by Photo: AT THE BAKU PHILHARMONIC – (From right) Faruk Kakınç, Aykut Şener, Azerbaijani composer and orchestra conductor Niyazi Tagizade, Nida Eskin, Esin Afşar, Vecdi Ören, Oruç Güvenç, Halit Kakınç, Orhan Topçuoğlu.
Musiki Mecmuası, Year: 25, No. 276, October 1972
INTERVIEW – THE CRADLE OF OUR MUSIC
Etem Ruhi ÜNGÖR
– Mr. Oruç Güvenç, we know that the main originality of the “Dönüşüm” group you’re a part of lies in making music with Turkish instruments. That’s truly fascinating. I hope this was also met with interest during your trip to Central Asia. Now, before we move on to your trip, would you please introduce yourself to us?
– I was born on July 28, 1948, in the Tavşanlı district of Kütahya. My father is a journalist. My mother is a homemaker. Since my maternal grandparents were immigrants from Kazan, our family has always had a deep love and affection for Central Asia. Years later, this love led me, through music, all the way to the heart of Central Asia.
My journey into music began in middle school. This was connected to a dream. One night, I dreamt that I was playing the violin. The next day, I told my father about it and asked him to buy me a violin. Since my father made it a principle to support us in various social activities at every opportunity, he didn’t refuse my request and bought me a Japanese-made quarter-size violin. For three years, I took lessons in Western music from Mr. Fethi Akuz, the music teacher at Tavşanlı Middle School. When I finished middle school, I realized that Western music was confined to a set of formulas and failed to provide much emotional satisfaction, so I set it aside. So I enrolled in the newly established “Tavşanlı Turkish Music Society” in Tavşanlı. I began participating in musical sessions with my tiny violin.
– Who was your employer?
– We had two instructors. One is still in Bursa—Kemanî Lûtfi Bey—and the other is Turan Altay, who is still in Tavşanlı. He is also a violinist. After middle school, my love and appreciation for classical Turkish music had grown immensely by the time I reached high school. When I started college, I found myself in the university choir.
– Which college?
– Department of Philosophy, Faculty of Literature. I graduated this year as well.
Since I could read music, it was easy for me to join the choir. We also participated in radio programs. Meanwhile, I started learning to play the oud. Then I built my own rebab—a Central Asian instrument—and began practicing that. Later, I also practiced the ney, tanbur, bağlama, and, to a small extent, the kanun. With the addition of the gubuz to this repertoire, I continued performing for the public.
My introduction to Dönüşüm dates back to about two and a half years ago. I met Halit Kakınç, one of the founders of Dönüşüm, and manager Ali Eraslan while I was at a gathering with my rebab.
– Okay, wait a minute—you said “The Transformation Duo.” What do they play in this duo?
– One of them plays a six-string guitar, and the other plays a twelve-string guitar. But they also played the bağlama from time to time. They had won first place as the German High School in an inter-high-school competition organized by the Milliyet newspaper. Later, capitalizing on this title, they turned professional under the auspices of Milliyet as the “Dönüşüm Duo.” They gained fame with their first record, “Kiziroğlu Mustafa.”
With the addition of myself and other friends to this duo, Dönüşüm developed its own distinctive atmosphere as a group oriented toward Central Asia, Anatolia, and polyphony, and opposed cultural degeneration.
Last year, we took a trip to Cyprus. Around that time, it had been reported that some Turkish artists were touring Russia. We, too, submitted our candidacy for a similar tour in 1972, to be carried out within the framework of the Turkish-Russian cultural agreement.
– Where did you apply for this?
– To the Culture Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. We submitted an official petition, adding our own proposals to what was written about us. We received a response to our petition about four months ago. The response stated that, as deemed necessary, a soloist would be joining our group. We later learned that this soloist was Esin Afşar, who had previously represented our country abroad.
Since we were not a full accompaniment orchestra, the members of our group who play Western instruments worked together for 15 days to accompany Esin Afşar.
– Mr. Oruç, could you please introduce the members of your community to us?
Of course, Halit Kakınç, who is the lead singer of our group and also plays the 12-string guitar. He is a graduate of the Austrian High School.
– Is this friend of yours the president?
– Yes. Then there’s our friend Aykut Şener, who plays the organ. He’s a student at the German High School. Vecdi Ören plays the bass guitar. Orhan Topçuoğlu plays the drums. He’s also about to start college. Our friend who plays the ney is Nida Eskin. As the newest member of the group, I currently play the ney, rebab, tar, and gubus.
– Mr. Oruç, although the gubuz is a Turkish instrument, it is not well-known in Turkey. I first saw this instrument in *Atlas*, the world’s largest book on musical instruments. Then you made one for me and gave it to me as a gift. This instrument, which is very primitive and has a narrow range, caught my attention. I did some research. In a Japanese music book, I saw that the Inuit also use it. Later, I learned from Japanese musicologists that its name is “Mukkuri” or “Mukkuna.” But theirs is a bit different. I’m preparing an article about this instrument, which I’ll publish in a magazine in the future.
