ABSTRACT

Ali Ekber Cicek's composition Haydar is a jewel of the Alevi tradition. Since its creation in Turkey more than 40 years ago, it has achieved the status of one of the most difficult pieces in the baglama repertoire. This chapter focuses an in-depth musical analysis of the piece Haydar, which recorded during field work in 1982 and later transcribed. Learning to play the baglama was crucial in being able to understand the music from the inside, particularly what John Baily refers to as its ergonomics or how it fits into the 'human sensory-motor system' and an instrument's morphology. The chapter presents the deconstruction of the poetico-musical 'text' sheds light on the musical means and extra-musical factors that enabled an urbanized, professional folk music specialist with strong Eastern Anatolian and Alevi sectarian roots to achieve social distinction by consciously and subconsciously straddling tradition and the liberating and creative potential of artistic license.