Bir

Zeybek music and dance, popular on both sides of the Aegean (as zeibekiko in Greece), have connections with both the repertory of rebetika and with the Anatolian musical traditions. As a solo male dance, improvised over a halting 9/8 rhythm, it became a hit when Anthony Quinn performed it in Zorba the Greek. On the Aegean coast of Turkey zeybek are, however, danced collectively by men and women, with subtle variations in the tempo and speed. Ali Fuat Aydin dedicated himself to researching, documenting and performing this repertoire, and his duo with fellow baglama player Cenk Güray played concerts all over Turkey as well as internationally, especially in Greece.

While most commonly played in the open air with the ubiquitous davul/zurna duo, the zeybek melodies here receive a more intimate treatment from the silvery, resonant voices of two Turkish lutes of different sizes. They alternate between solos and duets, emphasising the lyrical quality and intricate rhythmic details of the songs in a way inspired by the performance style of master Talip Özkan. The addition of sunny, elastic sirtos and hasaposervikos from the Greek islands provides a contrast with the mostly severe or wistful qualities of the zeybeks here, dedicated to zurna players, popular heroes and even to camel trainer Kostak Ali. Helpful liner notes in English by Guray himself provide a wealth of details about the general principles of Turkish music, instruments and songs, giving a refreshing perspective that does away with the rigid separation between folk and classical.