From Rumi to the Whirling Dervishes

Book excerpt: A pioneering study that illuminates the connection of music, poetry, mystical praxis and social history underlying the ceremony of the Mevlevi Dervishes Mevlana Jalaluddin Rumi, whose life and mystical poetry provided the inspiration for the Mevlevi Sufi order, is one of the world's best-known poets, yet the centuries-long musical tradition cultivated by the Mevleviye remains much less known. In this deeply researched book, renowned scholar Walter Feldman traces the historical development of Mevlevi music and brings to light the remarkable musical and mystical aesthetics of the Mevlevi ayin - the instrumental and vocal accompaniment to the sublime ceremony of the 'Whirling' Dervishes. Key Features  An in-depth historical exploration of the musical tradition linked to the Mevlevi ('Whirling') Dervishes and the spiritual legacy of Mevlana Jalaluddin Rumi, one of Islam's greatest mystical poets  An accessible introduction to the relationship between music and performative elements of Sufi practice codified in the Mevlevi ceremony of sema  A unique presentation of the biographies of the principal Mevlevi musicians, showing both their creation of the music of the mukabele and their key role in the development of Ottoman court music  Detailed analysis of excerpts from the Mevlevi musical repertory and the aesthetics of Mevlevi compositional practices  29 notated musical examples, with additional examples freely available on the Aga Khan University website www.akdn.org/akmp/FromRumi Walter Feldman is a leading scholar of both Ottoman Turkish and Jewish music. His major publications include Klezmer: Music, History and Memory (2016) and Music of the Ottoman Court: Makam, Composition, and the Early Ottoman Instrumental Repertoire (1996).