Ekrem Çelebi: His life, art and performance analysis in the framework of abdalism tradition

From the past to the present, the contributions of the abdal tradition to Anatolian music culture have been quite significant. In every environment where they can show their presence, abdals both reflect their accumulated knowledge from the past and adopt the culture they are in and display the musical phenomenon they have created in a unique way. In this context, the abdal society can be described as a "culture carrier". The representation of this centuries-long tradition from the local dimension to the universal dimension is related both to its own internal dynamism and to the fact that they create their existence in Anatolian culture. Therefore, for the sustainability of the tradition, there is a need for the existence of culture transmitters who have the abdal identity or who are outside this identity. These transmitters are crucial in terms of keeping the tradition alive and transferring it to the next generations. In this study, first of all, the abdal tradition has been mentioned, then the life and artistic personality of Ekrem Çelebi, who has created his own realm of existence with his productivity and performance within the tradition, although he has not had the abdal identity, has been discussed, and concrete and scientific results have been obtained by analyzing the artist's unique attitude underlying his leading role in the tradition. In this context, some of the works performed by the artist have been evaluated within the framework of Central Anatolian music and the performance style of the selected works has been analyzed. In addition to Ekrem Çelebi, the study also provides information about other names who do not belong to the abdal tradition, but still can be evaluated within the framework of the tradition. It is also aimed to enable the researchers in the field to recognize these artists, who grew up in the Central Anatolian abdal tradition and who, like Ekrem Çelebi, have a place in Turkish folk music with their compositions and source personalities, in future studies. In the study, methods such as literature review, data collection through personal interviews, notation, analysis and evaluation have been used and the works have been analyzed in terms of both technique and performance. In addition, some contributions to the general methods have been also made through the technical review. As a result of the examination, it has been revealed that Ekrem Çelebi has an important place in the abdal tradition, that he has made important contributions to the continuation of this deep-rooted tradition, and that his works can be considered within the tradition in terms of both content and performance. Keywords: Turkish Folk Music, Central Anatolian Music, Abdal, Bozlak, Ekrem Çelebi, Neşet Ertaş, Muharrem Ertaş, Musical Analysis, Performance Analysis.