A historical poem, a spring song, an amazing soprano from Turkey
Erişdi nev-bahâr eyyâmı açıldı gül-i gülşen
Çırâğan vakti geldi lâlezârın dîdesi rûşen
Çemenler döndü rûy-ı yâra reng-i lâle vü gülden
Çırâğan vakti geldi lâlezârın dîdesi rûşen
Spring days have arrived, roses and gardens blossomed
The eyes of the tulip garden grew bright, in time for the festival of light
Grass has turned into the face of beloved, in the colors of rose and tulip
The eyes of the tulip garden grew bright, in time for the festival of light
Açıldı dil-berin ruhsârı gibi lâleler güller
Yakışdı zülf-i hûban-veş zemîne saçlı sünbüller
Bu mısra‘la nevâ-sâz olmada âşüfte bülbüller
Çırâğan vakti geldi lâlezârın dîdesi rûşen
Tulips and roses blossomed like the face of an amazing beauty
Hyacinths spread over the earth like the beloved’s hair
Nightingales sing, as they dance cheerfully
The eyes of the tulip garden grew bright, in time for the festival of light
Gelir deyü cihânın şehriyârı bezm-i gülzâra
Temâşâ etmek içün yâsemenler çıkdı dîvâra
Tebessümle dedi gül-gonca gûş-ı bülbül-i zâra
Çırâğan vakti geldi lâlezârın dîdesi rûşen
Hoping for a visit from the sultan of the world to rose gardens,
Jasmins climbed up the wall to enjoy the spectacle
A rose bud whispered: -smile, into the ear of a crying nightingale.
The eyes of the tulip garden grew bright, in time for the festival of light
Olup gülşen çırâğan ile pür-şevk u neşât-efzâ
Zemîni lâlezârın nûrdan tâvûsdur gûyâ
Hezâran müjde kim açıldı rûy-ı gonca-i ra‘nâ
Çırâğan vakti geldi lâlezârın dîdesi rûşen
The rose garden was elated with endless festival joy
Tulip gardens looked like a peacock made of light
Blessings abound, for the enchanting rose bud showed her face
The eyes of the tulip garden grew bright, in time for the festival of light
Sezâdır kim cihânın pâdişâh-ı mekremetkârı
Müşerref ede teşrîf-i hümâyûniyle gülzârı
Nedîmin sazlarla okuna bu tâze güftârı
Çırâğan vakti geldi lâlezârın dîdesi rûşen
It is fitting for the honorable sultan of the world
To honor the rose garden with his noble presence
May Nedim’s word be read with strumming lutes
The eyes of the tulip garden grew bright, in time for the festival of light
Nedim (Ottoman Poet — B. 1680 -D.1730)
This beautiful poem celebrates spring time, light, and the beginning of the night festivals and entertainment that was a staple of 18th century Istanbul. But what made this poem famous was the fact that it became the lyrics to this song from the classical music era, composed by Arif Sami Toker, who won a competition with his song in 1950. Toker shared that the muse for the song came to him in his sleep: in his dream, Ottoman Sultan Ahmed the Third, -the sultan ruling at the time Nedim had written the poem — had him and Nedim in the same room; the Sultan asked Nedim to read his poem, and then asked Toker to play a tune to it with the lute (just as Nedim wished in his poem!) and listened to the Toker as he strummed up a tune. When he woke up, he immediately wrote the music just as he played in his dream, which went on to become a very famous song in Turkey.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7nxFpHnsa68
The singer who has become synonymous with this song is Sabite Tur Gulerman (1927–1989), a soprano, whose voice chords are so broad that she was known as the “violin voice” in music circles in Turkey, Her voice is said to range over 3 octaves and she was known as preferring the high pitched songs that no others could sing well. After training with Turkish classical music composers and musicians, she won a voice competition to perform for the state radio, TRT Radio, in 1941, and quickly became a very familiar voice in the radio, appealing to each household through the only media channel. She then went on to perform in prestigious music halls around Turkey, and appeared in the state TV, TRT in the 70s, which was known to be extremely rigorous and selective at the time. She went on to compose a few songs on her own as well. According to her avid watchers, she compiled a repertoire of 8 songs per week she appeared in the radio, totaling 32 songs for the month, to never repeat the same songs, therefore, carrying one of the widest inventory of songs for her performances — and perhaps making the viewers even more excited that they would be witnessing a historical performance, a once in a lifetime feast for soul.
