The stars twinkled overhead. Subtle waves lapped along the shore, caressing the rocks, sand, and the deck ever so gently. It was mid-summer, and the freshness of the sea, of nature all around, and of the vehicle-free island provided a setting of poetic tranquillity and enchantment. And no, this is not the tale of a dream setting in a distant island. It was real, and it was shared by the thousands of music-lovers packed in that usually remote square of Burgazada that evening. It was the setting of the dream-like performance of Fazıl Say & Friends as the second to last performance of the IKSV Music Festival.
I have already praised and deified the IKSV Music Festival for providing us music lovers with the creme-de-la-creme of classical music in twenty-six performances across four weeks. Each and every performance was novel and unique, each was splendid. But this one did stand out even among the abundance. Fazıl Say & Friends had got together in Burgazada in commemoration of Sait Faik Abasıyanık on the fortieth anniversary of his death. Abasıyanık is a Turkish poet and author of the 20th century, and – yes, you have guessed it – a late-resident of the island. And he has many a Burgazada-inspired poem that have immortalized minor characters and moments that normally would not have stood the tests of time. Such as poems depicting the story of a little orphaned islander who had an infatuation for boats. Or the stray cats of Burgazada, each personified and described in a tale of befitting its own character.
The name “Fazıl Say” is self-explanatory, and a name that you are more than likely familiar with even as an expatriate: He is the Gershwin, the Horowitz of Turkey. He is more than local pianist, but a prodigy whose gift has taken his name across the globe: He is sought after not only by the musical hall and audience of his native country, but by the great halls of Europe, NYC, and the Far East. Buy one of his albums, and you will read praises from the world’s leading musicians, virtuosi, critiques, and art journals of his prodigious talent. Join his Facebook page and every other day, you will get a notification for a superb concert in the finest of musical halls in the world. And that evening, he was not at Carnegie Hall, or La Scala, or the Zorlu Center, but our – and Sait Faik Abasıyanık’s – very own Burgazada.
A stage was set up by IKSV in a square a few hundred meters from the center of the island. “The what” must have been 2000 people packed into the area allocated to the audience and marked off by airport-style border bands. And hundreds more stood behind the marked off area, trying to capture the most of whatever view they could get without tickets from this sold out performance.
Boats and yachts approached the stage from the sea, catching the performance from sea. People clambered around levies, and found seats on rocks and border walls around the stage.
On stage, Fazıl Say was accompanied by his friends: the renown Borusan Quartet on strings, Derya Türkan on the local instrument kemençe, and Aykut Köselerli on percussion.
Demet Evgar, Songül Öden, ve Esra Bezen Bilgin stood up front, dressed in ancient-Greek style dresses of subtly different hues of green and blue, and recited Abasıyanık poems in theatrical-style as Say & Friends narrated in musical composition. Zeynep Halvaşi ve Serenad Bağcan stepped in periodically to provide vocals in song. The poems narrated stories of ordinary people from the island in extra-ordinary verses. Like the story of Stelyanos Hrisopulos Gemisi, about a little boy and his infatuation for boats. Or the stray cats of Burgazada, personified into colorful characters with the pen of Abasıyanık. And reaching a new peak in fame with the notes of Say.
The performance lasted just over an hour. The prodigy of Fazıl Say in music and composition, the well-rehearsed and talented performances of “his friends,” and the wit and narrative power of Abasıyanık – combined with the dream-like setting in Burgazada – provided an enchanting evening of poetic beauty. It will be a performance to remember for many years to come.
Melis Kanik is a contributor for Yabangee.
