Bağlar Havası is a wordless tune played together by a four-man instrumental group; the conservatory team recorded it on its first day in Merzifon, 7 July 1943. That day Tahsin Olgun, Rasim Olgun, Turabi Tanrısever and Muharrem Coşkun played "Hanköy Havası", "Paçalı", "Bağlar Havası", "Topal Kız Havası" and "Topal Havası" one after another; the two Olguns and Tanrısever then recorded "Sarı Kız" together with Hamdullah Yılmaz. Of these tunes, Bağlar Havası never entered the TRT repertoire, and its notation has not been published.

Catalogue Data

  • Repertoire no.: none; not registered under the Amasya region in the TRT repertoire
  • Place of collection: Merzifon (in square brackets in the catalogue, presumed)
  • Source persons: Tahsin Olgun, Rasim Olgun, Turabi Tanrısever, Muharrem Coşkun
  • Collected by: the Ankara State Conservatory team: Halil Bedii Yönetken, Muzaffer Sarısözen and the technician Rıza Yetişen
  • Date of collection: 7 July 1943
  • Location in the archive: Folklore Archive, disc 1118/B-2 (with a question mark); no. 3647 in Kaya's catalogue
  • Genre: dance tune, without words
  • Mode, rhythm: not recorded
  • Music: anonymous
  • Source link: there is no TRT page; the details are in Kaya's catalogue

Lyrics

The catalogue gives no first line beside the title, and like the group's other tunes that day this one was recorded as an instrumental piece. As no notation has been published, the only document by which the melody could be identified is the 1943 disc kept in the Folklore Archive, now attached to the State Conservatory of Hacettepe University; when the catalogue was prepared, the archive was closed to use.

Story

Which vineyards the name refers to, whether a particular place or a seasonal task such as the grape harvest, is not explained on the card, and printed sources say nothing on the matter. Nor is it known with which dance, or by whom, the tune was danced.

The make-up of the group is clear from the catalogue. Its list of performers gives the instrument each of the four played in the recordings: Tahsin Olgun of the village of Sarı in Merzifon the clarinet, Rasim Olgun and Turabi Tanrısever, also of Sarı, the violin, and Muharrem Coşkun of the village of Hırka the tef, a frame drum. Muharrem Coşkun's name also appears the next day in Merzifon, in the "Mail Oldum" recording made with five performers.

Musical Features

The mode, metre and structure of the tune are unknown, and the most concrete detail about the recording lies in its disc number. The question mark beside it is explained by this: the same number, 1118/B-2, is also given to the previous recording, "Paçalı". According to the catalogue, from 1943 onwards three or four pieces could fit on one side of a disc, so two short tunes sharing a side is quite possible, but the cataloguer was unable to confirm it.

Performers and Recordings

The group's 1943 disc is the only performance of the tune we have. Their "Sarı Kız" recording of the same day entered the TRT repertoire and is discussed on the page Çıktım Kavak Dalına. The place of Merzifon's tunes in the wider musical heritage of Amasya is described in The Melody of Yeşilırmak.

Bibliography

Online sources