Mehmet Ruhi Su (1912 – 20 September 1985) was a Turkish

opera singer Opera is a form of Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a lib ...

, Turkish folk singer and saz

virtuoso A virtuoso (from Italian ''virtuoso'', or ; Late Latin ''virtuosus''; Latin ''virtus''; 'virtue', 'excellence' or 'skill') is an individual who possesses outstanding talent and technical ability in a particular art or field such as fine arts, ...

of probable

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian diaspora, Armenian communities around the ...

Ruhi Su ölümünün 25. yılında anıldı
Etkin Haber Ajansı. 21 September 2010. Retrieved 31 October 2013 origin.

Early life

Mehmet Ruhi Su was born 1912 in

Van A van is a type of road vehicle used for transporting goods or people. There is some variation in the scope of the word across the different English-speaking countries. The smallest vans, microvans, are used for transporting either goods or ...

. He later expressed his situation: "He is one of the children desolated by the

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

." After he lost his family during World War I at a very early age, he was taken from Van to

Adana Adana is a large city in southern Turkey. The city is situated on the Seyhan River, inland from the northeastern shores of the Mediterranean Sea. It is the administrative seat of the Adana Province, Adana province, and has a population of 1 81 ...

and given to a childless poor family. After living with the family, he was taken to Dârüleytâm, an orphanage that was built in Adana for the Armenian orphans. He graduated from the

Kuleli Military High School Kuleli Military High School was the oldest military high school in Turkey, located in Çengelköy, Istanbul, on the Asian shore of the Bosphorus strait. It was founded on 21 September 1845, by Ottoman Sultan Abdülmecid I. After the 2016 Turkish ...

in 1931.

Musical background

He started playing violin at the age of ten. In 1936 he graduated from the Teacher's School of Music and in 1942 from the Opera Department of State Conservatory in

Ankara Ankara is the capital city of Turkey and List of national capitals by area, the largest capital by area in the world. Located in the Central Anatolia Region, central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5,290,822 in its urban center ( ...

. The following ten years, he performed at the State Opera in Ankara as a celebrated

bass baritone A bass-baritone is a high-lying bass or low-lying "classical" baritone voice type which shares certain qualities with the true baritone voice. The term arose in the late 19th century to describe the particular type of voice required to sing three ...

, appearing in operas such as ''

Madame Butterfly ''Madama Butterfly'' (; ''Madame Butterfly'') is an opera in three acts (originally two) by Giacomo Puccini, with an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. It is based on the short story " Madame Butterfly" (1898) by John Lut ...

'', ''

Fidelio ''Fidelio'' (; ), originally titled ' (''Leonore, or The Triumph of Marital Love''), Opus number, Op. 72, is the sole opera by German composer Ludwig van Beethoven. The libretto was originally prepared by Joseph Sonnleithner from the French of ...

'', ''

Tosca ''Tosca'' is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. It premiered at the Teatro dell'Opera di Roma, Teatro Costanzi in Rome on 14 January 1900. The work, based on Victorien Sardou's 1 ...

'' and ''

Rigoletto ''Rigoletto'' is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi. The Italian libretto was written by Francesco Maria Piave based on the 1832 play '' Le roi s'amuse'' by Victor Hugo. Despite serious initial problems with the Austrian censors who had c ...

''. During his contemporary music education, he also studied

Turkish folk music Turkish folk music () is the traditional music of Turkish people living in Turkey influenced by the cultures of Anatolia and former territories in Europe and Asia. Its unique structure includes regional differences under one umbrella. It includ ...

and consequently made regular radio programs, playing saz and singing folk songs, while he worked at the opera.

Political arrest

In 1952 he was arrested, accused of being a member of the banned Turkish Communist Party, and

imprisonment Imprisonment or incarceration is the restraint of a person's liberty for any cause whatsoever, whether by authority of the government, or by a person acting without such authority. In the latter case it is considered " false imprisonment". Impri ...

for five years, which ended his career in the opera. After serving his sentence for a "thought crime", he dedicated himself to folk music in his unique way.

