Esin Afşar (''née'' Sinanoğlu; 1 January 1936 – 14 November 2011) was a well-known Turkish singer and stage actress.

Personal life

She was born in

Bari, Italy Bari ( , ; nap, label= Barese, Bare ; lat, Barium) is the capital city of the Metropolitan City of Bari and of the Apulia region, on the Adriatic Sea, southern Italy. It is the second most important economic centre of mainland Southern Italy ...

to Nüzhet Haşim Sinanoğlu, a writer and consular official of

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula ...

and his wife Rüveyde, a journalist and writer. Esin was the youngest of five siblings. Her brother, Oktay Sinanoğlu, became a notable professor of chemistry. Other brothers became professor of

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through ...

, professor of

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic pe ...

and Press Chief at

European Council The European Council (informally EUCO) is a collegiate body that defines the overall political direction and priorities of the European Union. It is composed of the heads of state or government of the EU member states, the President of the ...

Strasbourg Strasbourg (, , ; german: Straßburg ; gsw, label= Bas Rhin Alsatian, Strossburi , gsw, label= Haut Rhin Alsatian, Strossburig ) is the prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est region of eastern France and the official seat of the ...

. She attended

TED Ankara Koleji TED Ankara College Foundation Schools is a group of private schools in Turkey. College consists of kindergarten, elementary, middle and high schools. TED Ankara College Foundation Schools Incek Campus is located in Ankara, Turkey. History ...

, and then studied piano at the

Ankara State Conservatory The Hacettepe University Ankara State Conservatory ( tr, Hacettepe Üniversitesi Ankara Devlet Konservatuvarı), the first conservatory to be founded in the Republic of Turkey, was established in 1936 by a directive of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk. Th ...

.Esin Afşar's page
After graduation, she entered

Turkish State Opera and Ballet Turkish may refer to: *a Turkic language spoken by the Turks * of or about Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities and mi ...

as a pianist. But then her focus shifted to the stage. In 1958 she married Kerim Afşar, another stage artist. After 12 years of stage she returned to music and began singing in French and Italian. But after collaborating with

Ruhi Su Mehmet Ruhi Su (1912 – 20 September 1985) was a Turkish opera singer, Turkish folk singer and saz virtuoso of probable Armenian

, she included Turkish folk music ( türkü) to her repertoire. After she got a divorce from Kerim Afşar, she married Şener Aral in 1975. After the mid-1980s, she was mainly active in foreign tours. She also played parts in drama. In 1999, she was hospitalized and her recovery was slow. Although she briefly returned to concerts and album recordings, Afşar died on 14 November 2011 in a hospital in

Istanbul ) , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = 34000 to 34990 , area_code = +90 212 (European side) +90 216 (Asian side) , registration_plate = 34 , blank_name_sec2 = GeoTLD , blank_i ...

, where she was taken due to

leukemia Leukemia ( also spelled leukaemia and pronounced ) is a group of blood cancers that usually begin in the bone marrow and result in high numbers of abnormal blood cells. These blood cells are not fully developed and are called ''blasts'' or ...

about three weeks earlier. She was laid to rest at the

Karacaahmet Cemetery The Karacaahmet Cemetery ( tr, Karacaahmet Mezarlığı) is a 700-year-old historic cemetery, located in Üsküdar, the Asian side of Istanbul. Karacaahmet cemetery is the oldest and largest in Istanbul at , and the largest burial ground in Turkey ...

. She was survived by her husband Şener Aral, son Doğan Can and daughter Pınar.

Career

Although her repertoire included a wide collection of various melodies of different tastes, her fame mainly stems from Turkish folklore. In 1969 two of her arranged folklore melodies became hits. These were ''Bana seni gerek'' (lyrics by Yunus Emre (1240-1321) and composition by Esin Afşar herself) and ''Yoh Yoh'' (by contemporary folklore poet Kul Ahmet). The melody on the reverse side of the Yoh Yoh 45rpm, was ''Bebek'', a well known anonymous Turkmen folklore melody. After the release of ''Yoh Yoh'' she was nicknamed "Bayan Yoh Yoh" ("Mrs. Yoh Yoh"). She was sent to

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Cr ...

İhsan Sabri Çağlayangil İhsan Sabri Çağlayangil (1908, Istanbul – December 30, 1993, Ankara, Turkey) was a Turkish politician, being a member of the Justice Party ( tr, Adalet Partisi). He also served as Minister of Foreign Affairs three times in the 1960s ...

, the minister of Foreign Affairs as an official representative of Turkish culture. In 1970, she gave a series of concerts in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

. In 1972, she visited

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...

