Fahrettin Çimenli (read Turkish version here)
Introduction
Fahrettin Çimenli, who emerged as a tanbur master on the Turkish classical music stage, has established his place in musical memory as one of the artists with the richest instrumental recordings in the TRT archive. Çimenli, who passed away in Istanbul in October 2018, continues to stand before music lovers despite the passage of generations with his long-term TRT career and the massive repertoire in his musical memory. He has earned a special place in music literature with the timbre he added to the instrument by implementing a technical adjustment to strengthen the sound output of the bowed tanbur; he is known with the technical developments attributed to him on this subject.
The artist began his professional journey with the serious education he received from an important master like Ûdi Sâdi Erden at the Aksaray Music Society; subsequently, he served as a tanbur artist at TRT Istanbul Radio for 50 years. It is observed that Çimenli, who has approximately one thousand taksim recordings in the TRT archive and holds thousands of works in his memory, plays a key role in preserving the wordless traditions of instrumental Turkish music. The master, who stands out with his performer identity rather than his composer identity, displayed a virtuoso performance in instrumental works such as Evcârâ and Kürdilihicazkâr, as well as in saz semaisi in the Hüzzam and Saba makams.
Live recordings he made with Domna Samiou in 1998 and album works titled "Yaylı Tanbur" are concrete examples of the connection he established with the international music community and of the archive quality. Çimenli, who also transferred to younger generations by teaching at the ITU Turkish Music State Conservatory, is defined with an educator identity that carries not only his sound but also music science to future generations. Although official award records remain limited in sources, serving for 50 years at TRT and continuing to live in archives with thousands of recordings are indicators that most accurately reflect his true effect in our Turkish music history.
Biography
Fahrettin Çimenli, one of the tanbur virtuosi of Classical Turkish Music, draws the portrait of a master who wrote his name in golden letters in Turkey's institutionalized music history. Although there are small differences between the years 1933 and 1934 regarding Çimenli's birth year in sources, the artist's journey to music was shaped with serious education that began at the Aksaray Music Society. Çimenli, who learned tanbur techniques in depth as a student of Ûdi Sâdi Erden between 1958 and 1963, took his first professional step by serving at the Istanbul Municipality Conservatory Turkish Music Performance Board between 1963-1965.
The most prominent period of the artist's career was spent as a tanbur artist at TRT Istanbul Radio from 1967 to 1990. Approximately 1000 taksim recordings located in the radio archives lay Çimenli's performance power and the breadth of his production history before the eyes. It is stated that this connection with TRT extends up to 50 years together with different duty periods. The artist, who served at the State Turkish Classical Music Choir between 1977 and 1999 (some sources state 1997), also nurtured students as a teaching staff member at the ITU Turkish Music State Conservatory between 1980-1981 during the same period and contributed to music education.
Fahrettin Çimenli is a musician who made sensitive experiments not only on performance art but also on instrument technology. Accepted as a virtuoso on bağlama, lute, plectrum tanbur, and bowed tanbur, Çimenli is known for the work that makes the instrument's sound come out higher by adding a sound amplifying adjustment (by adding a sound post) to the bowed tanbur. While information regarding this adjustment is linked with Tanburî Cemil Bey's entry into the culture in some sources, other sources qualify the sound amplifying addition as Çimenli's direct invention. The artist, who carries around 6000 works in his memory, composed two songs in the Hicaz and Nihavent makams and two saz semaisi in the Hüzzam and Saba makams on the composer side.
Among his published works, taksim and instrumental works such as "Evcârâ", "Kürdilihicazkâr", "Muhayyersünbüle", "Sabâ", and "Nev'eser" stand out. The "Yaylı Tanbur" (2 CD) album published by Yenikapı Müzik and live recordings made with the Greek musician Domna Samiou in 1998 are important parts of the artist's wide-ranging collaborations and discography. It is known that Çimenli shared stages or made recordings with artists such as Necdet Yaşar, Bekir Sıdkı Sezgin, Onur Akay, and İhsan Özgen, and he passed away in Istanbul on 16 October 2018 (some sources state it as 17 October). His memory in the vast works and nearly 1000 taksim recordings he left behind has cemented his place in the Classical Turkish Music archive. Although official award and medal information is not present in sources, with his intensity in the TRT archive and tanbur virtuosity, he is accepted as one of the leading instrumental masters of his time.
