Basar: Levantine Rhapsody

After composing and playing with different artists and ensembles for the past 15 years, I wanted to create my own project, which would intertwine two musical influences: Turkish and Western classical music. The dialogue I created between the kanun and Western classical instruments (flute, percussion, violin and cello) is enriched by Turkish makams (modes), rhythmic cycles and improvisation, in compositions that have a distinctly impressionist approach.

Devr-i Raksan is the combination of different 15/8 (Raksan) and 7/8 (Devr-i Turan) rhythms. Devr-i Raksan also means the twirling of a dancer, which I tried to recreate through this piece.

Diving into the sea often produces a feeling of weightlessness. Gazing at the seabed below can make us feel like we're flying. Méduse - French for jellyfish - is an attempt to invoke this lightness, this gentle sensation of gliding without effort.

What could be more relaxing than a walk in the forest, listening to the birds singing? In Bird Song, Guy Pelletier's rich and varied instrument collection is used to evoke the pretty sounds of their chirping. Thank you, Guy!

Rast Pesrev is the only composition on the album that is not mine. It was written by Kantemiroğlu (Dimitrie Cantemir, 1673 - 1723), and despite its few hundred years of existence, this piece still has the capacity to amaze…

Cry is for all the innocent people suffering the consequences of deadly conflicts; for all the dreams too soon and unfairly cut short, for love stories mercilessly ended, for games abandoned by terrified children.

The defining moments of our life are often beyond our comprehension. When to be born, where to die, whom to love, why to cry. So many questions, almost all out of our control. Is life, then, not a Riddle whose answer may be too bitter?

I composed Lunenburg last year, in the Nova Scotian city of the same name, in the middle of a very busy concert schedule. I wanted to express my excitement about working with fellow musicians in such a rich musical environment.

"5 à 7" is a Quebec expression meaning "happy hour," that relaxed couple of hours in the early evening, when people get together to share a few laughs and enjoy their first taste of freedom after work. The piece tries to evoke this jovial environment with its rhythm of 5- and 7- beat cycles.
Didem Başar