called his daughter Zeliha and said “Daughter, I’m going, is there anything you want to say?” Showing him her neck, she said “Give me a kiss, [so that] my father’s scent will come from here.” Kissing his daughter, he left the house and set off for the club. As there was no program that night, he sat at an empty table and ordered. At that point some people sitting at another table said "Hamza, we know you’re off tonight, but this place is nothing without you; go up and sing us a few tunes.” Hamza answered “Since you insist, I’ll go up and sing you one,” went onto the stage, and sang a türkü. As he was leaving the stage, one of the people insisted he come to their table. He thanked them but declined, sitting back down at his own table. At this, the people there began arguing. One of them said “This Hamza is really full of himself, he doesn’t deign to come to our table.” Another said “Hamza is my friend, don’t shoot your mouth off about him that way.” The argument turned into a fight. Hamza approached them and said “shame on you, you’re friends, why are you fighting, eat drink, and go home happy.” It was winter, snow was all around. One at the table said “It’s your fault we argued in the first place, beat it,” and pushed Hamza. The Çardaklı Cafe was surrounded by wire fencing. Hamza, who had drunk, slipped and fell onto the thin fence, which collapsed. He fell from the Çardaklı Cafe, which was on the first floor, down into the Nacar Bazaar, hitting his head on the woodblock in front of the carpenters’ shops. When the group saw him fall, they ran off; leaving him to be found lying on the ground by the night watchmen on their rounds. They picked him up and took him to his house, saying “he’s really drunk, lie him down.” When his mother laid his head on the pillow, blood came onto her hand, and she said to the watchmen “My son’s head is broken, what happened, where did he fall?” They answered “He fell from Herrane Kedosu’s Cafe.” When he didn’t revive after three hours, they took him to the hospital. He had suffered a brain hemorrhage and was immediately taken into surgery, but the wound was too severe and he did not survive.
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Thoughout his life, Hamza Şenses experienced the pains of separation and longing, deprivation and loss of a child. For this reason, nearly all of his pieces tell one sad story or another. “Kişlalar Doldu Bugün” (The Barracks Filled Today) and “Diyarbakır Bu Mudur” (Is This What Diyarbakır Is) are about separation, “Urfa Dağlarında Gezdiğim Çağlar” (The Ages I Spent Wandering in the Mountains of Urfa) is about his uncle Ali who was shot and killed, “Aşkın Ne Derin Yareler Açtı” is about the early death of his beloved daughter Türkan, and “Adanalı Esmer Okur Yan Bakar” (A Dark One From Adana Sings and Looks Askance) was written about a dear friend from Adana.
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The Story of the Uzun Hava “Kışlalar Doldu Bugün”
Hamza Şenses’ younger brother Ibrahim was a soldier in Diyarbakır. Then, military service was not like today; it lasted three or four years, longer in wartime. So Hamza missed his brother İbrahim, who had been away for a long time. He went to Diyarbakır to see him and went to the barracks of his battalion. The officials there said, “Your brother is on duty, we can’t call him now.” Even though he said he’d come from far away and wanted to see his brother if just for a few minutes, they answered “it’s not allowed” and refused permission. At this, he said he wanted to speak with the battalion chief, and after much insisting he managed to get into see him. The battalion chief was a good-natured sort, and friendly. At this, Hamza Şenses introduced himself, and said he’d come a long way to see his brother. The battalion chief was a music lover and had heard of Hamza Şenses, so he treated him to tea and coffee, and called his brother Ibrahim in to see him. - After they’d talked, the chief said to Hamza, “You have come this far, let’s have an evening [of music].” Hamza agreed and they put on a great show for the soldiers in the battalion. That night, sad at having to leave his brother, he wrote the piece “Kışlalar Doldu Bugün” (The Barracks Filled Today) and sang it to those present. Later it was immortalized when he made a record of it: - The barracks filled today They filled, and emptied today Come brother, let’s talk Today I faced separation, Forced, with no choice - Midnight came, And with it, my tears I don’t collapse under just any pain, But this one was torture From a land of strangers - -
