Rahmi Bey`in Eserlerinde Prozodi

Abstract

Rahmi Bey'in 38 eserinin prozodi açısından tahlilini yaparak musikisimizin 19. yüzyıl ikinci yarısı ile 20. yüzyıl ilk çeyreği içerisinde bulunduğu sanat anlayışını detaylarıyla yazıya dökmüş oldum. Rahmi Bey Hacı Arif Bey'in başlattığı romantik ekolün önemli bestekârlarındandır. Rahmi Bey bir tekbîr, 37 şarkı bestelemiştir. Çeşitli kaynaklarda Rahmi Bey'in 38 şarkı bestelediği belirtilmektedir. Ancak bu şarkılardan iksinin bestekârı Rahmi Bey değildir. Bunlar kürdil-i hicâzkâr makamındaki "Bais Figân ü nâleme aşk iptilâsıdır" isimli şarkıyla yine kürdil-i hicâzkâr makamındaki "Karşıyaka'da İzmir'in Gülü" isimli şarkıdır. Bu şarkılardan ilki Hacı Arif Bey'e, ikincisi de Hristaki Efendi'ye aittir. Yalnız Hristaki Efendi tarafından bestelenen (Karşıyaka'da İzmir'in Gülü) şarkısının güftesi Rahmi Bey'e aittir. Böylece bu kaynakların belirttiği rakam 36'ya düşmektedir. Rahmi Bey'in bugüne değin bilinmeyen ve prozodik tahlilini yaptığım Uşşak makamındaki "Niçün Nâlendesin Böyle" isimli şarkısı tezim vasıtasıyla resmi arşivlere kazandırılmış olacaktır. Bu eser danışman hocam sayın Alâeddin Yavaşça'ya nota merakı olan ve kimsede bulunmayan eserleri toplayan Eyüb baş müezzini Hayrullah Efendi (19 ? - 1960) tarafından verilmiştir. Tarafıma da hocam vesilesi ile geçmiş bulunmaktadır. Rahmi Bey'in tüm eserleri üzerine yaptığım incelemeler hem bestekârın beste tekniğinin özelliklerini açığa çıkarmakta hem de devrini tamamlamakta olan romantik dönemin son zaman dilimi hakkında fikir vermektir.

In certain biographical sources, the birth date of Rahmi Bey, who made a remarkable contribution to the Classical Turkish Music with his 38 immortal compositions, has been shown as 1864, and even 1865 in some. Likewise, while one of the two biographical sources showing the year 1865 as his birth year is giving his birthday as January 13th, the other one gives the date of December 27th. As a boy who was born into an environment of literature and music, at Beyazıt district of Istanbul, Rahmi Bey began to learn music while he was also attending his school, and he successfully managed to go onward at both disciplines at the same time. After graduating from "Mekteb-i Mülkiye" (now College of Political Science) at a rather young age, he worked as a government official at various places, and finally he served as a member of the Council of State; at the same time, he showed as a teacher at Vefa High School and worked as the Principal at "Darülelhan" (now Conservatory), thus he contributed to the education of hundreds of students. After a 30 years of sefice as a member of the Council of State, he was departed from the cadre, but he was given a register certifying that he served as a government official. During the occupied days, while the Conservatory was closed, he worked as a teacher at some Christian schools and taught to students Turkish. Though his pension was being paid at a value of gold, since there was a great difference between gold and banknotes as a value at that time, and because he was paid a small salary at the schools of minorities, he suffered a lot from financial straits. Although he was expecting to be returned back to his position when the Conservatory was opened again, his expectations didn't come to true, and he was really very much heartbroken for that. Along with, death of his only child, his lovely daughter from his first marriage, whose unhappy n marriage had already desolated his father, due to tuberculosis doubled his sorrow. He loved his daughter so much, and he had contributed her music education. It is though that this to evens has caused his death. Rahmi Bey, after he was deported from his government duty following his 30 years of service, broke his "nisfiye" (a kind of short "ney"), of which he had learned to play by himself, and isolated himself from music. When the information gathered from the sources are taken into consideration, it may be said that Rahmi Bey was deported from his position due to political reasons. Rahmi Bey is known to have had friendship with certain "Servet-i Fünun" literature men, and it is also known that he used to attend literature talks with them at weekend. He has attracted the reaction of the government with his articles published at the "Servet-i Fünun" newspaper, and once, due to the excuse that he had made and implication of the French Revolution in an article translated from French Revolution in an article translated from French by him, the newspaper had been closed as a requirement of the censorship of Sultan Abdulhamid II. Although the sources do not mention it exactly, it is known that Rahmi Bey married twice. His second wife is known to be interested in music, and played "lavta". Though he composed 38 songs in various "makam"s, it cannot be said that he has produced a lot of songs. The reason of this limitation is due to his selective and fastidious attitude to create a musical work. In his compositions he has used various makams such as "Bay âti"," Bay âti Araban", "Hicaz-Humayun", "Hisar-Bûselik", "Hüseyni", "Hüzzâm", "Isfahan", "Kürdili Hicazkar", "Mahur", "Muhayyer", "Müsteâr", "Nihâvend", "Rast", "Sabâ-Zemzeme", "Segah", "Suznak", "Sedd-i Araban", "Şehnaz", "Şevk-efzâ", "Tahir Buselik", "Uşşak", and "Yegâh". 