(especially those republics which would soon be called Turkic Republics) and

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

. In 1973, she was in

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It ...

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to ...

and

Tunis ''Tounsi'' french: Tunisois , population_note = , population_urban = , population_metro = 2658816 , population_density_km2 = , timezone1 = CET , utc_offset1 ...

and in 1974 in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

. She also participated in the Turkish under contest to nominate a Turkish participant for the

Eurovision Song Contest 1975 The Eurovision Song Contest 1975 was the 20th edition of the annual Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Stockholm, Sweden, following the country's victory at the with the song " Waterloo" by ABBA. Organised by the European Broadcasting Un ...

. In 1980, in a live TV program, she sang a melody with lyrics from

Nazım Hikmet A nazim is the coordinator of a city or town in Pakistan. Nazim or variant spellings may also refer to: *Nazim (given name), including a list of people with the given name *Nazim (surname), including a list of people with the surname See also * ...

and her melodies were banned by the military junta. In 1985, she gave a concert in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...

. In 1988, she appeared in concerts at

Lausanne, Switzerland Lausanne ( , , , ) ; it, Losanna; rm, Losanna. is the capital and largest city of the Swiss French speaking canton of Vaud. It is a hilly city situated on the shores of Lake Geneva, about halfway between the Jura Mountains and the Alps, and fac ...

, and the next year, in 1989 at

Mulhouse Mulhouse (; Alsatian: or , ; ; meaning '' mill house'') is a city of the Haut-Rhin department, in the Grand Est region, eastern France, close to the Swiss and German borders. It is the largest city in Haut-Rhin and second largest in Alsace a ...

, France.

Esin Afşar and Arabesque

Esin Afşar was strictly against a new style of music in Turkey emerged after the 1970s, named

Arabesque The arabesque is a form of artistic decoration consisting of "surface decorations based on rhythmic linear patterns of scrolling and interlacing foliage, tendrils" or plain lines, often combined with other elements. Another definition is "Foli ...

, which was similar to

Arabic music Arabic music or Arab music ( ar, الموسيقى العربية, al-mūsīqā al-ʿArabīyyah) is the music of the Arab world with all its diverse music styles and genres. Arabic countries have many rich and varied styles of music and also ma ...

with Turkish lyrics. She protested Arabesque by composing a melody "Arabeske İnat" ("In Spite of Arabesque").BGST Müzik page
accessed 4 April 2015.

Discography

Albums Discography

* Dün ve Bugünün Türk Şiir ve Ezgileri, 1986 (poems) * Ruhi Su'ya Türkü, 1987 * Yunus Emre, 1991 * Esin Alaturka, 1995 * Atatürk, 1997 * Özlem, 1998 * Pembe Uçurtma, 1998 * Caz Yorumlarıyla Aşık Veysel, 1999 * Nazım Hikmet Şarkıları, 2000 * Yunus Emre & Mevlana Şarkıları, 2002 * Söz Çiğdem Talu, 2006 * Büyük Türk Şairi Nazım Hihmet, 2010 * Esin Afşar Odeon Yılları, 2010

45 rpm singles

* Allam Allam Seni Yar / Yoh Yoh, 1970 * Niksarın Fidanları / Aliyi Gördüm Aliyi, 1970 * Gurbet Yorganı / Elif, 1970 * Halalay Çocuk / Güzelliğin On Para Etmez, 1970 * Allam Allam Seni Yar / Drama Köprüsü, 1970 * Yoh Yoh / Bebek (Bir Masal Türküsü), 1970 * Kara Toprak / Yunus (Bana Seni gerek Seni), 1970 * Yağan Yağmur / Çatladı Dudaklarım Öpülmeyi Öpülmeyi, 1971 * Diley Diley Yar / Yaprağı, 1971 * Sivastopol / Küçük Kuşum, 1971 * Gel Dosta Gidelim / Sorma, 1971 * Dert Şarkısı / Niye Çattın Kaşlarını, 1974 * Sandığımı Açamadım / Güneşe Giden Gemi, 1974 * Canı Sıkılan Adam / Yiğidin Öyküsü, 1975 * Sanatçının Kaderi / O Pencere, 1975 * Hacer Hanım / Ben Olayım, 1976 * Zühtü / Kaz, 1976

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Afsar, Esin 1936 births 2011 deaths Turkish women singers Turkish stage actresses People from Bari TED Ankara College Foundation Schools alumni Ankara State Conservatory alumni Turkish folk musicians Burials at Karacaahmet Cemetery Deaths from leukemia Deaths from cancer in Turkey