She married a theater player, Rafet Gulerman in 1951 and had a boy named Cengiz in 1953. Since radio was the only home entertainment available at the time, she did a poll with the viewers about what to name his son and based on the letter responses, she named him, using the power of media in innovative ways for two-way communication. She was a charismatic personality, aspiring to be more athletic, a swimming enthusiast, an avid soccer watcher. She mentioned she enjoyed watching Walt Disney cartoons, riding on planes, and taking care of her home plants, particularly carnations and wallflowers. She loved animals and took care of them, going as far as taking care of a squirrel in her home at one time. As her busy lifestyle does not allow much space, she did not have much time for shopping, cooking or even resting for long. She mentioned that she particularly enjoyed singing lesser known songs that are typically challenging to perform by others with narrower voice ranges. Her perfectionism and her professional values supported her to resist the urge to popularize her songs through trendy music movements of the time, arguing against the exploitation of women and sexism. At times, her striving for perfectionism and singing without any flaw caused her stress and health issues to her own admission. She stayed a classical music singer, even at the expense of leaving the live performances and only performing for radio music programs.
One of her favorite composers is Neveser Kokdes, who was one of the leading female composers of Turkish classical music and famous with her infusion of the Western music into Turkish classical music. Sabite Nur followed suit in her opera-singing-like interpretation of Turkish classical music. Another of her favorite composers is Selahaddin Pinar, a very prominent composer of the time, and much older than Sabite. Sabite maintained a big admiration and love for him, as they got to know each other through performing together after 1948. Selahaddin is reported to have composed a song inspired by his affinity for Sabite. Selahaddin believed that Sabite Tur was the one person who interpreted his music just the way he meant and in that perfect voice. As his last wish, he even asked Sabite Tur to sing a song very challenging to sing for any performer by his grave after he is buried, and she actually sang this song just as he wished when he died in 1960 — in tears. Sabite Tur retired from the radio in 1981, after 40 years of performing, amid the political turmoil of the military coup. Besides her successful career, she composed two songs, sang for movie soundtracks, was a lead actress in a movie, and many music albums. What an inspiration and an exemplary artist.
References:
Interview with Sabite Tur (1950). Oz Fenerbahce Magazine. Retrieved from https://fenerbahcetarihi.org/2020/10/sabite-tur/
Sabite Tur’s Entire Discography: http://www.diskotek.info/Artist/Details/Sabite%20Tur%20Diskografisi
Interview with Sabite Tur (n.d.). TRT 4 Archives. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C1jaN8SegYc
Bangir, F. (n.d.) Keman Sesli̇ Sanatkar-Sabi̇te Tur Gülerman…Retrieved from https://www.kobiyasam.com.tr/2021/11/12/keman-sesli-sanatkar-sabite-tur-gulerman/
Saglamer, M. (2017). Sabite Tur Gulerman: Keman Sesli Kadin. Atasehir Express, 13. Retrieved from https://www.atasehir.bel.tr/Uploads/Magazine/93c3a1ccbe4a4e049edccedebde971cc.pdf
Deniz, K (1950) — (Redacted by Serhan Yedig, 2018) . Interview with Sabite Nur Gulerman. Radio Week. Retrieved from https://muziksoylesileri.net/arsivlerden/ilk-bestemin-zemini-hocamin-guftesi-doktordan/#prettyPhoto
Ozpek, A. (2018). Türk Müzi̇ği̇ Solo Ses İcraciliğinda Üslup Ve Tavir İle İlgi̇li̇ Öğrenci̇ Algilari. Yuksek Lisans Tezi. Necmeddin Erbakan Universitesi. Retrieved from https://9lib.net/document/7qv72x0q-tuerk-muezigi-icraciliginda-ueslup-tavir-ilgili-oegrenci-algilari.html
