The ''saz semai'' (also spelled in
Turkish as ''saz sema'i'', ''saz sema-i'', ''saz sema i'', ''saz semaī'', ''saz semâ'î'', ''sazsemai'', ''saz semaisi'', or ''sazsemaisi'' and in the
Arab world
The Arab world ( '), formally the Arab homeland ( '), also known as the Arab nation ( '), the Arabsphere, or the Arab states, comprises a large group of countries, mainly located in West Asia and North Africa. While the majority of people in ...
as ''samâi'') is an instrumental
form
Form is the shape, visual appearance, or configuration of an object. In a wider sense, the form is the way something happens.
Form may also refer to:
*Form (document), a document (printed or electronic) with spaces in which to write or enter dat ...
in
Ottoman classical music
Ottoman music () or Turkish classical music (, or more recently ) is the tradition of Art music, classical music originating in the Ottoman Empire. Developed in the palace, major Ottoman cities, and Sufi lodges, it traditionally features a sol ...
. It was typically the closing movement of a ''
fasıl
The ''fasıl'' is a suite in Ottoman classical music. It is similar to the Arabic '' nawba'' and '' waslah''.
A classical ''fasıl'' generally includes movements such as '' taksim'', '' peşrev'', '' kâr'', '' beste'', ''ağır semâ'î'', '' ...
'' (i.e. suite). The saz semai is metered and typically uses the
usul (rhythmic structure) called ''aksak semai''.
A saz semai is typically in 4
movements, called ''hane'' (lit. "house"), each movement followed by a ''
teslim'' (
refrain
A refrain (from Vulgar Latin ''refringere'', "to repeat", and later from Old French ''refraindre'') is the Line (poetry)">line or lines that are repeated in poetry or in music">poetry.html" ;"title="Line (poetry)">line or lines that are repeat ...
).
The ''teslim'' and the first three ''hane'' are usually in rhythm structure 10/8, unlike the fourth ''hane'' which is usually in 6/4, 3/4, or 6/8.
Common Saz Semaisi
Some Saz Semaisi are very well-known and played in the all makam music area (From Greece to Iraq, and from Iraq to Morocco).
Here a few of them :
*Semâi al Thakil - also called : Arap saz semai. This samai is in makam Bayati.
*Semâi Al-Aryan - also called : Samâi
Bayati.
*Semâi Shad Araban - Sed-i-Araban Saz Semaisi. Composed by
Tanburi Cemil Bey
Tanburi Cemil Bey (1873, Istanbul – July 28, 1916, Istanbul) was an Ottoman tanbur, Turkish tambur, yaylı tambur, kemençe, and lavta virtuoso and composer, who has greatly contributed to the ''taksim'' (improvisation on a makam/maqam) g ...
.
*Semâi Husseyni. Composed by
Tatyos Efendi.
*Semâi Nahawand - Nihavend Saz Semaisi. Composed by the son of Tanburi Cemil Bey : Mesut Cemil (Son of Cemil Bey).
Saz Semai's Composers
*
Tanburi Cemil Bey
Tanburi Cemil Bey (1873, Istanbul – July 28, 1916, Istanbul) was an Ottoman tanbur, Turkish tambur, yaylı tambur, kemençe, and lavta virtuoso and composer, who has greatly contributed to the ''taksim'' (improvisation on a makam/maqam) g ...
was a noted composer of ''saz semai''.
*Ismail Hakki Bey
*Misirli Ibrahim Effendi
See also
*
Sama'i
''Sama'i'' (also known as ''usul semai'') is a vocal piece of Ottoman Turkish music composed in meter. This form and meter ('' usul'' in Turkish) is often confused with the completely different '' saz semaisi'', an instrumental form consisting of ...
*
Yürük semai
A ''yürük semai'' (also spelled ''yürük sema'i'', ''yürük sema i'', or ''yürük semâ'î'') is a musical form in Ottoman classical music. It was a movement of a ''fasıl'' (suite). It is generally composed in an '' usul'' (rhythmic structure ...
*
Arabic Maqam
In traditional Arabic music, maqam (, literally "ascent"; ') is the system of melodic modes, which is mainly melodic. The word ''maqam'' in Arabic means place, location or position. The Arabic ''maqam'' is a melody type. It is "a technique ...
*
Turkish makam
The Turkish makam ( Turkish: ''makam'' pl. ''makamlar''; from the Arabic word ''maqām'' ) 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 ...
Bibliography
*Walter Feldman : "Music of the Ottoman court : Makam, composition in the early Ottoman instrumental repertoire" ; Intercultural Music Studies, 1996.
External links
''Saz semai'' page
Music of Turkey
Turkish words and phrases
Musical forms
Forms of Turkish makam music
Forms of Ottoman classical music
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