Turquoise
Guitar Editions (ASCAP)
Yemen
Türküsü for two guitars by Mesut
Özgen
TGE 001
ISBN: 978-1-934361-00-9
8 pages
Yemen
Türküsü
is based on a folk song from the city of Mus in eastern Turkey (türkü
means Turkish folk song). It is about people who were sent to Yemen to fight
in a battle against Arabs during the Ottoman Empire. They all died in a place
far away from their homeland. The original melody is in 5/8 meter, a common
meter in Turkish folk music. I used 5/8, 9/8, and 3/8 meters in different
sections. First and third sections use the original tune in its entirety,
whereas second and fourth sections are set freely without using any part of
the original tune.
Mesut
Özgen
Song
of Yemen
There is no cloud in the sky, why is there smoke?
There is no death today, why is there screaming and crying?
How rough are those Yemen lands?
My god, it's Yemen, its rose is dying,
Those who go Yemen, I wonder why, never come back again
This is the city called Mus, its streets are all up on the hill
Those who go Yemen, I wonder why, never come back again
Duration: ca. 5:30 min
First Performance: May 8, 1991 by Iskender Özçelebi and Ahmet Basbaglar at Gazi University, Ankara, Turkey.
Price: USD $11.95 + shipping & handling
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