* To Anatolia I wanted to signal the journey eastwards by leaning into a sound that is distinctly Anatolian. The makam is a mixture of Bayat and Kurdi. The instrumentation consists of a bağlama and Anatolian duduk/mey, (often used by Hollywood composers as the lazy go-to for anything remotely oriental, even Indian or Morrocan, but the instrument is specific to the Caucasus and Anatolia, with Armenian roots). The usul is in a 9/8 aksak, comprised of the addition of three measures of three; very commonly used in the Balkans and Anatolia. Turkish lyrics: Gel gel, canım, gel. English translation: Come, my can*, come. *Can is difficult to translate literally. It is borrowed from a Persian literally meaning “my life,” and is used as a term of endearment in both Persian and Turkish, however in this context it is closely tied to the Janissary culture, rooted in the Alevi-Bektashi practice of Islam. Alevis often call one another “can,” as did the Janissaries. * Istanbul: Queen of Cities This passages reuses my Constantinople leitmotif. I leaned entirely into the Hollywood-esque aesthetic that I refer to as Orientalist, which is itself an imitation of how Middle-Eastern countries began adapting the Western orchestra in the last two centuries. This kind of recognisable sound is simply the usage of a Western orchestra, but with Eastern techniques where every note copiously uses portamento and glissando. I believe this Orientalist aesthetic, which is effectively how Westerners perceive Middle-Eastern music, to thematically fit the point of view of a non Middle-Easterner seeing the gayeway to the East for the very first time. * Welcome to the Corps Another taksim in the Hüseyni makam using the kopuz, once again signalling the strong Alevi nature of the Janissary corps. In this, they were similar to European military-religious organisations like the Templars or Hospitaliers; religious knight-like figures with a strong devotion to a specific form of religion and a “patron saint,” in this case Hacı Bektaş-ı Veli, the Muslim mystic who began Alevism, and whose early followers blessed the nascent Janissary corps. * Tevhid - My New Faith This is an Alevi folk song. Such songs would have routinely been sung by the Janissaries during zikr-the Sufi religious ceremony of singing songs and entering trances in remembrance of God. The instruments are ones commonly used by Alevis today: the bağlama, the kopuz and the Kurdish tanbour. Allah Allah İllallah La İlahe İllallah Ali̇ Mürşi̇t Güzel Şah Şahim Eyvallah Eyvallah La İlahe İllallah Hak Muhammed-ali̇ Dostum Kerem Kilmak Si̇ze Geldi̇ Hari̇ci̇ler Mansur’u Asti Nesi̇mi̇’yi̇ Yüze Geldi̇ (2) Fatma Ana Fi̇rkate Düştü Uçmak Kapilarin Açti İmam Hasan Zehi̇r İçti̇ Münafiktan Eza Geldi̇ Allah Allah İllallah La İlahe İllallah Ali̇ Mürşi̇t Güzel Şah Şahim Eyvallah Eyvallah La İlahe İllallah Şi̇mi̇r Mervan Karşi Geldi̇ Kerbela Al Kanla Doldu Şah Hüseyi̇n Şehi̇t Oldu Yezi̇tlerden Eza Geldi̇ Akti İmamlarin Kani İmam Zeynel Mürvet Kani Ana Rahmi̇nde Zi̇ndani Levh-i̇ Kalem Mi̇ Yaza Geldi̇(2) Allah Allah İllallah La İlahe İllallah Ali̇ Mürşi̇t Güzel Şah Şahim Eyvallah Eyvallah La İlahe İllallah Ol Münafik Yüzü Kara Dost Dost Dost Kurban Kast Eyledi̇ İmam Bakir’a Pi̇r Pi̇r Pi̇r Kurban Hak Buyurdu İmam Cafer’e Deni̇zi̇ Yutmağa Geldi̇ Di̇dar Gözleri̇ Gözümden Sevdasi Da Gi̇tmez Özümden İmam Musa-i̇ Kazimdan İmam Ali̇ Riza Geldi̇ (2) Allah Allah İllallah La İlahe İllallah Ali̇ Mürşi̇t Güzel Şah Şahim Eyvallah Eyvallah La İlahe İllallah Taki̇’ni̇n Darina Durduk Dost Dost Dost Kurban Naki̇’ye Can Feda Kildik Pi̇r Pi̇r Pi̇r Kurban Kendi̇ Özümüzden Si̇tem Sürdük Can Cesetten Teze Geldi̇ Hasan-ül Askeri̇ Sensi̇n Erenlere Mi̇hr-i̇ Kansin Mehd’i̇ Sahi̇p Zamansin Ali̇yel Mürteza Geldi̇ Hünkar-i Evli̇ya Geldi̇ Allah Allah İllallah La İlahe İllallah Ali̇ Mürşi̇t Güzel Şah Şahim Eyvallah Eyvallah La İlahe İllallah Hüseyi̇n’i̇m Der Yara Neden Yaralandik Çare Neden Konan Göçtü Bu Haneden Şi̇mdi̇ Sira Bi̇ze Geldi̇ Hü * Gülbang - The Janissary Oath The structure of this piece is again based