The music we perform is the Sufi music of Asia minor and surrounding regions in its vicinity. In this region, over the centuries there have been many different Sufi orders and traditions. Amongst those is the Mevlevis, the followers of Rumi, established by Rumi’s son Sultan Veled. This order is particularly known for its keen interest in beauty – perhaps due to the beautiful poetry of Rumi who is its inspiration.

Zikr (dhikr) is the remembrance ceremony of the Sufis. By reciting and repeating the name of God, people attempt to come into a trance, to cultivate a state of being where words lose meaning and all become breath. Different orders have different zikr styles. The Sema (which means hearing) ritual is the zhikr of the Mevlevi. True to order’s keen interest in beauty, it is a well organized ceremony with a beautiful dance (which is inspired by Rumi’s own whirling) and a sublime music. Music and dance have intense symbolism and meaning that tell the journey of humankind and the single individual in its journey to transform the Self from a simple biological existence into wise intentional presence.

The compositions that accompany this ceremony is called “Ayin” (literally: ceremony in Turkish). This is a musical form like a symphony or a concerto. It has partitions, rhythmic cycles etc. More importantly though, this form is designed specifically for the purposes of the ceremony: first, as a musical representation of that journey from human to wise being. Second, to help the attendees in the ceremony to get into a trance, to feel one with unity (perhaps the unity that i mentioned above), and in my opinion, it is a perfect design. So much so that, when played right, and when listened to with an open heart and with no prejudices, it is impossible not to feel it, to be inspired by it. so the feeling it creates is a very important aspects of it, and the form was designed by genius musicians to create that feeling. That design itself is a treasury of human culture. in order to preserve that treasury and to create that feeling it is very important that the music is played right.

Secondly, this music is a distillation of the musical heritage of a vast region in and around Asia minor. Being a classical music tradition on par with other classical music traditions, this music is based on a melodic system called the makam. Each makam in its essence is a melodic blueprint. But makams don’t come from outer space. The melody of a makam is the summary, or the essence, of lots of songs and tunes created by countless generations of musicians.

To paint a rough picture: a talented musician travels throughout the land, listens to the gypsies, the dervishes, the bards, and the land.  He or she would identify a common point, a basic melody line and a musical feeling that accompanies it, in all these various songs s/he listened in different places. This line and the musical feeling it creates is then identified as a makam. Thus makam represents in itself that countless number of songs and tunes and melodies, and it also becomes a well-tried, experimented pathway for others also to compose new pieces.

Throughout centuries, the best musicians of this region came from the Mevlevi lodges, and these people always created their best pieces in the form of Ayin. Therefore, Ayin repertoire is considered the crown jewel of the musical heritage of this region.