Among the Merzifon recordings this is the only piece whose melody is registered as anonymous. The words are by Ali Kaya Çelebi; the notation was not taken from a composer but, in the catalogue's phrase, "from the source performer", which suggests new words set to a tune already sung among the people. Its subject is classed in the repertoire as "prayer and curse", and every stanza ends with the same plea: "Gel derdime derman eyle", come and heal my sorrow. The archive entry is numbered 2085; there is no counterpart to the work in the TRT repertoire.

Catalogue Data

  • Archive no.: Repertükül Archive 2085 (not a TRT number)
  • Region: Amasya, Merzifon
  • Words: Ali Kaya Çelebi
  • Music: anonymous
  • Source performer: name not given; recorded "from the source performer"
  • Collected and transcribed by: Erkan Demirtaş, Berkay Gençer
  • Date of collection: not stated; under the CultureCIVIC Culture and Arts Support Programme (begun in 2021)
  • Mode: Karcığar scale; final and closing note La
  • Metre: 4/4
  • Source link: as the piece is not in TRT, Repertükül Archive 2085

Lyrics

Only the first of the four quatrains laying the poet's case before his guide and before Karbala is given below. Ali Kaya Çelebi is a contemporary folk poet who also appears in the same collection with a composition of his own, so his words are treated as copyrighted.

Arzu halim var pirime
Gel derdime derman eyle
Kerbela'da Şah Hüseyin'e
Gel derdime derman eyle

The poet lays his case first before his spiritual guide, then before Hüseyin, martyred at Karbala. Arzuhâl means a petition; the line "arzu halim var" splits the word in the folk manner so that it carries both a wish and the presentation of one's state. The remaining stanzas invoke the light of Muhammad, the "unattainable" secret of Ali, the pool of Kevser and the line of the Twelve Imams. The pen name appears in the last quatrain as "Âşık Ali'm"; in these stanzas "my sorrow" also becomes "our sorrow", and the prayer passes from one person to the community.

Story

Where the anonymous tune came from, and when Çelebi's words were fitted to it, remains unanswered. The score is silent on this point, and no published text dealing with it is known.

Musical Features

Most of the pieces collected in Merzifon are in Hüseyni or Uşşak; "Arzu Halim Var Pirime" is the only one to use the Karcığar scale. The catalogue gives the highest note as Fa sharp, which falls on the augmented second of Karcığar's upper tetrachord built on Re and carries the colour that names the scale. The lowest note is written as Si comma-flat, while the final is given as La. This small inconsistency in the score suggests that the melody does not go below its final, reaching La from above in the last phrase. The range is five notes, the metre 4/4.

Performers and Recordings

The version transcribed belongs to the unnamed source performer. Another work by Ali Kaya Çelebi, with words and music his own, "Fırsat Elde İken Bir Amel Kazan", is catalogued there at 2089. No published performance beyond this one could be traced. To see the deyiş within the province's whole stock of melodies, turn to the study surveying the folk songs and long songs of Amasya together.

Bibliography

Online sources