World Music Day celebrations: Mehmet Ergin Quartet performs live in concert

Blending mystical tunes with Turkish folklore.

ISLAMABAD:

Soulful rhythms provided some respite from the soaring temperatures here on Sunday evening as Mehmet Ergin Quartet performed live in concert to a small audience at Kuch Khaas.

Known for their award-winning renditions in world, classical and jazz music, the quartet has combined elements of both western and oriental tunes. The event was a part of the continuing World Music Day celebrations.

Mehmet Ergin (guitar), Zoltan Lanto (violin and tarangini), Johannes Huth (bass) and Conny Summer (percussion) performed a diverse playlist. Ergin shared the motivation and influences behind each musical piece. He was inspired by a carpet weaver at a Turkish bazaar, where he saw many carpets and penned down “Walking on crimson carpets.” Every carpet told a story, he said.

Before playing “Full Moon on the Bosphorus”, Ergin pointed to the full moon in the cloudy sky, saying the piece could just as well have been written for Islamabad. “Saim” was meant to give the spiritual feel of dervishes whirling in meditation. Symbolic of their dance, the tune was uplifting but lacked the flow that an Eastern classic buff may have appreciated.



“Wishing Tree” tells the story of a man who takes rest under a tree on a hot day. When he awakens, he sees a genie who asks him what kind of fruit he’d like to have. The man says pears, and the tree showers “juicy and delicious” pears on him. He then asks for grapes and lo and behold, he gets them. He finally asks for pearls and in no time, the tree brings him pristine white pearls, “riches for the poor.”

In ancient Turkey, only men were allowed to tell stories as they sat around camp fires. However, a woman once disguised as a boy went to the nomads’ meeting and collected their stories, compiling them into a book. “Dances of Sparks” was homage to that beautiful and courageous woman. Other instrumental pieces revolved around a jester who sold “the aroma of soup” and the lives of fishermen by Keenjhar Lake, Sindh.

Overall, the audience seemed to have enjoyed the performance but not so much the prolonged delays and sound checks. Audience member Maha Ahmed said that the show was worth waiting well over an hour for. “It was brilliant because I could hear all four instruments as one, which is a real feat,” she said. She was introduced to the quartet by her Turkish and German friends while studying in Holland but this was the first time she had heard them perform live.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 25^th, 2013.