Description
Fazıl Say's Ballads are evocative and contemplative piano compositions that carry subtle literary and biographical connections. The inaugural ballad, "Nazim," which is performed solely on the white keys, pays tribute to the renowned Turkish author Nâzim Hikmet (1902-63). Influenced by Communist ideology, Hikmet faced persistent persecution and imprisonment in Turkey, prompting him to leave Istanbul in 1921 to reside in Anatolia in search of a connection with "ordinary people." The title of the second ballad, "Kumru," translates to "dove" in Turkish and is also a common name for girls in the country. "Sevenlere Dair" translates to "for lovers." In these titles, Fazıl Say alludes to the Eastern tradition of minnesong, referencing Ibn Hazm al-Andalusi's treatise "The Ring of the Dove. On Love and Lovers," which dates back to 1030 in Spain and is often regarded as the "Ovid of the Arabs."