- Two Wai musicians - playing a "wadj" (left) and a "serenggi" (right) Waigal Valley, Afghanistan, 1953 (photo by Peder Rasmussen) - - 1. A fife and drum piece played by the Kalasha people (Pakistan) - Kalasha girls dancing -
Inhabitants of the Parun (left) and Wama (right) Valleys in Afghanistan, 1974 (photo by Max Klimburg) - - 5. "atane meli kashana" for "shibro" (flute) and "djamba" (drum), recorded in the Waigal Valley in 1968 - 6. Wedding music (Pashto?) for "zurna" (reed flute) and "dhol" (drum) recorded in the village of Chaga Sarai in Nuristan - 7. "kamale kimile", a polyphonic song sung by a choir in the village of Mondesh in the Waigal Valley, recorded in 1953 - 8. A Pashai dance tune, payed on a fife and a drum - -
The village of Waigal in Afghanistan, 1974 (photo by Max Klimburg) - -
A more recent video of "Nooristani mashriqi" dance and music, filmed by a certain Vaheed Kaacemy as part of his research into 'the origins of Afghan music and its rise in Nooristan': - :
Sandro Kavsadze was one of Georgia's greatest singers. Born in 1874 in the village of Khovle (in the Kaspi district of Western Georgia), he was first taught to sing by his father, Grigoli Kavsadze, a priest. Later, Sandro continued to study song at the seminary in the town of Gori. His teacher there, Simon Goglichidze, was a renowned singer himself, and within a few years Kavsadze had become an expert, and had been designated Goglichidze's deputy and substitute. (A certain Iosep Djugashvili, later known as "Koba" and "Stalin", also studied in the seminary in Gori, and was a contemporary of Sandro's.) - In 1893, after finishing his clerical studies, Kavsadze formed his own choir and performed concerts for charity; he also formed choirs in Tbilisi (in 1896) and Poti (in 1897). In 1911, Sandro left his group under the direction of his brother Mikheil, and moved to western Georgia. He formed several choirs there, in Satchkere, Tkibuli, Chiatura, Zestaponi, and Kutaisi, and Kavsadze also taught Georgian folk music in schools and high-schools. In all, he spent twenty years in the region of Imereti, where he made an enormous contribution to the revival of traditional music and folklore. - Almost twenty years later, in 1930, Sandro was given the (rather Soviet) title of "Artistic Figure of Merit", and the thirtieth jubilee of his work was celebrated. In 1935 he was asked to move to Georgia's capital Tbilisi, where he was commissioned to set up and prepare an Eastern Georgian Folkloric Ensemble for the "Decade of Georgian Culture", an art and folklore festival which was to be held in Moscow. - In 1937, Kavsadze and his ensemble travelled to Moscow, where they performed to great acclaim, winning an award. After the festival, a meeting was held in the Kremlin between the Politburo and all the festival's participants; this meeting gave rise to the following anecdote: - The story has it that the festival's participants – singers, dancers, artistic directors, etc. – were gathered in the Kremlin's Georgievsk Hall, where they were nervously awaiting Stalin's arrival. At last, the Man Himself entered the room – A "hurrah!" resounded, but Stalin lifted up his hand to bid those gathered be silent. He looked around the room at length, clearly searching for someone. Everyone became anxious: Whom was he looking for?? What should they do?! At last, Stalin asked in a low voice "if Sandro was there." Everyone breathed a sigh of relief, and the crowd parted to form a passage: at one end, Stalin; at the other, Sandro. It was of course protocol that the person meeting Stalin should walk up to him, but Sandro didn't move – a clear slight to the Great Man. They stared at each other for a few seconds, surrounded by the stunned crowd. Stalin then took the first step, followed by Sandro, and they met in the middle of the room, and embraced each other. "You have not changed," said Stalin, giving Sandro a pat on the back. Sandro remained silent, and patted Stalin on the back. "Indeed, you have not changed," repeated Stalin, patting Sandro on the back again. They conversed in low voices, Stalin asking Sandro if there was anything He could do for him? "Give me your pipe," said Sandro – The pipe has been a Kavsadze family heirloom ever since. -
