Haci Arif Bey (1831–1885) was a Turkish composer from

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

, most known for his compositions in the '' şarkı'' form, the most common secular form in

Turkish classical music Ottoman music () or Turkish classical music (, or more recently ) is the tradition of classical music originating in the Ottoman Empire. Developed in the palace, major Ottoman cities, and Sufi lodges, it traditionally features a solo singer wi ...

. He was a very prolific composer, who on some days, composed more than six or seven songs. From his third wife Nigârnik Hanım he has four great-grandchildren; Turkish diplomat Reha Aytaman, Şira Arıkoğlu, Okşan Aytaman and Murat Aytaman.

Biography

He was born in the Eyüp district of Istanbul. He was taught by the famous

Dede Efendi DeDe, De De, Dedé or Dédé may refer to: People Nickname or stage name * Dedé (Angolan footballer), born Adérito Waldemar Alves Carvalho * Dedé (footballer, born 1978), Brazilian footballer born Leonardo de Deus Santos * Dedé (footballer, ...

. After Sultan

Abdülmecid I Abdülmecid I (, ; 25 April 182325 June 1861) was the 31st sultan of the Ottoman Empire. He succeeded his father Mahmud II on 2 July 1839. His reign was notable for the rise of nationalist movements within the empire's territories. Abdülmecid's ...

became aware of his beautiful voice, he was admitted to the Muzika-yi Humayun, which was the Imperial Military Music School in the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

. Due to his closeness to the Sultan, he was responsible for teaching music to the women in the

harem A harem is a domestic space that is reserved for the women of the house in a Muslim family. A harem may house a man's wife or wives, their pre-pubescent male children, unmarried daughters, female domestic Domestic worker, servants, and other un ...

. He fell in love with one of the Circassian concubines, Çeşm-i Dilber, and had two children with her. He composed several songs after she left him for a merchant. His second wife, also from the harem, died from

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...

, a cause for several songs by Arif Bey. He was elected the head singer in the palace, and married a third time with Circassian Nigârnik Hanım, and stayed with her until his death. Toward the end of his life, Haci Arif Bey had a fall out with the emperor

Abdul Hamid II Abdulhamid II or Abdul Hamid II (; ; 21 September 184210 February 1918) was the 34th sultan of the Ottoman Empire, from 1876 to 1909, and the last sultan to exert effective control over the fracturing state. He oversaw a Decline and modernizati ...

at the time, and was jailed for about 50 days. While there, he composed several songs, which were later appreciated by

, and he was forgiven. He taught at the Imperial Music School for the rest of his life.

Major works

* Olmaz ilâç sine-i sad pâreme * Bakmıyor çeşm-i siyah feryâde * Vücud ikliminin sultanı sensin * Meyhanemi bu, bezm-i tarahhane-i cem mi * Çekme elem-i derdini bu dehr-i fenanın * Deva yokmuş neden bimarı aşka * Geçti zahm-i tîri hicrin ta dil-i naşadıma * İltimas etmeye yâre varınız * Gözümden gitmiyor bir dem hayalin * Kanlar döküyor derdin ile dide-i giryan * Hâtırımdan çıkmaz asla ahd u peymânın senin * Sayd eyledi bu gönlümü bir gözleri âhû * Gurub etti güneş dünya karardı * Çözülme zülfüme ey dil rüba, dil bağlayanlardan * Ben buy-i vefa bekler iken sûy-i çemende * Humarı yok bozulmaz meclis-i meyhane-i aşkın * Tasdî edeyim yari biraz da sühanimle * Bir halet ile süzdü yine çeşmini dildar * Esti nesîm-i nevbahar açıldı güller subh dem * * * * * *

References

* Who is Who
''Hacı Arif Bey (1831 – 1885)''
*

Culture and Tourism Ministry of Turkey The Ministry of Culture and Tourism () is a government ministry of the Republic of Turkey, responsible for culture and tourism affairs in Turkey. Revolving fund management of the ministry is carried by DÖSİMM. On July 9, 2018, the newly electe ...

''Biography of Hacı Arif Bey''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Haci Arif Bey Composers of Ottoman classical music 1831 births Musicians from Istanbul 1885 deaths 19th-century classical composers Turkish male classical composers 19th-century male musicians Burials at Eyüp Cemetery