The Lalezar Ensemble is a

musical ensemble A musical ensemble, also known as a music group or musical group, is a group of people who perform instrumental and/or vocal music, with the ensemble typically known by a distinct name. Some music ensembles consist solely of instrumentalists, ...

which performs

Ottoman classical music Ottoman music ( tr, Osmanlı müziği) or Turkish classical music ( tr, Türk sanat müziği) is the tradition of classical music originating in the Ottoman Empire. Developed in the palace, major Ottoman cities, and Sufi lodges, it traditionally ...

. It is based in

Istanbul Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...

, and is "spearheading" the revival of Ottoman music. Female vocalist Selma Sagbas stands in for the male

castrati A castrato (Italian, plural: ''castrati'') is a type of classical male singing voice equivalent to that of a soprano, mezzo-soprano, or contralto. The voice is produced by castration of the singer before puberty, or it occurs in one who, due to ...

who were traditional from the 16th-19th centuries while the kanun, a Turkish board zither, is also featured.

Releases

They released a four volume series on the

Traditional Crossroads A tradition is a belief or behavior (folk custom) passed down within a group or society with symbolic meaning or special significance with origins in the past. A component of cultural expressions and folklore, common examples include holidays or ...

label: *''Music of the Sultans, Sufis & Seraglio, Vol. 1 - Sultan Composers'' ::Consisting of songs and pieces composed by imperial sultans, including

Murad IV Murad IV ( ota, مراد رابع, ''Murād-ı Rābiʿ''; tr, IV. Murad, was the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1623 to 1640, known both for restoring the authority of the state and for the brutality of his methods. Murad IV was born in Cons ...

Selim III Selim III ( ota, سليم ثالث, Selim-i sâlis; tr, III. Selim; was the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1789 to 1807. Regarded as an enlightened ruler, the Janissaries eventually deposed and imprisoned him, and placed his cousin Mustafa ...

, and

Mehmed VI Mehmed VI Vahideddin ( ota, محمد سادس ''Meḥmed-i sâdis'' or ''Vaḥîdü'd-Dîn''; tr, VI. Mehmed or /; 14 January 1861 – 16 May 1926), also known as Şahbaba () among the Osmanoğlu family, was the 36th and last Sultan of the O ...

, over five centuries. *''Music of the Sultans, Sufis & Seraglio, Vol. 2 - Music of the Dancing Boys'' ::Consisting of songs sung originally sung by

köçek The ''köçek'' (plural in Turkish) was typically a very handsome young male slave or a Romani dancer (''rakkas''), who usually cross-dressed in feminine attire, and was employed as an entertainer. Roots The Persian word ''kuchak'' derive ...

dancers,

cross-dress Cross-dressing is the act of wearing clothes usually worn by a different gender. From as early as pre-modern history, cross-dressing has been practiced in order to disguise, comfort, entertain, and self-express oneself. Cross-dressing has play ...

ed young male entertainers. *''Music of the Sultans, Sufis & Seraglio, Vol. 3 - Minority Composers'' ::Consisting of songs and pieces composed by Armenian, Greek, and Jewish composers, including relatively recent pieces. *''Music of the Sultans, Sufis & Seraglio, Vol. 4 - Ottoman Suite'' ::Consisting of a

suite Suite may refer to: Arts and entertainment *Suite (music), a set of musical pieces considered as one composition ** Suite (Bach), a list of suites composed by J. S. Bach ** Suite (Cassadó), a mid-1920s composition by Gaspar Cassadó ** ''Suite' ...

, or fasil, constructed improvisatorily from different compositions all in the

mode Mode ( la, modus meaning "manner, tune, measure, due measure, rhythm, melody") may refer to: Arts and entertainment * '' MO''D''E (magazine)'', a defunct U.S. women's fashion magazine * ''Mode'' magazine, a fictional fashion magazine which is ...

, or

makam The Turkish makam ( Turkish: ''makam'' pl. ''makamlar''; from the Arabic word ) is a system of melody types used in Turkish classical music and Turkish folk music. It provides a complex set of rules for composing and performance. Each makam speci ...

, Segâh, followed by a few examples of sarki. In collaboration with Lalezar, Armenian-American musician

Harold Hagopian Harold G. Hagopian is an American violinist, entrepreneur, record producer and founder of Traditional Crossroads world music record label in 1993. Biography Hagopian is the son of Armenian-American oud virtuoso Richard Hagopian. His paternal ...

spent three years to mix, annotate, and package the four volume series, causing the ensemble to increase their repertoire of pieces by Armenian composers.(Jul 7, 2001). ''Billboard''
Vol. 113
No. 27.

Sources

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Releases

Sources

Further reading