Understanding the musical memory of Anatolia through central anatolian abdals: Multilayered maqam analysis of Muharrem Ertaş performances

Based on the written and oral sources Abdal Aşık tradition whose roots can be located in 11th Century and therefore can be considered as the oldest element of âşık tradition, which has carried our verbal culture until today, is the key element of cultural transmission through music in the history of Anatolia. It should be pointed out that Abdal Aşıks represent a very detailed way of verbal transmission basing on a very specific combination of complex structures of poetry and music unified by the advanced skills of composition, performance and epic poetry. In that sense, Muharrem Ertaş can be identified as a very valuable "tangible" source among this tradition both for being the most frequently recorded performer thus being known as the oldest "archived" composer-storyteller of the tradition and for coming forward as a music master combining the performance styles of "Khorasan" and "Anatolian" aşık traditions. In this study, the "motif" based makam characteristics were analyzed in the eight recordings of Muharrem Ertaş in melismatic, arrhythmic and improvisation-based bozlak "form" by the use of "melodic nuclei" method. Through these analyses the main "melodic motifs" behind the "verbal transmission" process of Abdal Aşıks will be examined and the function of these "motifs" in constructing the main makam structures in Anatolian music will be discussed. Keywords: Abdal Aşıks, Muharrem Ertaş, Bozlak, Melodic Nuclei, Music Folklore