Folk studies

While he roamed all over

Anatolia Anatolia (), also known as Asia Minor, is a peninsula in West Asia that makes up the majority of the land area of Turkey. It is the westernmost protrusion of Asia and is geographically bounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the south, the Aegean ...

from one village to another, he started compiling numerous folk songs. Ruhi Su combined his efforts of creating a national awareness of the rich Anatolian culture with his compositions based on texts of

Sufi Sufism ( or ) is a mysticism, mystic body of religious practice found within Islam which is characterized by a focus on Islamic Tazkiyah, purification, spirituality, ritualism, and Asceticism#Islam, asceticism. Practitioners of Sufism are r ...

poets

Yunus Emre Yunus Emre (), also known as Derviş Yûnus (Yûnus the Dervish) (1238–1320) (Old Anatolian Turkish: يونس امره), was a Turkish folk poet and Sufi who greatly influenced Turkish culture. The UNESCO General Conference unanimously passe ...

and

Pir Sultan Abdal Pir Sultan Abdal (born Haydar) was a prominent Turkish poeta b Gülseren Özdemir. "Pîr Sultan Abdal Animizm İnançlar" (PDF). Çukurova University. 2 February 2014. Accessed: 5 November 2008. and an important religious figure in Alevism of T ...

and other Anatolian poets like Köroğlu (see

Epic of Köroğlu The ''Epic of Koroghlu'' (; ; ; ) is a heroic legend prominent in the oral traditions of the Turkic peoples, mainly the Oghuz Turks. The legend typically describes a hero who seeks to avenge a wrong. It was often put to music and played at sp ...

Karacaoğlan Karacaoğlan was a 17th-century Anatolian Turkish folk poet and ashik. His exact dates of birth and death are unknown but it is widely accepted that he was born around 1606 and died around 1679. He lived around the city of Osmaniye. His tomb, wh ...

, and

Dadaloğlu Dadaloğlu (Veli) (1785 ?–1868 ?) was a Turkish Ottoman, a folk poet-singer, known as ''ozan'' (bard). Background Two distinct literatures existed in the Ottoman Empire. Literature of the palace, so called divan literature used Ottoman Turki ...

Death

Ruhi Su died of prostate cancer on 20 September 1985 and was buried at the

Zincirlikuyu Cemetery The Zincirlikuyu Cemetery () is a modern burial ground in the European part of Istanbul, Turkey. It is administered by the Metropolitan Municipality. Many prominent figures from the world of politics, business, sports and arts rest here. The ce ...

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

. His wife Sıdıka Su died on 18 October 2006. His son Ilgin Ruhi Su lives in Istanbul. In 2009, his gravestone was shot by unknown parties.

Albums

#(1972) ''Seferberlik Türküleri Ve Kuvayi Milliye Destanı'' #(1972) ''Yunus Emre'' #(1972) ''Karacaoğlan'' #(1972) ''Pir Sultan Abdal'' #(1974) ''Şiirler – Türküler'' #(1974) ''Köroğlu'' #(1977) ''El Kapıları'' #(1977) ''Sabahın Sahibi Var'' After his death #(1986) ''Pir Sultan'dan Levni'ye'' #(1987) ''Kadıköy Tiyatrosu Konseri I'' #(1987) ''Kadıköy Tiyatrosu Konseri II'' #(1988) ''Beydağı'nın Başı'' #(1988) ''Dadaloğlu Ve Çevresi'' #(1989) ''Huma Kuşu Ve Taşlamalar'' #(1990) ''Sultan Suyu "Pir Sultan Abdal'dan Deyişler"'' #(1990
Ruhi Su performs Sufi Hymns by Yunus Emre and Pir Sultan Abdal
#(1991) ''Dostlar Tiyatrosu Konseri'' (Sümeyra Çakır İle Birlikte) #(1992) ''Ankara'nn Taşına Bak'' #(1993) ''Semahlar'' #(1993) ''Çocuklar, Göçler, Balıklar'' #(1993) ''Zeybekler'' #(1993) ''Ezgili Yürek'' #(1993) ''Ekin İdim Oldum Harman'' #(1993) ''Uyur İken Uyardılar'' #(1994) ''Barabar'' #(1995) ''Aman Of''

References

Notes

*Ahmet Günlük 1990 HITEK Traditional Turkish Folk Music Through The Centuries �

External links

* Ruhi Su ile Birlikte Kırk Yıl: Sıdıka Su �

{{DEFAULTSORT:Su, Ruhi 1912 births 1985 deaths Burials at Zincirlikuyu Cemetery Turkish folk poets 20th-century Turkish male opera singers Turkish Marxists Deaths from prostate cancer in Turkey People from Van, Turkey