Musical Analysis of Some of the Works by Hafiz Yusuf Efendi

Abstract

Musical Analysis of Some of the Works by Hafiz Yusuf EfendiMustafa DemirciAbstractEnderuni Hafiz Yusuf Efendi, one of the most important musicians who lived in the Ottoman Empire duringa period of intense innovative movements, is described as “hafiz composer” in Turkish music. He composednew works by adhering to the song tradition that started with Haji Arif Bey and took his place among theleading composers of his time as the owner of a clean style in music. Among his works numbered close tofifty both in secular and religious forms, only thirty of them have survived to the present day. Hafiz YusufEfendi, who was also a music teacher, taught music lessons to princes and raised many students. He was alsothe teacher of important Turkish music composers like Lemi Atlı and Münir Nurettin Selçuk. He produced anumber of works mostly in the genre of ”song“ and a small number in the ”medhiye“, ”ilahi (mystic poemsthat emphasize praise for God)“ and ”anthem“ genres. The main topic of this article is to examine fourdifferent works selected from Hafiz Yusuf’s works in the forms of “songs”, “duaname”, “ilahi” and“anthem” in terms of geçki (modulation; a change of mode) and makam (maqam). With this work, it is aimedto disseminate research on the understanding of using techniques and makams used by Yusuf Efendi, one ofthe greatest composer of the twentieth century. Again, the aim of this research is to contribute to the betterunderstanding and recognition of Hafiz Yusuf by the new generation who will receive classical Turkish musiceducation.Keywords: Hafiz composers, Hafiz Yusuf Efendi, musical analysis, religious music, ilahi, medhiye.Introduction