on Sufi Zikrs, which use rythmic breathing and the daf drums as conduits towards a trance through repeated motion like head banging. The lyrics are the very oath that Janissaries took historically, called a gülbang, a sort of prayer or oath. Turkish lyrics: Allah Allah İllallah, Baş üryan, Sine püryan, Kılıç al kan, Bu meydanda nice başlar kesilir, Hiç olmaz soran. Eyvallah! Eyvallah! Kahrımız kılıcımız, düşmana ziyan. Kulluğumuz padişaha ayan, Üçler, yediler, kırklar! Gülbang-ı Muhammmedî, Nur-i Nebî, Kerem-i Ali, Pirimiz Sultanımız Hünkâr, Hacı Bektaş-ı Veli, Demine devranına, Hu diyelim Huuuuuuu! * Mehter Marşı - The Janissary Anthem This is my humble attempt at writing an Ottoman mehter. Mehter is the style of music of the Mehteran, the oldest known military bands in the world, which will directly influence the West in its formation of its own military bands, as seen today in America. The music of the Mehteran is characterised by loud, powerful percussion and the use of the zurna, a reed instrument with a piercing quality. Performances of Mehter marches begin with the announcement of the arrival of the Head Mehter, who salutes his musicians, is saluted back by them, the announces the beginning of the playing with “Ya Allah!” Lyrics in Turkish. Vakt-i sürûru sefâ, Mehterbaşı Hey! Hey!
Merhabâ ey mehterân!
Merhabâ, Mehterbaşı!
Hasduuur!
Haydi! Ya Allah! Dinle, dinle iyi dinle, Kâfir konuşur, Of of! Bize merhamet et, O ne büyük bir kuvvet, O ne büyük bir devlet! Aman! Kâfir, dinle iyi dinle, Osmanın kılıcı geldi, Fetih zamanı geldi, Devlet-i-aliyye geldi! * Savaşlar - The Wars I Fought A military piece using the zurna, bağlama and kopuz, and an Ottoman Classical ensemble of qanun, oud and tembur. The first is representative of the mehter, military aspect of the Janissaries, the second two of their Alevi Bektashi aspect, and the third of their allegiance to the Imperial state. The makam travels between Hüseyni and Bayat. * İstanbul Peşrev - The Peacetime Years This is an arrangement of my Istanbul not Constantinople leitmotif in the form of Ottoman Classical Music’s peşrev, a musical form in Ottoman Classical Music characterised usually by a 4/4 usul, never an aksak one. One of the primary aspects of peşrev is that the usul is always very long, and can go up as much as 200 measures; in other words, the percussional pattern isn’t as repetitive and simple as the one heard in the Janissary Oath part; instead the percussional beats keep progressing in new ways, and the pattern can be minutes long instead of seconds long; it can be thought of as a whole song of its own that is developed continuously, only with percussions instead of pitch. * Topkapı Peşrev - My Rise to the Sublime Porte I wanted to represent the occasional rise of Janissaries to high positions of power by writing a two part Ottoman Classical piece. Ottoman Classical music refers to the complex pieces characterised by usage the ensemble use of oud, qanun, tembur, kemenche and ney, in contrast to folk instruments like the bağlama and kopuz. Technically only the first part of this which is in a symmetrical usul is a peşrev, as the second part, which is my new leitmotif for the House of Osman itself, is in 5/8, an aksak, which by definition does not meet the features of a peşrev. * Zaman - The Passing of the Years The main melody is not mine but instead composed by Turkish qanun players. This style of music is a more contemporary Turkish one, with strong Western influences of counterpoint and riff producing functional harmony. * Var Git Ölüm - The Bullet The poem is by Karacoğlan, a 17th century Anatolian ashik (bard), a major figure of folk poetry, centred around nomadic and village lifestyles as opposed to the Imperial poetry of the Ottoman courts. Lyrics in Turkish: Ölüm ardıma düşüp de yorulma
Var git ölüm bir zaman da yine gel
Akıbet alırsın komazsın beni
Var git ölüm bir zaman da yine gel 
Çıkıp boz kurtlayın ulaşamadım
Yalan dünya sana çıkışamadım
Eşimle dostumla buluşamadım
Var git ölüm bir zaman da yine gel