Style and Musical Identity
Fahrettin Çimenli's musical personality is built upon a deep memory that is mainly dominated by instrumental performance and carries the technical subtleties of the Turkish classical music tradition. The artist stands out more as an instrumentalist and taksim master in the disciplines of Turkish Art Music and Classical Turkish Music. His musical world is defined by the capacity to hold around 6000 works in his memory and nearly 1000 taksim recordings reaching the present day in the TRT Istanbul Radio archive. This broad accumulation is among the most concrete data showing how rich Çimenli's repertoire diversity is.
In performance style, Çimenli is known for displaying a virtuoso technical style on instruments such as bağlama and lute, especially bowed tanbur and plectrum tanbur. Although he composed two saz semaisi in the Hüzzam and Saba makams and two songs in the Hicaz and Nihavent makams as a composer, the artist's general musical image and perceived identity are more shaped through his instrumental performances. His taksim and instrumental works recorded in makams such as Evcârâ, Kürdilihicazkâr, Muhayyersünbüle, Sabâ, and Nev'eser indicate that he adopted an approach centering on performance competence and makam knowledge.
His interest in instrument and technology did not remain limited only to performance art; he also undertook studies to improve the sound character of the instrument by adding an adjustment that makes the sound come out higher on the bowed tanbur. This technical intervention shows that in his understanding of musicality, he has not only a performer but also a constructive aspect questioning the potential of the instrument. Çimenli, who acquired traditional musical experience through the education he received from a master like Ûdi Sâdi Erden at the Aksaray Music Society, tried to carry this mastery to the future through institutional and objective transfer with the long years at TRT Istanbul Radio, the service at the State Turkish Classical Music Choir, and the teaching duty he gave at the ITU Turkish Music State Conservatory. Thus, stylistically, he is accepted both as a carrier of traditional memory and as an institutional representative of instrumental music.
Works and Songs
Although Fahrettin Çimenli's musical legacy is primarily shaped through his instrumental performances and taksim, his composer identity is also an important indicator of his musical competence. Within the framework of his composition, the artist composed two saz semaisi in the Hüzzam and Saba makams and two songs in the Hicaz and Nihavent makams. However, the majority of the approximately 6000 works carried in Çimenli's memory live not through these limited number of compositions he composed, but through the classical works and taksim he performed.
Among the recordings where listeners can best capture the artist's performance, the "Yaylı Tanbur" album published by Yenikapı Müzik stands out. Within this two-CD work, taksim and instrumental works such as "Evcârâ", "Kürdilihicazkâr", "Muhayyersünbüle", "Sabâ", and "Nev'eser" are located. These recordings are accepted as one of the most important sources presenting the sound tone Çimenli obtained with his application of sound amplifying adjustment to the bowed tanbur and his virtuosity on the instrument.
Additionally, live recordings made with Domna Samiou in 1998 are also rare examples of work presenting the artist's instrumental perspective in a different context. Çimenli's most comprehensive work volume is located in the TRT Istanbul Radio archive. Approximately 1000 taksim recordings made during his service period between 1967-1990 are in the nature of a living reflection of the artist's musical memory. Since a complete discography list of the artist's works is not found completely in sources, the mentioned album and TRT archive records are the most reliable reference points regarding access to Çimenli's musical world.
Context
Fahrettin Çimenli is an artist who stands out with his tanbur technique and extensive recordings in the TRT archive among the instrumental performers of 20th-century Classical Turkish Music history. Çimenli, who was raised as a student of Ûdi Sâdi Erden at the Aksaray Music Society, is accepted as a strong representative of the traditional master-apprentice relationship. He served as a tanbur artist at TRT Istanbul Radio between 1967-1990, which was the most determining period of his career, and during this process, he left approximately one thousand taksim recordings to the radio archive. These recordings are a sound heritage of an important nature documenting the performance practices of the period and the breadth of the repertoire. His repertoire richness with the approximately six thousand works he carries in his memory is also striking.
