Fuzuli’s ‘Water Eulogy’ to be performed as oratorio

ISTANBUL

The Ottoman poet Fuzuli’s “Water Eulogy” will be performed as an oratorio on March 19 at the Cemal Reşit Rey (CRR) Concert Hall.

Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality CRR general art director Aslan Özdemir said they had been working on the oratorio for more than a year.

“Fuzuli’s 32-verse Water Eulogy Nat-I Şerif will be performed at the CRR for the first time as an oratorio. We worked hard. Both Turkish and Western instruments meet in this oratorio,” he said.

Özdemir said the program will appeal to the Western world, as well as the Islamic world. “Western intellectuals have been curious about the literature, poetry, folklore and music of the east for centuries. Therefore, we rearranged the most important eastern work ‘Water Eulogy’ in the Western technique. It will be performed for the first time. We also have many instruments in it,” he added.

The oratorio will be performed by the CRR Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Rengim Gökmen and the choir directed by Volkan Akkoç. Tenor Caner Akın, soprano Bengisu Çimen and Zabite Aliyeva will be the soloists of the performance.