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The Musical Composition Called "Avjara" [Avjârâ âyîn-é Sharîf]¹

[Mevlevi Composer: Cinuçen TanrIkorur (1938-2000)

FIRST SALâM (Birinci selâm)


from a Persian ghazal:

The lovers (of God) are boasting from (saying), "Blessed is our
Lord the Most High!"² The sincere and truthful ones are crying out
(to God), "We are ready to hear³ the Revelation of God for us!"

Undoubtedly, from the burning of the heart, the lovers and the
sincere ones are pounding with (the shout of) "Behold!" on the
drum of "Glorified (is God) who took for a journey (His servant at
night)!"⁴

`âshiq-ân lâf az "tabârak rabbu-nâ a`là" zan-and
Sâdiq-ân "labbayk-é waHyu 'llâh-é mâ" âwa-hâ zan-and

lâ-jaram az `âshiq-ân-o Sâdiq-ân az sôz-é del
Zarb-é hâ bar Tabl-é "subHâna 'llaZî 'asrà" zan-and
[Meter 8]
[(for the 23 meters, see http://www.dar-al-masnavi.org/divan-
meters.html)


from a Persian ghazal:

One time I was a diver at the shore of the Ocean of Love; I saw a
hundred thousand pearls and gems from the Ocean of Love.

Suddenly, by the Power of God, I gazed once at him:⁵ I saw a
world of bewilderment continuing (by means of) the Ocean of
Love.

yak damê ghawwâS bûd-am bar lab-é daryây-é `ishq
Sad hazâr-ân durr-o gawhar dîd-am az daryây-é `ishq

nâgahân az qudrat-é Haqq yak naZar kard-am dar ô
`âlam-é sar-gashta dîd-am mânda-yé daryây-é `ishq
[Meter 8]


from a Persian ghazal:

Whoever searches for the path of (seeking) the acceptance of the
Chosen (Prophet of God)⁶ day and night is undoubtedly accepted
by means of the refuge of the God of the Chosen (Prophet).

He has come for the sake of Mercy to the whole world:⁷ the
Chosen (Prophet) for the world and the world for the sake of the
Chosen (Prophet).

har ke jôy-ad rôz-o shab râh-é riZâ-yé muSTafà
lâ-jaram râZî bow-ad az wa`y-é khodâ-yé muSTafà

az barây-é raHmat-é majmû`-yé `âlam âmad-ast
muSTafà bar `âlam-o `âlam barây-é muSTafà
[Meter 8]


SECOND SALâM (Ikinci selâm)


from a Persian ghazal:

You are my sultan,⁸ you are my sultan. In⁹ my heart and soul, you
are my faith.

(When) you breathe into me, I become alive. What is¹⁰ (the worth
of just) one soul?--(since) you are a hundred times¹¹ my soul.

sulTân-é man-î, sulTân-é man-î
andar del-o jân, îmân-é man-î

dar man be-dam-î, man zenda shaw-am
yak jân che bow-ad, sad jân-é man-î

[by Jalâluddîn Rûmî, Dîwân-é Kabîr, ghazal 3137, lines 33573-74]
[From Mixed Meters: XX ooX XX ooX]

THIRD SALâM (üçuncü selâm)


from a Persian ghazal:

O musicians, repeat again our secrets;¹² repeat again my life-
increasing stories.¹³

Open the storehouse of (the verse), "Truly, We have granted
victory"¹⁴ Repeat again the secret of the soul of the Chosen
(Prophet)!¹⁵

muTribâ asrâr-é mâ-râ bâz gû
qiSSahây-é jân-fazâ-râ bâz gû

makhzan-é "innâ fataH-nâ" bar-goshâ
sirr-é jân-é muSTafà-râ bâz gû

[by Jalâluddîn Rûmî, Dîwân-é Kabîr, Ghazal no. 2227, lines
23624, 23628] [Meter 9]


from a Turkish ghazal:

Oh, a thousand praises for a sultan as this! (For) those who are his
slaves become kings and emperors.

Today, whoever trustingly humbles himself before Walad¹⁶ will, if
a poor man, become a prince (and) if a prince, will become a
sultan.¹⁷

ey ki hezar âferin bu nice sultan olur
kulu olan kiSiler hüsrevü hâkan olur

her ki bugün Velede inanuben yüz süre
yoksul ise bay olur bay ise sultan olur

[by Shamsuddîn AHmad Aflâkî, d. 1353]¹⁸


from a Persian ghazal:

No fire is ignited in our hearts except (by) Him, (and) no stage of
ours is shortened except (by) Him.

Even if all of the peoples of the world were physicians, they
couldn't make a cure for our difficulty except (by) Him.

âtash na-zan-ad dar del-é mâ illâ hû
kôtah na-kon-ad manzil-é mâ illâ hû

gar `alamiy-ân jumla-yé Tabîb-ân bâsh-and
Hallê na-kon-ad mushkil-é mâ illâ hû
[Meter 16]


from a Persian ghazal:

O silvery chinned one, O stony-hearted one, O tulip-clothed one:
be pleased with a glance at my heart nourished by sorrow.¹⁹

Even if this worn-down bodily form (of mine) is far from your
lane, the heart is at your gate by night and by day.²⁰

sîmîn-Zaqan-â, sang-del-â, lâla-iZâr-â
khwosh kon ba-negâhê del-é gham-parwar-é mâ-râ

în qâlib-é farsûda gar az kôy-é tô dûr-ast
al-qalbi `alà bâbi-ka layl-ân wa nahâr-â
[Meter 16]


from a Turkish ghazal:

You are my master, if I command any respect in the world, it is
because of you.

If I have any fame among the lovers of God, it is because of you.

The color of your beauty gives luster to this face without features.

If ever spring comes to the garden of my imagination, it is because
of you.


