Jody Stecher
Oud Junkie
Posts: 1373
Registered: 11-5-2011
Location: California
Member Is Offline
|
|
Samai Ajam
Volume 2 of Ahmed and Souad Chawki's oud/qanun CD opens with Samai Ajam by Sami Bek. Does anyone know anything about this composition? Are there
other recordings? Is there sheet music? It's easy enough to learn this one by ear but I am curious to see what, if anything, was notated and to hear
other performances.
Thanks!
|
|
|
John Erlich
Oud Junkie
Posts: 1470
Registered: 8-26-2004
Location: California, USA
Member Is Offline
Mood: Oud-Obsessed
|
|
First, we need to figure out who "Sami Bek" is. I am assuming that is an Arabization of some sort of Ottoman name, like "Sami Bey." The only
composer with a name anything like that this I could find was Arif Sami Toker (1926 - 1997), who did compose an "Acem Asiran Saz Samai" - https://www.neyzen.com/nota_arsivi/02_klasik_eserler/002_acemasiran/... Without hearing the recording (I couldn't find either piece on-line), it impossible to know if it's the same piece.
|
|
|
Jody Stecher
Oud Junkie
Posts: 1373
Registered: 11-5-2011
Location: California
Member Is Offline
|
|
Thanks, John. I couldn't find anything about "Sami Bek" either. This is a different samai from the one at neyzen.com. On the recording it is played
in G starting on nawa/2nd string and descending. It's a fairly common CD, or once was, so I thought someone here might be familiar with it.
|
|
|
al-Halabi
Oud Junkie
Posts: 364
Registered: 6-8-2005
Member Is Offline
Mood: No Mood
|
|
I thought that Sami Bek could possibly be the violin virtuoso Sami al-Shawwa, who composed many pieces. I don't know if he composed a sama'i Ajam,
although there is an old recording of him and an ensemble performing what is labeled as "sama'i Ajam of Sami Bek al-Shawwa." If that is the piece it
should be possible to find the notation.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-lMlEdEM7vM
Sami is seated in the middle of the front row of musicians in the photo.
|
|
|
Jody Stecher
Oud Junkie
Posts: 1373
Registered: 11-5-2011
Location: California
Member Is Offline
|
|
That's it! Sami al-Shawwa's phrasing and dynamics and "sonic atmosphere" are a bit different than the duet recording. Just what I was looking for.
Thank you.
|
|
|
Brian Prunka
Oud Junkie
Posts: 2939
Registered: 1-30-2004
Location: Brooklyn, NY
Member Is Offline
Mood: Stringish
|
|
"Bek" is, for whatever reason, a seemingly common pronunciation of "Bey" on old Arabic recordings. You'll hear "Jamil Bek" etc. (Cemil Bey).
|
|
|
al-Halabi
Oud Junkie
Posts: 364
Registered: 6-8-2005
Member Is Offline
Mood: No Mood
|
|
In Ottoman Turkish Bey was spelled بك, and Arabic-speakers pronounced it based on a literal reading of that spelling rather than the
accepted Turkish pronunciation. The letter ك was pronounced as 'y' in a number of other Turkish words written in the Ottoman script (e.g., the
word for 'mill,' دكرمن, was pronounced 'deyirmen').
|
|
|
![[*]](images/xmbprobrown/default_icon.gif){kind=icon}