Karac'oğlan der ki derdim pek beter
Bahçede bülbüller şakıyıp öter
Anayı atayı dün aldın yeter
Var git ölüm bir zaman da yine gel

@@faryafaraji Do you have the lyrics to the "Tevhid" section too?

Just added them! seems I forgot :)

An idea for the next symphony: The encounters between Ottoman Janissaries and Austrian Landsknechte on the battlefield during the 16th century Austrian-Turkish wars or the Janissaries and Hungarian soldiers during the battle of Mohács.

@Byzantine Historian Thank you Sir!

you are a muslim now?

Cool!

cringe.

Amazing, my ancestors also took part in the Bagdat campaign of Sultan Murad IV around the same time, 1620’s but they were timarli sipahi and since that time they settled in Irak as Turkmens

so you actually like the fact that they kidnapped your grand grand ancestor from his parents? If so, I have so many questions...

The key is do what I do: just copy the best traditional music out there haha. Turkey and Balkans did the homework over hundreds of years and I just copied theirs 👀

I mean he's Farya Faraji, he always makes magic with his voice, hands, and genius, the man's a literal legend in the making and if he ever becomes a popular composer for games and movies I would literally love it and buy the movies and games he has worked on because this man literally has magic in his hands, truly a glorious creation of God that I have the privilege of listening to.

It's the frequency that astonishes me like he uploads gold after gold WEEKLY

He is singing in old Ottoman Turkish which we don't speak anymore. It's beyond imagination the level of culture this guy has.

​@@faryafaraji bro did you sing all the song especially Tevhid one. İf you are not Turkish your accent is super cool damn

Sadly middle eastern history, including later Greek and Balkan history is rarely shown in western media. There is so much potential, even the Byzantines

@@g1u2y345 late Byzantine and early Ottoman history is one of the most colorful yet most overlooked part of world history and if not for Kings&Generals people outside of Balkans would still be uninterested to the subject

no one stops the turks/greeks to make their own proper movies. take some million €/$ and go to hollywood. Turks are way to lazy and uninterested for that. Watch some turkish news/late night talkshows, they all say the same:"why dont we make movies". instead turks make the 200ths flavor of fake ottoman bs series and potray incompetent sultans as heroes.

So you’re proposing the glorification of a slavery system. Got it!

@@patmorris9692 you are objectively speaking a Slave. do you deny this? and why is wrong ? on what you base your morality on? and prove to me objectively not subjectively that no one owns you and you are not slave jo ahead inferior peasant Anglo European

Unfortunately original mehter marches were lost to time. The contemporary mehter marches are from the late 19th and 20th centuries, as far as I know.

​@@aliosman0That is true, Enver Pasha had them written.

Akincilar original Türk idiler

AKINCI ARE ORİGİNAL TURKS!!!!

Sipahi used to be my last name 😭

​@@omarsairafi2455 Sipahis were chosen only from families of Turkish origin and it was mostly a hereditary system, similar to the knighthood in Europe, the timarli sipahis owned land in various parts of the empire and in return received taxes from the farming families living in their timar(farmlands) and provided security. There may be some of the Turkish families whose ancestors went on expeditions to North African countries such as Algeria and then settled down. Of course, these people were mostly assimilated after the Ottomans withdrew from the region, but some of them remained their surnames.

they got massacred during the Ottoman Austrian war of 1593-1606 due to poor decisions of the Ottoman Pasha, all of them got massacred not even one managed to survive, very sad

And Kurdish And Arménien

Sağolasın kardeş

@@erenbunul6672 Türkiyede yaşayan Ermeniler mi

@@turkmenist40 evet gardas

​@@turkmenist40 they are. And they are supressed. Turkey never was an ethnic "pure" state and never will be. Kemal would roll in his grave if he'd know what your president is doing right now.

did u found about ur serbian roots? or? regards

Well Ottoman Empire was a roof for Serbs,Turks,Albanians,Greeks,Bulgarians etc. if today a Turk says Ottoman Empire is mine, so do Serbian can aswell.

