TURKEY

Dervish Ceremonies of Konya

Recordings: Eric Magnin, RSR/Espace 2
Text: Sami Sadak
1 CD AIMP XCVIII/VDE 1324, 2011

The town of Konya in central Anatolia is home to the mausoleum of Mevlana Celaleddin Rumi, the great poet and mystic of Persian origin.  It is here that his disciples founded the practice of “spiritual concerts” (sema), which accompanies the famous dance of the swirling dervishes.  This tradition, which continues to develop today, gave birth to music of absolutely ecstatic beauty.  The ensemble, conducted by the great flautist Yusuf Kayya, bears witness to this.