37 of his compositions are in the "şarkı" form, while one is in religious music form. He has composed one song in the makam of "Bayâti", four songs in the makam of "Bayâti Araban", one song in the makam of "Hicaz- Humayun", one song in the makam of "Hisar-Bûselik", two songs in the makam of "Hüseyni", one song in the makam of "Hüzzâm", one song in the makam of "Isfahan" four songs in the makam of "Kürdili Hicazkar", three songs in the makam of "Mahur", two songs in the m makam of "Müsteâr", two songs in the makam of "Nihâvend", one song in the makam of "Rast", one song in the makam of "Sabâ Zemzeme", three songs in the makam of "Segah", three songs in the makam of "Sûznâk", one song in the makam of "Sedd-i Araban", one song in the makam of "Şehnaz", one song in the makam of "Sevk- efzâ", one song in the makam of "Thair Buselik", two songs in the makam of "Uşşak", and one song in the makam of "Yegâh". The songs composed in the makams of "Kürdili Hicazkar" and "Bayâti Araban" form the majority in his works. He is told to be the best composer who can use the makam of "Kürdili Hicazkar" after Hacı Arif Bey. His song titled "Niçün nâlendesin böyle" in the makam of "Uşşak", of which is not known up to date, will be gifted to the official archives from the archives of Prof. Dr. Alâeddin Yavaşça, my teacher, by means of my thesis. This work has been delivered to Prof. Dr. Alâeddin Yavaşça by Hayrullah Efendi, who was the head "müezzin" of Eyüp, who is known to be fond of to collect unknown notes and works. And it has so passed to me by means of my teacher. Words of most of the songs of Rahmi Bey belong to himself. Rahmi Bey used to visit the house of Recâîzâde Ekrem Bey, his teacher at the "Mülkiye", every Friday, and he meet there his friends, Tevfik Fikret, Namık Kemal, Ali Ekrem Bolayır, İsmail Sami, and, participating in literature and music talks of them, he used to listen to their discussions on this regard in a motionless but careful manner. Occasionally, he used to soften the air by the melodies of his "nisfiye", and he was known as the music warrior of these meetings. He understood of Arabic and Persian languages, and he knew French. Among his 38 works, words ("güfte") of one song which is not known up to date belongs to Ziyaeddin Paşa (1893-1938). The words of the three songs of the remaining 37 songs belongs to Recâîzâde Ekrem (1847-1910), the words of three songs belongs to Nedim (1680-1739), and the worcjs one of three songs belongs to Nef-i (1572-1635). It is obvious that, the words of the song titled "Sana ey canımın canı efendim", of which has been composed in the makam of "Kürdili Hicazkar", though its words are told to be belonged to himself, must not belong to Rahmi Bey since it had already been composed by Ismail Dede Efendi, who lived between IV the years of 1778-1846. Again, the words of another song of Rahmi Bey, "Esir ettin beni ey dil-pesendim", which is composed in the makam of "Mahur", have been told belonging to Şemsettin Ziya Bey 81883-1925) according to "Musiki Mecmuası" (Number 116, p. 242) and as to the archives of Istanbul Radio. In consideration of these evidence, it is a fact that the words of the 28 of his songs belong to himself. Since he had a poetic and unconventional temperament, he especially used the themes of love and women in his words, and, by melting the "beste" (composition) and "güfte" (words) in the same pot, he has created some very productive synthesis. The poets influenced by the movement of Edebiyat-ı Cedide (Servet-i Fünun) have mostly preferred a Platonic love rather than a material love, and, reflecting the distress of a Platonic love in their works, emphasized especially on the feelings of sorrow and melancholy. It is evident that our composer, Rahmi Bey was also influenced from this literary movement which took place in his age (1896-1901). However, it will be wrong to say that this atmosphere is dominant in all his works. Because, he has composed his three songs by using the words of Nedim, who basically reflects the pleasures of the material world, and he also wrote the words of a song (titled "Bir nevcivânsın, şüh-i cihansın", composed in the makam of "Hisar-bûselik) by imitating the way of Nedim. Rahmi Bey also composed some of his songs by being influenced by certain events. The song composed in the makam of "Bayâti" after the death of Şevkî Bey is full of sorrow. He has composed his song of "Tahir Buselik" with the happiness that he felt due to the 1908 Meşrutiyet (Constitutional) Revaluation. This song contains an air of happiness and cheerful feelings. His another song in the makam of "Mahur", Servinâzı seyret çıkmış oyuna", was composed after he had watched and liked the dance of a Rum "rakkase" (dancer. This song proceeds in a rather joyful and brisk rhythm. He has also composed some songs for the purpose of presenting them to his friends as a gift. One of these songs (the song titled "Ey mutrîb-i zevk âşinâ", composed in the makam of Kürdili Hicazkar") has been composed for a just married friend of him. He has composed another song ("Bir sihr-i tarab nağme-i zasındaki te'sir") for another friend, Tamburi Cemil Bey, for the purpose of expressing his gratitude for his friend's congratulation upon his advancement as a rank at the government duty. Among his well known songs, the one titled "Gül hazin sünbül perişan, Bâğ-ı zarın şevkî yok", composed in the makam of "Bayâti", has still been played and performed in our radios and concert halls. The song titled "Gel ey sakı şarâbı tazelendir", which