Cemil Bey was born in Istanbul in 1871, though his precise birth date is uncertain. He took his first lessons in music from Kanuni Ahmet Bey and the violin player Kemani Aleksan, his first instruments thus being the violin and the kanun. After completing middle school, he continued in a school for civil servants (Mülkiye), but then devoted himself to music and abandoned his education. He began to play the tanbur quite early in his youth and by the age of twenty, his renown had already spread among the tanburis of Istanbul. Reforming the traditional playing technique of the tanbur, he developed an energetic technique based on a rich and agile picking style, lightening to a great extent the sonority of this instrument. Later he set about playing the Turkish classical kemençe and attained an astonishingly high level of technique. He was also the inventor of the yaylı (bowed) tanbur.
This musician was able to play any instrument he picked up: he played lavta, cello, yaylı tanbur, zurna, and several other instruments with equal virtuosity. His taksims and instrumental works he recorded on 78rpms with tanbur, kemençe, lavta, cello, and yaylı tanbur had considerable impact on generations of musicians following him. The peşrevs and sazsemais he composed are pieces of great taste, requiring a developed performance technique.
Çeçen Kizi
Tanburi Cemil Bey Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Soğu sular bardaktadır
Çifte benler yanaktadır
Haydi malım Çeçenkızı
Sen allar giy, ben kırmızı
Gel gidelim has bahçaya
Evlerinin önü nane
Ben kül oldum yane yane
Gavur isen gel imane
Evlerinin önü susam
Su bulsam mendilim yusam
Arasam yarimi bulsam
Evlerinin önü çöplük
Çöplükten toplarlar iplik
Anası kızından keklik
The lyrics of Tanburi Cemil Bey's song, Çeçen Kızı, speak of a Chechen girl that is seated on a porch, as cold waters are in a cup nearby. She has dimples on both cheeks, and the singer, who seems to be enamored by her, invites her to dress in yellow and for him to wear red. He suggests they go together to a lovely garden where she can gather roses and he can pick the nergis flowers. The front of her house has mint growing around it, and the poet speaks of having been reduced to ash as he yearns for her. If she is an infidel, he begs her to come and convert him with her love. The front of her house has sesame growing around it, and the singer hopes to find water to dip his handkerchief (mendilim) in, to help find his sweetheart. The front of her house is also near a dump, and they collect thread from it, and her mother is like a partridge concerning her daughter.
Line by Line Meaning
Çeçen kızı çardaktadır
A Chechen girl is sitting on the porch
Soğu sular bardaktadır
Cold water is in the glass
Çifte benler yanaktadır
Her cheeks have two moles
Haydi malım Çeçenkızı
Come, my Chechen girl
Sen allar giy, ben kırmızı
You wear red, I'll wear yellow
Gel gidelim has bahçaya
Let's go to the special garden
Sen gül topla, ben nergisi
You pick the roses, I'll pick the narcissus
Evlerinin önü nane
Mint is in front of her house
Ben kül oldum yane yane
I am burned with passion
Gavur isen gel imane
Even if you are an infidel, come to me
Evlerinin önü susam
Sesame is in front of her house
Su bulsam mendilim yusam
If I find water, I'll wash my handkerchief
Arasam yarimi bulsam
If I search, I'll find my beloved
Evlerinin önü çöplük
A dump is in front of her house
Çöplükten toplarlar iplik
They collect thread from the dump
Anası kızından keklik
The mother is fond of her daughter
Writer(s): tanburi cemil bey
Contributed by Jack D. Suggest a correction in the comments below.