​@@someoneyoulike1180Serbs foutght against Ottoman yoke. We were slaves in that empire.

@@masterblaster848 Well.. everyone was slave except the Ottoman Monarchy, they also treated local Turks as a slave too lol. Serbs were made Janissary and not only that, there were some Serbian women who were married with our Sultans and so next Sultans became half Serbian,Greek,Bulgarian,Albanian. There were also a lot of Serbian grand viziers in Ottoman Empire aswell ( Prime Minister ) such as Sokolovic. In Ottoman Empire they didn't care about nation or nationalism, the biggest thing which important was are you muslim ? If you were a Muslim then u would be good.

@@someoneyoulike1180 Ottoman empire is our, Ottoman empire followed Turkish traditions, founder of empire was a Turk, and first offical language was Turkish

@@DoofyGilmore1299 Osmanlı İmparatorluğu Türkler tarafından kurulmuştur fakat daha sonradan devşirmelerin ele geçirdiği bir ülkedir. Adı üstünde ''İmparatorluk'' yani multi-kültürel bir devlet, Osmanlının bel kemiği olan Yeniçeri Birliği sırf Devşirme idi, adamlar Yunan,Arnavut,Boşnak,Bulgar,Sırp diye gidiyordu Türk yoktu adam gibi orduda. Sadrazamların bir çoğuda yabancıydı, Osmanlıya en büyük damgaları vurmuş Sokollu Mehmet Paşa, İbrahim Paşa gibi vezirler Boşnak ve Yunandır. Osmanlıyı sahipleniyor seviyoruz fakat gerçekleri göz ardı etmemek gerekir, bugün bu adamlarda Osmanlıyı bizim kadar sahiplenmeye hakkı var çünkü onlarında dedeleri zamanında devşirilip bizim adımıza kılıç salladılar, gerçekler böyle.. ha sonra isyanda ettiler o ayrı mesele.

faces of the balkan kids who were stolen from their parrents then forced to convert to islam and then used as weapons to kill their own parents and nattions

@Ivan π££ how can a child who has taken when he was 7-8 years old and raised by Turkish Muslim families can still remember Christianity and believe it? They were subjects and slaves of the Sultan. So they were believing whatever their master believed.

@Ivan π££ The information of the village where they were taken and their families were recorded in official documents. They knew where were they from and who were their families. Mostly they were returning as muslim rich aristocrats to their home. But most of them were getting married and staying in Anatolia or istanbul

Many families even wanted their children to become janissaries. Not everyone had the opportunity to work for high wages in the world's first modern army. Of course, some families did not want it, their number is less.@@cagr7916

@@Ivan-mb1pd These were taken from orphans between the ages of 8-18 or mostly from poor families. These children received their primary education with Turkish families. Gifted children enter an education system where they can later become ministers of state. They would be bureaucrats here. Others had to pass exams to become soldiers. Those who passed were trained according to their abilities until the age of 23. There were artillerymen, tunnellers, janissary marchers, grenadiers, infantrymen... many groups. Additionally, many families wanted their children to become janissaries. Not everyone had the chance to work for high wages in the world's first modern and permanent army.

Thanks man! I remember you saying something about how music helps us humanise past people, I think it was on Theophano’s Wedding; but whatever it was, you’re right, getting into the lives of those normal people is often even more moving

@@sedoskovelha123 No i think you got it spot on my guy

nice point

no translation for that ? wonder why .....!

@@user-dr7ru8pm3d I don't know what's going through your mind, but the words don't contain any diabolical mystery.

"Tawhid" refers to the monotheistic belief that Allah is one and only. The words refer to Bektashi culture and Alevi belief. For this reason, the lyrics refer to the difficulties experienced by the Prophet of Islam and his friends such as "Hazrat Ali". Among these words, we also hear the words "La Ilaha Illallah" expressing the unity of Allah.

@@anlkutay5328 Can you provide me the link for this separate song?

​@@durainashraf6339 sorry but as far as i know there is no separate link available.

Hu!