was composed in the makam of "Müsteâr" in an "aksak" pattern, has an importance from the respect that it reveals the originality and characteristics of Rahmi Bey form. Another song composed in the makam of "Nihâvend" in a pattern of "curcuna", "Saçlarına bağlanalı ey perî", has also been a very popular music. In our "şarkı" (song) literature commencing by Hacı Arif Bey and culminating with Şevkî Bey, Rahmi Bey has a very valuable place. Although he had been a follower of the above mentioned composer, he has not been influenced by them at an considerable degree, and he has created his own form and manner. The outstanding reason in creating a unique form and manner in his works, in addition to his particular approach to his art, has been his formal education and his duty where he served as a member of the Council of State. I have completed a comprehensive prosodic study concerning all of the 38 works of Rahmi Bey one by one in order to demonstrate how the accent and message n his poems integrate with the melody. Analysis is an examination based on a comprehensive study of a musical work. Composition relect the secrets of the art of music as well as the cultural and artistic approaches of an individual compoer. An analysis, while giving the secret of its beauty, may also serve to reveal certain errors of a piece of art. By this way, certain errors are known well and are avoided later. For this reason, to exhibit the beauties and characteristics of an individual piece of art will also serve to those intend to create new works at that branch. While doing a prosodic analysis of a song, I have examined the reflection of the stress of words of the "güfte" in the melody. I found that, while the accent of the Turkish language are stressed in a correctr way in the works of the composer, since the melodic form was more importance, there occured some melodies which do not accord with the diction of words. VI I have also examined the degree of integration of the words with the melodies from the linquistic ans smeantic respects, by taking into consideration whether the punctuation in the lines are in conformity with their meaningful pattern or not. I have analyzed the harmony of rhythmic patterns with the scanning accents at the ones written in "aruz vezni" (prosodic pattern), and the tunic notes at the ones written in syllabic meter. The composer who lived during the classical period have given great importance to this point. Formation of some meaningless word groups, for the sake of preserving this harmony, has been tolerated by the composers of that age. Because, the principal importance has been emphasized on the richness of melody during the classical period. Rahmi Bey used a small rhytmic patterns in his songs. In most of his songs composed in the "aruz vezni", rhythmic pattern is in accordance with the words. In his works created in a harmony of words and rhythmic patters, (excluding one or two) there şs no meaningless words. In some of his songs composed in the "aruz vezni", since the richness of melody takes great importance, harmony of words and rhythmic pattern has been given sufficient importance. However, there are some other parts of songs that, though he composed them in the "aruz vezni", he has been more careful at the sentimental points of melodies rather than the stopping points of thw rods, thus not emphasizing on the harmony of word and pattern concept. Rahmi Bey, contrary to the classical attitudes, has not let formation of meaningless word groups in his songs, and he has integrated "güfte" and the words of the "güfte" with the rhythmic pattern of the song. Rahmi Bey, in addition to "aruz vezni" has used a syllabic meter in his poems. He has utilized a syllabic meter in writting the "güfte"s of his four works. The songs of Rahmi Bey have been written in a language close to the daily spoken language. His melodies are not exaggerated, and are fluent and credible. As to the historical sources of the Turkish Music, Rahmi Bey was the last representative of the composer of the Romantic school, of which was commenced by Hacı Arif Bey. The most outstanding characteristic of this school has been replacement of the classical forms with the form of "şarkı". As I had previously mentioned, vn Rahmi Bey also composed a song İn the form of "tekbîr". Furthermore, some sources point out that the song titled "Ağyâre nigâh etmediğin nâz sanırdım" has actually composed been by Hacı Arif Bey. Since Rahmi Bey have used Arabic and Persian words in his poems, during the process of writing down the "gufte"s, by taking the graduation thesis of Şeyda Yavuz as a basis, I have written the words with their phonetic transcription in accordance with their original diction. Because, a composer needs a good diction as well as a performer so that he can use this ability in order to create a successful work. Accordance of some prosodic patterns with rhythmic patterns in some songs of Rahmi Bey shows us that some prosodic patterns have their own rhythm, and that the composer has preferred them consciously. The "aksak" rhythm is the one used most of the times by Rahmi Bey; and he has composed his 18 songs with this rhythm and its variations. Analysis of all works of Rahmi Bey reveals the technical characteristics of composition utilized by the composer, as well as giving a picture of the Romantic period of which is about to complete its period.