Overview

In 1968, Turkish whirling dervishes accepted an invitation by UNESCO to perform in Paris for the first time, to the delight and fascination of French audiences. Kudsi Erguner, a Sufi musician specialising in the ney (reed flute), was amongst them, and accompanied the dervishes throughout their subsequent tours of Europe and the United States. Scion of a grand family of musicians, Erguner was brought up at the heart of Istanbul's Sufi community. In the tekke, the traditional meeting-places for dervishes, he grew close to the last great representatives of this community and was inspired by their words and music. He experienced their astonishment at the growing interest of Westerners in a culture the elders believed was doomed to extinction under the repressive laws of the Turkish authorities. In the West, Erguner would go on to meet other adepts of Eastern spirituality, including disciples of G. I. Gurdjieff and adherents of traditional music. He thus became aware of the fascination that the East exerted on Westerners, as well as the misunderstandings arising from this attraction. Erguner's memoir sets out to share not only the final moments of a vanished community, but also to relate the encounter of traditional Sufi culture with the Western world. He raises issues relating to the transmission of a teaching both musical and spiritual and the role of a 'traditional' musician.

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9780863565472

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Reviews

'A story of our time, of the search for eroding values, a living tradition.' -from foreword by Peter Brook 'Superb book ...' Outside Books Best Books of 2005 'Erguner is the real thing, and this is an invaluable production.' fRoots 'I much enjoyed Kudsi Erguner's autobiography ... which gives a wonderful picture of the trials of being a Sufi devotee in the early years of the Turkish republic after the banning of the Sufi orders.' William Dalrymple, Sunday Herald 'Whatever revival [of Sufi music] there is will be largely thanks to Erguner and his colleagues. He's excellent at bridging the gap between the East and West and the ironies it throws up.' Songlines 'Offers a surprisingly complex social and political history of Istanbul, a moving account of the relationship between father and son (Erguner's late father Ulvi was considered the last great ney master), [and] a nuanced essay on religion and modernity ...' Daily Star

Author Information

Kudsi Erguner has performed throughout the world, working with such artists as Peter Gabriel, Maurice Béjart, Peter Brook and Didier Lockwood. He lives and works in Paris as a musician, composer, musicologist, teacher, author and translator.

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