Hamparsum Limonciyan
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Hamparsum Limonciyan | ||
|---|---|---|
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| Background information | ||
| Born | 1768 | |
| Origin | İstanbul, Ottoman Empire | |
| Died | June 29, 1839 | |
| Genre(s) | Turkish classical music, Armenian chant | |
| Occupation(s) | Musical theorist, Composer, Singer | |
| Instrument(s) | singing, violin, tanbur | |
Hamparsum Limonciyan (1768–June 29, 1839) was an Ottoman composer of Armenian church music and Turkish classical music and musical theorist who developed the Hamparsum notation system. The system was the main music notation for Turkish classical music until modern times and is still used by the Armenian Apostolic Church.
The name Համբարձում, pronounced Hampartsum in Western Armenian or Hambardzum in Eastern Armenian, means "Ascension". Hamparsum Limonciyan is referred to as Baba Hamparsum (Father Hamparsum) in classical Turkish music circles.
Contents |
[edit] Biography
[edit] Early Life
Hamparsum Limonciyan was born in 1768 on Çukur Sokak in the Beyoğlu district of Istanbul. His father Sarkis and his mother Gaderina, who had recently moved to Istanbul from Harput, were poor, and could only send their son to primary school. After primary school, Hamparsum Limonciyan started working for a tailor. A lover of music, Hamparsum Limonciyan started attending Armenian churches and started receiving music lessons within the church.[1]
[edit] Marriage and Children
Baba Hamparsum married at the age of 27 and had six children, one of whom, Zenop Limonciyan (1810-1866) also became a musician and played the ney.[2]
[edit] Musician, Composer, Member of Court, Theoretician, Master
Hamparsum Limonciyan took lessons in Armenian music from Krikor Karasakalyan (1736-1808) and Zenne Bogos (1746-1826).[1] He soon came under the patronage of Hovhannes Çelebi Düzyan, Director of the Ottoman Imperial Mint, after which he could devote himself fully to music and continued his music education in the Düzyan family mansion in the Kuruçeşme district of Istanbul.[3] After serving as a chorist in the Armenian Church, he was made Precentor (first singer) and chief musician.[4]
Around this time, Hamparsum Limonciyan started attending mevlevihanes, places of gathering for dervishes of the Mevlevi order, to learn Turkish music. In the Beşiktaş Mevlevihanesi, he took lessons from Dede Efendi, one of the greatest Turkish composers. He was then accepted at the court of Ottoman Sultan Selim III, himself a composer whose music is still performed today, and was a regular member of the music circles of his day.[2]
- "Seni bir şuh-i cihan derler idi gerçek imiş" (file info) — play in browser (beta)
- 18 second sample composed by Baba Hamparsum
- Problems listening to the file? See media help.
Sultan Selim III was concerned about the lack of a comprehensive notation system for music and encouraged members of his court to work on a notation system that would be easy to learn and to transcribe in. Two music systems were developed as a result and presented to Selim III, by Hamparsum Limonciyan and Abdulbaki Nasir Dede. Abdulbaki Nasir Dede's system was based on the abjad system, however differs in the ordering of the notes. Hamparsum Limonciyan's notation that he developed in two years between 1813 and 1815 was preferred over the other and became the dominant notation for Turkish and Armenian music.[1]
He worked as a master of music and educated a number of Turkish and Armenian musicians of his day.[2] Besides being known as a leading composer, he was a famous vocal performer and played the violin and the tanbur. 31 of his Armenian hymns, composed with Armenian lyrics in the Turkish melodic system (makam) survive to this day. He has composed a large number of Turkish music pieces, most of which are regularly performed today.
[edit] Death and Afterward
Baba Hamparsum died at the age of 71 in his house in the Hasköy district of Istanbul. He is buried in the Surp Agop Armenian Cemetery.
[edit] Hamparsum Notation
Using his own system, Baba Hamparsum transcribed most of 18th century Turkish music compositions in a collection of six books, which he presented to Selim III.[2] Only two of the originals survive to date and are preserved at the Istanbul Municipal Conservatory Library. As the dominant notation for Turkish and Armenian music, the Hamparsum notation was instrumental in the transcription and survival of thousands of pieces of music, and was surpassed only in modern times in its use for Turkish classical music. The notation system is still in use by the Armenian Apostolic Church.[2]
The Hamparsum notation uses symbols derived from an older notation called խազ khaz used by the Armenian Church.[2] Pitch is indicated by one of forty-five symbols. There are fourteen notes per octave over a range of three octaves and a minor second; a tilde is used in place of a sharp and also to raise or lower a note an octave. All twelve notes of the Western chromatic scale are represented, but in the case of F-sharp (fa diyez in Turkish) and B-natural (si), two enharmonic symbols are used for each, because Middle Eastern music uses microtonal intervals called commas. Above each note is written another symbol, marking its duration. Other symbols are used for rests, repeats and phrases.
[edit] Notes
- ^ a b c Ermeni Bestekârlar Vol 2, (2003), Various, notes from: album booklet. Sony Music Turkey, Istanbul: ISBN 5-099750-207925.
- ^ a b c d e f Karamahmutoğlu, Gülay. Hamparsum Limonciyan ve Nota(lama) Sistemi. Müzik ve Bilim. Retrieved on 2007-01-11.
- ^ Pamukciyan, Kevork (2003). Ermeni Kaynaklarından Tarihe Katkılar IV - Biyografileriyle Ermeniler. Istanbul: Aras Yayıncılık, 289-292. ISBN 975-7265-54-5.
- ^ Kalaitzides, Kyriakos. On the Waves of the Mediterranean (PDF). Euromed Heritage. Retrieved on 2007-01-11.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Hamparsum (Turkish) (requires installation of a downloadable TrueType font for the Hamparsum notation)
- Bolsohays-Istanbul Armenians: Article on Hamparsum Limonciyan (Turkish)
| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| NAME | Hamparsum Limonciyan |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Baba Hamparsum |
| SHORT DESCRIPTION | Composer of Turkish Classical and Armenian Church music. Inventor of the Hamparsum musical notation system. |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 1768 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Istanbul |
| DATE OF DEATH | June 29, 1839 |
| PLACE OF DEATH | Istanbul |
