Şevki Bey – Ağırca Aksak Ottoman Turkish 1910s Musical Notes Sheet Empire

Description:

Ağırca Aksak is a Turkish classical music composition by Şevki Bey, identified in this publication as being in the Hicaz makam. The sheet carries the respectful title “Merhum Şevki Bey,” a traditional expression used in older Ottoman musical publications to refer respectfully to composers and musicians who had passed away. Şevki Bey was one of the most important composers of 19th-century Turkish classical music, known for his highly melodic style and remarkable creative output.

Şevki Bey was born in Istanbul’s Fatih district in 1860 and died at the very young age of 31. He entered the Muzıka-yı Hümâyun and became a student of Hacı Ârif Bey, one of the most influential composers of the period. His exceptionally productive musical career is reflected in accounts that attribute a very large number of compositions to him. Although many of his works were lost, the compositions that survived have secured his lasting place in the history of Turkish classical music.

Published by Kudmanizâde Udî Şamlı İskender, the sheet belongs to the important music publishing tradition associated with the Şamlı İskender family. The family had origins in Damascus and became known in Istanbul by the nickname “Şamlı,” which was also incorporated into the name of the publishing business. During the late Ottoman and early Republican periods, when access to sound recordings, radio and other forms of musical reproduction was limited, printed sheet music provided musicians and music enthusiasts with an important means of learning and preserving musical works. The publications of Şamlı İskender therefore form an important part of the printed musical heritage of the period.

This sheet was published in Istanbul during the 1910s as No. 184 of the Müntehabat series. The Ottoman Turkish script, Hicaz makam indication and the use of the respectful designation “Merhum” provide valuable historical context for understanding how the works of deceased composers were presented in early 20th-century Ottoman music publications. For collectors of Ottoman sheet music, Şevki Bey compositions and Şamlı İskender publications, this is a notable historical example.

Key Features:

• Composer: Şevki Bey

• Work: Ağırca Aksak

• Makam: Hicaz

• Publisher: Kudmanizâde Udî Şamlı İskender

• Series: Müntehabat

• Series No.: 184

• Publication Place: Istanbul

• Publication Period: 1910s

• Language: Ottoman Turkish

• Genre: Turkish Classical Music

• Format: Printed Sheet Music

• Subject: Merhum Şevki Bey, Hicaz Makamı and Şamlı İskender Müntehabat Series

• Collector Appeal: An early 20th-century Ottoman Turkish printed music publication, No. 184 of the Müntehabat series, preserving a work by the celebrated composer Şevki Bey and documenting the historical publishing tradition of Şamlı İskender.