National Geographic Music (National Geographic)

Murat Aydemir and Salih Bilgin's collaboration Nevâ, released on Golden Horn Records, is a work of musical juxtapositions. The ney and tanbur, seldom played in duo, have very different aesthetics. The sensuous ney, beloved instrument of the Mevlevi Sufis, is often compared to the beauty of the human voice. The scholarly tanbur, on the other hand, is considered expressive of the classical Ottoman/Turkish repertoires. Yet as tanbur master and foremost expert on Turkish classical music, Necdet Yasar, remarks about Nevâ, "Aydemir and Bilgin successfully interweave the music of tanbur and ney." Murat Aydemir's musical life is deeply influenced by Tanburi Cemil Bey. The album's title, Nevâ, pays homage not only to Tanburi Cemil Bey's "Nevâ Pesrevi" (the opening track), but also to the sounds and songs carried by musicians and their instruments through the generations — nevâ. In keeping with nevâ, Aydemir and Bilgin's repertoire presents works spanning several hundred years in traditional and modern interpretations.—Courtesy Calabash Music

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