- After Moscow, Sandro and his ensemble were bidden to travel onwards to Leningrad (formerly St. Petersburg, and now St. Petersburg again). However, shortly after the festival, Sandro (by then 63 years old) fell ill, and was hospitalized in the Kremlin. Lying in the hospital, Sandro received a letter. On the envelope was written "To Comrade Alexandre Kavsadze, from Stalin." The letter read: "Greetings to Sandro! ["sandros gaumardjos!" in Georgian] I happened to learn from Egnatashvili that you are in the Kremlin hospital. This is bad news, but the doctors tell me that you will get better soon. If you need anything, please let me know, for I am ready to help you in any manner. May you live for a thousand years! Your Soso, 1937."-Too ill to continue touring, Sandro remained in Moscow, and the Ensemble continued under the direction of his son, Davit Kavsadze (1907-1952). Having arrived in Leningrad, they repeated their success, and for his achievements Sandro was awarded an Order and was named "Honoured Artist of the Georgian [Soviet Socialist] Republic". - Sandro returned to Tbilisi shortly afterwards, where he died on 12 June 1939. He was buried in the city's Vake cemetery, in Georgia's Pantheon. - - In 1986, the Russian "Melodiya" label re-issued 16 old recordings of Sandro Kavsadze and his Ensemble ("Sandro Kavsadze – Georgian Songs from the Archive", Melodiya M30―46085―86). I believe this record has itself been re-issued as a CD.-- Most of the songs on this record were recorded by Sandro and his Ensemble in Moscow in 1937, but the quality of several of Sandro's 1909 (London Gramophone Company?) recordings (of which there are four on this record) remains unsurpassed to this day, most particularly his solo renderings of an "Urmuli" – a Kakhetian cart-driver's song – and of "Mtao, gadmishvi" ("Let me pass, O Mountain"). The two are considered to be masterpieces.
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Here are some songs: - "mtao, gadmishvi" (Sandro Kavsadze, 1909), "Let me pass, O Mountain!" - "urmuli" (Sandro Kavsadze, 1909) - this would have been sung by a carter on his way from the eastern Georgian province of Kakheti to Aghzevan (in Armenia) to buy salt. - "gutnuri" (Sandro Kavsadze, probably recorded between 1909 and 1918), a ploughman's song from eastern Georgia - "herio, bitcho!" (Mikheil Kavsadze & ensemble, 1914), a scything song from western Georgia sung by Sandro's brother Mikheil
These songs (with the exception of "netavi, gogov, me da shen!" (recorded in 1937) were probably recorded in Tbilisi by Franz Hampe and his colleagues, sound engineers working for the Caucasus and Central Asia branch of the London Gramophone Company. The Gramophone Company had an overseas office in Tbilisi from 1901 to 1918, and during this period succeeded in recording hundreds of songs from even the most remote regions of the Caucasus mountains. - A CD entitled "Before the Revolution: A 1909 Recording Expedition in the Caucasus and Central Asia by the Gramophone Company", released by the Topic record label in 2002 and entirely compiled from material recorded by Franz Hampe and his colleagues at the London Gramophone Company, is available for purchase on the usual websites (on Amazon, for example). - For more information on Mr Hampe and the exploits of the London Gramophone Company in the Caucasus and Central Asia, an excellent article by Will Prentice on the subject was published in the 23rd edition of Playback, the bulletin of the British Library's National Sound Archive. (Note: Mr Prentice was responsible for compiling the aforementioned CD.)
