Peşrev

PeşrevorPeshrev(Turkish,"prelude"; pronounced[peʃˈɾev]) is an instrumental form inOttoman music.It is the name of the first piece of music played during a group performance called afasıl(Turkish pronunciation:[faˈsɯɫ]). It also serves as thepenultimatepiece of theMevlevi ayini,ritual music of theMevlevi Order,under the nameson peşrev(final peşrev), precedingson semai.It usually uses long rhythm cycles, stretching over many measures as opposed to the simplerusulthe other major form of instrumental music uses,saz semai.

Along with thesaz semai,called in Arabic thesama'i,it was introduced intoArabic musicin the 19th century and became particularly popular inEgypt.

Etymology

InOttoman Turkish,peşrevcombines aNew Persianloanword,piš"before, ahead" and the native termrev,"that which goes". coming to mean "that which comes first".

Structure

Peşrevs are composed of movements calledhane/haːˈne/(lit. "house" ), at the end of which there is always an unchanging particle introducing theteslim/tesˈliːm/(lit. "handing in" )a.k.a.mülazime/mylaːziˈme/(lit. "that which is inseparable or constant" ), i.e. the refrain. Peşrevs are named after theTurkish makamused in the firsthaneand usually end with this makam; in Turkish classical music theory, they are said to be "bound" to this makam. There are always modulations to other makams in thehanes that follow the firsthane,but with the refrain (teslim), the piece always regains the principal mode. At the end of eachhane,a pause is made on the strong degree of its makam, forming a semi-cadence. This is called ayarım kararornim karar(lit. "semi-decision" ). Peşrevs usually have 4hanes, yet they occasionally have 2, 5 or 6.

In principle, they comport rather largeusuls,yet peşrevs with shorter rhythmical patterns do exist. One rule that is never transgressed is that this usul maynotbe a compound meter of the familyaksak.Some peşrevs, calledbatakorkarabatak,are organized as to instigate a form of question-and-answer between instruments.

If thehanes are to be marked with [A, C, D, E] and theteslimwith [B], the regular structure of a peşrev would be A+B/C+B/D+B/E+B, thus always ending with theteslim.For some, theteslimis also the firsthane;therefore they have the structure: A/B+A/C+A/D+A.

Peşrevcomposers inOttoman classicalmusic

Tanburi Büyük Osman Beywas a prominent peşrev composer. Other composers includeTamburi Cemil Bey,Gazi Giray Han,Dimitrie Cantemirand Dilhayat Kalfa.