Notes:

Bengi Baglama Trio, May 4, 2003

Bengi Baglama Trio
Songs from the Garden of Sun -- Gunes Bahcesinden Ezgiler

4pm, Sunday, May 4
Speakers Auditorium, Student Center, Georgia State University
Admission: $20 (students: $10)
770-263 6939 (evenings)
nciblak@hotmail.com, ciblakm@yahoo.com
404-894-1386 or 404-206-9674
maz.kosma@housing.gatech.edu

Notes:

• Seats are offered on a first-come-first-served basis.
• Depending on the availability of seats, tickets may also be purchased at the door.
• There will be a reception after the concert. CDs will be available for purchase.
• For group reservations please contact as soon as possible.

BENGI BAGLAMA TRIO

Bengi was formed in 1988 with the purpose of promoting and advancing the national and international recognition of the music of Anatolia and its principal instrument, the baglama. Since then, the Anatolian folk music and baglama have seen tremendous acceptance and appreciation, both nationally and internationally. Bengi's contribution to this has been significant. Since its formation, Bengi has given numerous concerts in United States, Europe, and Turkey. Among these places are Atlanta, Houston, Austin, and Chicago in the US; Berlin, Nurnberg, and Duisberg in Europe; and numerous cities and cultural events in Turkey. Bengi has also appeared on prestigious radio and television programs, and been covered by other national media.

Bengi views the music of Anatolia as the unique voice of the Anatolian culture, having a distinct and important place in all traditional music on the globe, and the baglama as a deeply rooted instrument carrying sounds even from the antiquity. Consequently, Bengi places great emphasis on protecting the authentic content and styles as they try to improve, advance, and invent. This interpretation, in turn, draws the attention of and is enjoyed by both academic and non-academic audiences.

Bengi strives to present many aspects of the Anatolian music such as forms, genres, measures, rhythms, repertoire, instruments, and so on. As the trio tries to utilize the many possibilities offered by the baglama family, from tunes to tones and styles, it also tries to introduce new approaches and advancements, such as baglamas solo and polyphonic capacity, as an alternative to more traditional view of it as an accompaniment to voice. Bengi also developed and used a new baglama with four groups of strings, rather than three, which is the norm in the traditional type.

Bengi's principal instrument baglama is a long-necked and stringed Anatolian folk music instrument. Due to the variety of available sizes, it forms a large family. All the members of the baglama family can be classified in four main groups. In an order of increasing size, these groups are cura, baglama, tanbura, and divan sazi.

Bengi's repertoire spans a wide selection of pieces from authentic examples to polyphonic arrangements and original pieces. The following releases, as examples of Bengi's music, are currently available:

• Sel Gider, Kum Kalir, 2001, Bengi, Kalan Music. (Flood Goes, Earth Remains) or (Goes Flood, Remains Sand)
• Gunes bahcesinden Ezgiler, Bengi, 1999, Kalan Music. (Songs From the Garden of Sun)
• Hic, 1999, Okan Murat Ozturk & Erkan Ogur, Kalan Music. (Nothing)
• Eski Havalar, 1998, Okan Murat Ozturk, Mega Music. (Old Tunes)
• Turkish Authentic Saz, 1997, Okan Murat Ozturk, Mega Music.

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