A call to end a quarrel, this deyiş is a work by Âşık Erdal Denk recorded in his own voice in Merzifon: let the estrangement between us be lifted, let us talk pleasantly, let the day pass well. Words and melody belong to the âşık. Never taken into TRT's records, the deyiş carries no. 2092 in the archive. The catalogue's "collected by" line has the names Demirtaş and Gençer, while the "transcribed by" line has "Erkan Demirel" and Berkay Gençer. Two different surnames on the same score show that one of them has been miswritten.

Catalogue Data

  • Archive no.: Repertükül Archive 2092 (not a TRT number)
  • Region: Amasya, Merzifon
  • Genre: deyiş
  • Words and music: Âşık Erdal Denk
  • Source performer: not written; recorded "from the composer"
  • Collected by: Erkan Demirtaş, Berkay Gençer
  • Transcribed by: "Erkan Demirel" on the score, Berkay Gençer
  • Date of collection: not stated; under the CultureCIVIC Culture and Arts Support Programme, 2021 or later
  • Mode: Hüseyni scale; final and closing note La
  • Metre: 4/4
  • Source link: as the work is not in TRT, Repertükül Archive 2092

Lyrics

The first quatrain, with its call to make peace, is below. As Erdal Denk is a contemporary âşık, the full text was not reproduced; the three-stanza text is on the score.

Kaldıralım ara yerden
Dargınlığı arı dostum
Sohbet edek güzel güzel
Hoş geçirek günü dostum

"Edek" and "geçirek" are the forms of "edelim" and "geçirelim" (let us do, let us pass) common in Anatolian dialects. The word "arı" is not explained on the score; it may be arı in the sense of pure, unalloyed, or it may be a form of address that completes the line. In the second stanza the words turn to binding self to self and knowing the worth of a lifetime. In the last stanza the âşık names himself and says that friendship will outlast death: even if the earth covers us, "our essence" and "our word" will remain. The phrase "friend of the dark day" praises the friend who stands by you in hardship rather than in good times.

Story

Whether Erdal Denk made this call for peace after a real quarrel or sang it as general counsel remains uncertain; neither the collection note nor any other published text takes up the question.

Musical Features

Both the lowest and the highest note are written as La, so the melody uses a full octave. This eight-note range is among the widest in what Demirtaş and Gençer notated in Merzifon; only Kul Cemal's "Kaşlarında Mim-i Vafi Yazılı" reaches the same compass. In the Hüseyni scale and in 4/4, the melody closes by settling on La.

Performers and Recordings

The notation rests on the version Erdal Denk sang for the collectors. The âşık has two more works in the same archive: "Merzifon Yollarında", to his own words, and "Muhammed Ali'yi Candan Sevenler", set to words by Şah Hatayî. It is not known to have appeared on any album. The wider picture into which these deyiş songs fit is drawn in the study that sets Amasya's türkü and uzun hava traditions side by side.

Bibliography

Online sources