Marife Dini Araştırmalar Dergisi

Abstract

Many forms of lodge music have been sung in lodges for centuries and have reached to the present day. One of the most active and skillful lodges where these forms are performed is the Jerrahi Lodge. Jerrahism, as a subsection of the Halveti sect, is one of the prominent dervish lodges in terms of musical infrastructure. Jerrahis, who are located in the Karagümrük in Fatih-Istanbul, has been active for centuries, has opened branches not only in Istanbul but also in many other cities, and has been accepted by Sufi scholars. For example, Sakarya, Bursa and Ankara are considered to be the main branches. Jerrahism has also been accepted and branches have been opened in many different countries, particularly in America. After the closure of lodges and zawiyas in Turkey, Turkish Sufi Music and Folklore Research and Memorial Foundation was established in order to keep the Jerrahism culture alive and practice its music and folklore. In this foundation, many forms of Turkish religious music, particularly the hymn form, were sung and these forms were disseminated and performed through meshk practices. Meshks encouraged the production of new hymns and led to the training of new composers. Meshks are usually held on Mondays. Monday meshks are known as the meshks where hymns are performed by preparing a collection of pieces from specific maqams or mixed maqams with similar structure. Before the Republic period, dhikr, which was called week night, was performed on Monday afternoon. After the Republic period, the time of dhikr was changed to Monday evening by Fahreddin Erenden, as it coincided with the working hours of the civil service. In Muzaffer Ozak’s time, it was changed to Thursday evening. However, Monday evening has been designated as the meshk night out of respect for Nureddin Cerrâhî, since Monday has been the day of dhikr since his time. Monday meshks commenced with Muzaffer Ozak in 1967, after the death of Fahredin Erenden. The audio recordings in the archive records have been in the foundation archives since the 1980s. Instruments also accompany the hymns in meshk. Instrumentalists who perform instruments such as Qanun, Ney, Kudum, Halîle, Dâire and Bandir are present in the meshk. The pieces performed in the meshks are also performed in the dhikr held on Thursday night to keep the folklore alive. For this reason, Monday meshks also serve as rehearsals in preparation for Thursday. There are 189 records of meshks available on the internet since 1996. In the interview with Ömer Çolakoğlu, who has been trying to record the meshks since 2003, it was stated that nearly 60 maqams were performed in these meshks. The repertoire of meshks is determined according to the characteristics of the current week or month. For example, in the weeks of the death of Sheikh Effendi, poems or compositions of Sheikh Effendi are added to the repertoire. In holy months and nights, pieces composed with lyrics mentioning that month or night are preferred. Meshks are finished after Sheikh Effendi points it out, then tea is served, and conversation is held. Meshks have become art gatherings where students and musicians who are interested in Turkish religious music and lodge music benefit from thanks to the repertoire arranged from many different maqams. We can say that a lodge with a rich content in terms of Turkish religious music repertoire has emerged due to the hymns that are actively recited in the meshks. This was achieved by composers with strong musical backgrounds. Although the names of composers such as Eyyübi Mehmet Efendi (d.1266/1850) and Eğrikapılı Şeyh Mehmet Efendi (d.1317/1900) were known before the Republic period, the number of composers increased in parallel with the systematization of the meshks after the Republic period and new compositions were introduced to Turkish religious music. This research aims to determine the names and numbers of composers who are members of Turkish Sufi Music and Folklore Research and Memorial Foundation after the Republic period, and to determine the types and number of compositions they made. As a result of the study, 347 works of 14 composers who passed away during the Republic period and 1017 works of 35 living composers as of 2021 were reached.