The life and works of Hafiz Kemal Tezergil

Almost every civilization and nation has perceived music as an art of a divine source. Each nation has come up with religious music specific to the religion they believe in. Turkish religious music has been shaped with the desire of Turkish people to live Islamic religion in a highly intense, excited, genuine and ascetic manner in accordance with their aesthetic world. There are several musicians whose names have been forgotten or sunk into oblivion as well as the those whose names are known in the formation and survival of the Turkish Religious Music. One of these music artists is Hâfız Kemal Tezergil, who is an important figure in the performance and conveyance of the musical culture that came from Abdulkadir Meragi who lived in the twentieth century to our time through verbal conveyance. Hâfız Kemal Terzergil, who took an active part in religious affairs, religious music and the dervish lodge communities in Istanbul, made name for himself with his performances, became the key representative of the last period Istanbul form and demonstrated his composing skills with his compositions is not recognized sufficiently. In this respect, the purpose of this research is to introduce the life and works of Hâfız Kemal Tezergil, on whom we do not have sufficient amount of written information, although he had undertaken a significant role in religious music. This study consists of four chapters. The first chapter gives information the personal background of Hâfız Kemal Terzergil such as his birth, personality, marriage, and death; the second chapter elaborates on issues such as his job as a muezzin, the mosques he worked at, the masters he benefited from, his musical works, his place in the religious music, and other matters regarding his occupational and musical life. The third chapter includes interviews performed with the people who knew him. The fourth chapter presents information about his compositions and the notes of his works that could be identified were installed on a computer environment and included in the dissertation. Documents (original notes, photographs, newspaper announcements, archival documents, etc.) that could be obtained about Terzegil are attached to the end of the dissertation. With this study, a historical and official document about Hâfız Kemal Tezergil was tried to be revealed.