I’m sorry we’ve strayed a bit from the topic.
– These are the members of our group. Also, Halit’s father, Mr. Faruk, is a conservatory graduate, and he serves as the group’s manager.
– Where do you do your work?
– We’re currently at the Halits’ house in Moda. Before the trip, we were also practicing at the “Bosphorus Music Society” clubhouse in Kuşdili, Kadıköy.
– I guess it’s time for the trip now, isn’t it?
SETTING OUT ON A TRIP
– Yes, if you’ll allow me, I’ll try to explain it by referring to my notes. At the top of my notes, I’ve written: “A trip to Central Asia.”
As we had agreed earlier, we met up with our friends at the Yeşilköy terminal at 2:00 p.m. on September 1. And there were nine of us…
– Wait a minute. Doesn’t your group have 7 members, including Esin Afşar? Plus the manager makes 8. So, who’s the eighth one?
– Sound technician Vartevar Camuşoğlu.
Our flight departed for Moscow at 4:25 p.m. Our trip got off to a cheerful start. Just as we were getting really hungry, a flight attendant who looked like a Crimean Turk brought us our meals. The meal included chicken, roast meat, cheese, cake, butter, white wine, soda, and tea. We landed in Moscow at 7:55 p.m. So our flight lasted 3.5 hours.
– Was it cold outside?
– It was cold. Everyone was already walking around in coats anyway. Since we were playing it safe, we put on our overcoats and the like. When we got off the plane, Russian soldiers greeted us. At the terminal, Mr. Emre and his wife, Mrs. Işık, from the embassy, also greeted us. We left the terminal at 9:50 p.m. and set our watches forward one hour. They call the bus “Vaftobus.” Riding the Vaftobus, we passed Leningrad Street, Gorky Street, the Moscow River port, and Pushkin Street, passing Revolution Square, then in front of the Kremlin at 10:30 p.m., and through Red Square, arriving at the Grand Moscow Hotel at 11:00 p.m. To be more precise, they call it the “Rasya” Hotel. It’s a very large hotel that can accommodate 6,000 people.
– Is it bigger than the Hilton?
– It’s at least twice the size of the Hilton. After settling into our rooms, we went to the hotel restaurant for dinner. Since we were a little late, there wasn’t much food left. They brought us a dish called “Bet Stragona.” Apparently, this was the name of a prince from before the revolution. The prince really liked this dish and used to eat it often. The dish consists of potatoes and ground meat. What caught my attention there was that they were eating whole-grain bread. I asked our host, Mr. Genrih, about this.
– Mr. Genrih, what nationality are you?
– Rus graduated from the Department of Turkish Studies at Moscow State University. He speaks Turkish very well. He can even crack jokes in Turkish. They also assigned a Russian female news anchor to accompany us. Her name is Marina Satkova.
According to Mr. Genrih, Russian experts determined that whole-wheat bread has a higher yield, which is why this type of bread is used.
The next day, Saturday, September 2, we got up at 7:30 a.m. and had breakfast first. Breakfast consisted of cheese, bread, and tea. There is no white cheese in Russia; instead, there are cheddar-type cheeses.
– Isn’t it the same in Europe? I don’t think white cheese is eaten anywhere else except in the Balkans.
– There’s white cheese in Baku. I paid 55 kapik for this for breakfast.
– Where are you getting this money from? Did you exchange your money?
– On the first day, they gave us 30 rubles each. They calculated this as a fee per concert. Since one ruble was worth 17 lira and 25 kuruş, it came to about 500 lira.
– Well, since you’ve been here for about a month, it seems you’ve made quite a bit of money.
– Yes, since we gave 21 concerts, everyone received 10,800 lira, but since we couldn’t convert that money into Turkish lira, we had no choice but to spend it all there. I suppose that’s a special tactic.
KYRGYZSTAN
The first country on our trip was Kyrgyzstan. We left for the airport at 10:00 a.m. and departed from Moscow at 1:30 p.m. on an Ilyushin flight. After a 5-hour flight, we arrived in Firunze, the capital of Kyrgyzstan, at 6:30 p.m. At 7:50 p.m., we checked into the “Kyrgyzstan Hotel.” Firunze is a city with green and beautiful streets. In fact, during this trip we observed that the streets are very wide, very clean, and lined with trees.
We ran into many Kyrgyz people at the hotel. Since I know a little of the Kazan dialect, I could communicate easily with the Kyrgyz people.
The next day, September 3, we got up early again and had breakfast at 8:00 a.m. For breakfast, we had honey, butter, tea, and cheese.
– Of course, you’ll have to pay for it again.
– Yes, the host only paid for lunch.
– Well, Mr. Oruç, you mentioned that you saw some Kyrgyz people at the hotel. Are they employees?
– No, the staff are Russian. The Kyrgyz were customers. So when these Kyrgyz realized from our appearance and language that we were Turkish, they tried to approach us to talk, but…
(To be continued)