Oh cup bearer! You have reddened my glass with my heartache¼s
blood!

If by the red dawn I am intoxicated at the close of the wine-party,
it is because of you.

Oh Hazret-i Mevlânâ, Ghâlib takes refuge in you.

If the tall cap²¹ of pride rests atop my head, it is because of you.

efendimsin, cihanda i'tibârIm varsa sendendir
miyân-I âSIkanda iStihârIm varsa sendendir
veren bu sûret-i mevhûma revnâk reng-i hüsnündür
gülistân-I hayâlim, nevbahârIm varsa sendendir

Sefak-tâb eyledin peymânemi hun âb ile sâkî
sabâh-I sohbet-i meyde mumârIm varsa sendendir
sanâdIr ilticâsI gâlib'in, yâ hazret-i monlâ
baSImda bir külâh-I iftihârIm varsa sendendir
[by Shaykh Ghâlib, d. 1799]²²



FOURTH SALâM (Dördüncü selâm)


from a Persian ghazal:

You are my sultan,²³ you are my sultan. In my heart and soul, you
are my faith.

(When) you breathe into me, I become alive. What is (the worth of
just) one soul? --(since) you are a hundred times my soul.

sulTân-é man-î, sulTân-é man-î
w-andar del-o jân, îmân-é man-î

dar man be-dam-î, man zenda shaw-am
yak jân che shaw-ad, sad jân-é man-î

[by Jalâluddîn Rûmî, Dîwân-é Kabîr, ghazal 3137, lines 33573-74]

--translated from Persian, Arabic, and Turkish by Ibrahim Gamard
Ibrahim Gamard (translation, footnotes, & transliteration), 10/04


NOTES
¹Avjârâ: a musical mode, or maqâm/makam that is made by
changing the scale of the "Zirgüleli Hicaz" (Turkish mode) to the
"Irak" pitch.

²We are ready to hear [labbayk]: literally, "remaining in place for
You." This is pronounced during the Pilgrimage to Mecca and
means, "O Lord, I am at Your service awaiting Your commands."

³Blessed is our Lord the Most High: this Arabic phrase does not
occur in the Qur'an, but contains words similar to a number of
verses.

⁴Glorified (is God) who took for a journey (His servant at night):
Qur'an 17:1. This refers to the famous "Night Journey" of the
Prophet Muhammad, when he was carried into the Heavens and
met the souls of the Prophets of God who lived in past ages.

⁵I gazed once at him: The pronoun here (which might be "it") is
unclear here because there are unknown verses that are probably in
between this verse and the previous one. Usually Mevlevi
composers take the first line of a ghazal plus a second one of their
own choosing.

⁶the Chosen (Prophet) [muSTafà]: an epithet of the Prophet
Muhammad, meaning the one chosen by God to be the final
prophet. This name is sometimes spelled "Mustafâ."

⁷for the sake of Mercy to the whole world: refers to the verse from
the Qur'an, "And We did not send you except as a mercy to (all)
peoples [`âlamîn]" (21:107).

⁸You are my sultan: means both Shams-é Tabrîzî, and on a higher
level, God alone, the Only Beloved. It is a characteristic of Persian
sufi poetry to be ambiguous in such a way as to refer both to the
human beloved and the Divine Beloved. "When you breathe into
me" is a reference to when God breathed into Adam of His spirit
(Qur'an 15:29).

⁹In: this is "And in" [w-andar] in the earliest manuscripts of the
Divan (see Foruzanfar's edition).

¹⁰What is [che shaw-ad]: this is "che bow-ad" in the earliest
manuscripts of the Divan (see Foruzanfar's edition).

¹¹a hundred times: an idiom meaning a great many.

¹²our secrets: means mystical secrets, such as about Divine Love.

¹³my life-increasing stories: this may refer to the stories in Rumi's
poetic work, the Masnavi.

¹⁴Truly, We have granted victory: a direct quote in Arabic from the
Qur'an (48:1), "Truly, We have granted victory for you (O
Muhammad)." The word translated as "victory" literally means "an
opening" (of the enemy's ranks) and is therefore a word play on the
Persian word for "open" (the storehouse).

¹⁵the Chosen (Prophet) [muSTafà]: an epithet of the Prophet
Muhammad, meaning the one chosen by God to be the final
prophet. This name is sometimes spelled "Mustafâ."

¹⁶Walad: a word play on the name of Rumi's son and successor,
Sultan Walad, or Veled. The literal sense of this line is: "whoever
trustingly rubs his head (on the ground in surrendered obeisance)
to Walad."

¹⁷will become a sultan: means a "spiritual king."

¹⁸Aflaki: the first and last lines from a ghazal by Shamsuddîn
AHmad Aflâkî. The entire poem occurs at the end of Golpinarli's
book, "Mevlânâ'dan sonra Mevlevilik" in a section called "Samples
of Mevlevi (Turkish) Poetry," where he includes four poems by
Aflaki.

¹⁹my heart nourished by sorrow: the lover's role in Persian poetry is
to suffer from the pain of separation from and of yearning for the
beloved, while the beloved's role is to be comfortable, luxurious,
and aloof.

²⁰the dog is at your gate by night and by day: means, "Even though
my body is worn out and I am far away, my devotion to your gate
is as faithful as a dog at his owner's door."

²¹tall cap: [küllâ]: this is the tall felt cap [also called "sikke"] worn
by Mevlevi dervishes and shaykhs. As a Mevlevi shaykh, Shaykh
Ghâlib's sikke would have been wrapped with a sash [dastâr] at the
base.

²²Shaykh Ghâlib: a Mevlevi poet and shaykh of the Galata Mevlevi
lodge in Istanbul, where he is buried.

²³You are my Sultan: see notes from the second salâm.