THE WHIRLING DERVISHES OF RUMI, MARA HALL, SEPTEMBER 21, 2004

   This well-attended program began with traditional Turkish music played
on traditional instruments - the NEY, a bamboo reed flute; the 'UD
(OUD), the Arabic version of the lute that was ancestor to the western
lutes; the RABAB, a bowed string instrument resembling a small violin;
two kettle drums (KUDUM), and a small bass drum. While the music was mostly
monodic, with the melody played by the ney and doubled on the 'ud, and
similarly with the rabab, the 'ud occasionally repeated segments of
the melody and sometimes was strummed to provide some harmony. There was
also a vocal line, again doubled by the other instruments. Thus there
were some elements of western music present, including - at various
points, broken chords. Aside from the complex rhythms, the most obvious
eastern features were the use of quarter tones, easily provided by the rabab
and the vocalist, and florid ornamentation. The quarter tones were for
the most part approached stepwise. All in all this was a challenging but
rewarding presentation for the western ear.

   The whirling dervishes made up the second half of the program - an
essentially religious ritual of Sufism, the mystical branch of Islam,
whose most powerful voice was the Afghan poet Rumi, who eventually
settled in Turkey. First of all, the music was simpler in the melodic
sense, but - I thought - more complex rhythmically. Second, I felt as
I imagined a Muslim might feel witnessing for the first time a high
mass in a liturgical church, and realized that to increase my benefit
from the event I would need more study. Nevertheless there was a powerful
analogy, based on comments made beforehand; when, at the beginning, the
dervishes proceeded around a large circle I thought of the planets
proceeding around the sun, and when they began to whirl gracefully
around (never exceeding 1 revolution per second), I thought of the
planets in their individual rotations, bringing each its own day and
night. In that sense there was spiritual food for all. 

   The main physical problem was unavoidable, given the distance traveled
and expense incurred: electronic amplification was necessary. While the
PA system was handled as well as could be expected, the vocal line
occasionally bordered on being unpleasantly loud, and some distortion was
always present. I wished very much that I could have heard and seen this
event in a traditional venue, which would have been smaller and would
not have needed amplification. Jackson still needs a smaller room with
proper physical acoustics for presentations of this sort. Having said
this, I nevertheless was moved by the sharing of the human spirit that
was embedded in this remarkable event.

                                                    - Glenn A. Gentry