The artist's relationship with the instrument also became part of music history with his technical studies on the bowed tanbur. Although some sources state that he raised the sound of the instrument by adding a sound amplifying adjustment to the bowed tanbur, some sources regarding the issue express that the name was given in this context as Tanburî Cemil Bey. His musical identity is not limited only to performance; it also reflects his composer direction with two saz semaisi composed in Hüzzam and Saba makams and two songs in Hicaz and Nihavent makams. His taksim and instrumental works realized in makams such as Evcârâ, Kürdilihicazkâr, Muhayyersünbüle, Sabâ, and Nev'eser are important parts of his performance style. The "Yaylı Tanbur" album and Yenikapı Müzik labeled recordings preserve this instrumental identity in the archive.
Çimenli, who is also a part of Turkish music history in terms of education and social contribution, served at the Istanbul Municipality Conservatory Turkish Music Performance Board between 1963-1965 and gave lessons as a teaching staff member at the ITU Turkish Music State Conservatory between 1980-1981. His duty at the State Turkish Classical Music Choir ended in 1997 or 1999 according to sources. Live recordings made with Domna Samiou in 1998 in his later career period can be evaluated within the scope of international musical collaborations. Although there are small differences in sources regarding birth date (1933 or 1934) and death date (October 2018) and retirement year, his fifty-year service at TRT and his virtuosity on bağlama, lute, plectrum, and bowed tanbur solidified his place in the Turkish music memory.
Legacy
Fahrettin Çimenli is one of the rare names recalling the TRT period and the peaks of instrumental taksim of that era in Classical Turkish Music instrumental art. Approximately 1000 taksim recordings located in the TRT Istanbul Radio archive are the most concrete and accessible legacy the artist left to his musical memory. These recordings are in the nature of historical documents that preserve not only technical mastery but also the performance discipline and repertoire richness of that period. The artist's accumulation of approximately 6000 works in his memory held the nature of a source in the transfer of traditional music, thus ensuring that pieces on the verge of being forgotten remained alive.
His effect on the instrument extended beyond performance technique to technical interventions aimed at sound production. His adjustments to strengthen the sound of the bowed tanbur and increase its projection, even if they become a subject of discussion regarding instrument history, the character Çimenli added to the instrument's sound tone is recognized today by the listener as a separate reference. Having been raised as a student of masters like Ûdi Sâdi Erden and then teaching at the ITU Turkish Music State Conservatory contributed to the transformation of this knowledge base into an institutional memory.
His collaborations with Domna Samiou and the albums published under the title "Yaylı Tanbur" recorded his tones that transcended local boundaries. Although differences are found in sources regarding some details like birth or retirement dates, the artist's 50-year service period at TRT and the sound quality in the archive have confirmed his place in Turkish Art Music history. Today, for Classical Turkish Music enthusiasts, Çimenli's taksim continue to be one of the most reliable sources representing the instrumental quality of the radio periods starting from the 1960s.
Frequently Asked Questions
When did Fahrettin Çimenli pass away? The artist passed away in Istanbul on dates stated as 16 October 2018 in some sources and 17 October 2018 in other sources.
What can be said about the recordings located in the TRT archive? Fahrettin Çimenli served as a tanbur artist at TRT Istanbul Radio for 50 years and left approximately 1000 taksim recordings in the radio archives. It is also stated that he held around 6000 works in his memory.
What is the technical adjustment he made regarding the instrument? The artist made an adjustment (by adding a sound post) that makes the sound come out higher on the bowed tanbur. However, while sources sometimes associate this situation with Tanburî Cemil Bey, other sources qualify it as Çimenli's direct invention.
What works did he leave in terms of composition? With his composer identity, Çimenli composed two saz semaisi in Hüzzam and Saba makams and two songs in Hicaz and Nihavent makams.
Are there definite information regarding birth year and official awards? There are small differences between the years 1933 and 1934 in sources regarding the birth year. Also, the artist's official award and medal information is not located in sources.