Thanks my man, grab the audio popcorn whenever you’re ready haha

Yes, considering the Janissary initially were levied male children from Christian populations, and then converted to Islam and sworn to the Sultan as private soldiers, the symphony makes for one cohesive story.

@@faryafaraji Finally heard it, really liked it, the battle parts, the Greek parts, but above all the growing old one was the best. Keep the magnificent music coming

​@Ivan π££ i highly doubt that,the issue wasn't them acting like Christians was it?

@@alwijr2753 Surprisingly no, The Janissary order ended after the “Auspicious Incident” in 1828. For a while now, the Janissaries grew corrupt and disloyal to the sultanate. They had a history of starting revolts and killed. Mahmud II’ father and predecessor Selim III. That’s why he decided to end their old order, out of fear that he might be killed next by them. That and the army was in need of modernization.

@@lehmackermann8994 Basically they became the new Praetorian guard

@@marseldagistani1989 yup, very corrupt and extorted the emperor’s instead of protecting them like they were supposed to

What did Sultan Murad III do?

That is a really interesting story, I’m gonna have to look for it, thanks for the anectode!

Thanks alot arkadaş, love from Canada

For their own benefit only :) money!

@@dgrszkyp What is wrong with that? He earns money legally from his hobby, are you jealous?

@@dgrszkyp good for him

I use Ublock so I don't see any add, but if an artistic piece is financed by Sponsors or used as a signboard for commercial purposes, then it is morally questionnable for it contributes to unregulated globalization, liberalism and capitalism @@AnatoliaTodayEn More ethic ways of financing art is to directly sponsor it as a patreon or with insitutional/carritative fundraising. I know very right it is hard to be rewarded when we work on Ytb, but Ytb and Twitch advertising system is a curse that doesn't even profit youtubers such as Farya. Debout, les damnés de la terre, debout, les forçats de la faim !

Thanks Étienne! I also fell in love with the city when I visited for the first time in 2021, it’s a magical place

Search for Mehter, and you will find many similar pieces like this

@@furkankaynar6491 oh thank you i appreciate it

Ur basrawi brother agrees

It's hard for me to translate, but the words are very beautiful too. You already understand somethings but it also touches on almost all imams.

@@baltai3123 exactly

Şahım eyvallah eyvallah

Mulțumesc Serban, much love from Canada!

Вам привет из Анапы! Под каждым Вашим словом готова подписаться.

Wapsuama wara

Amazing! Thanks you

Thanx Bro! Eyvallah ❤️

@Ivan π££ prove it and I will be Christian too🤝🏼🌹✝️ I will worship Jesus lord Christ who is the son of God and God himself and God got breastfed by his creation and crucified by his creation and humiliated by his creation 😎. amazing God..........

@Ivan π££ Say, “He is Allah, [who is] One, Allah, the Eternal Refuge. He neither begets nor is born, nor is there to Him any equivalent” (Quran 112:1-4) God does not follow the laws of His creation, the law of life, rather He is the One that created these laws in the first place, for us in our time and the place in which we live. He is free from matter. God is above both time and space and lives independently of them. God, who created them, has to exist outside of them. If he was limited by time or space, he could not be God. Just like one that might create an electronic device, he has to live outside of it. It is impossible for a God who is timeless and unconstrained by space to come into existence when He Himself created time and space. The laws of creation and life do not apply to God. therefore, nothing of his creation applies to Allah and this concept of God is highly feared by atheists who cannot have any argument against quite literally. and this concept of God dismiss christianity as their God got breastfed and destroys Judaism as the rabbis in Judaism won an argument against God in their talmud book. only Islam has this concept of God that non can bring any argument against.

@Ivan π££ answer the question Hindu how many rakat in al fatiha? or in al Qaida? القاعدة؟

There is also a Greek song like that (a janissary who burnt his own village and recognised his mother there) and similar songs all over the Balkans

To all the people that are saying being taken as a janissary is good because of the education I assume if today their children are take to become murderers of their relatives will be happy.

​@@dggmn2109 They are not murders to their families. They were accepted as janissaries who will appoint later many influential position in the caliphate.

@@Historic_Tales How are not murderers of their families when they kill they brothers and sisters? so what if they have influential positions.

@@dggmn2109 their mothers and sisters? Don't go ultranationalist. They are the force of the Ottoman caliphate. They did not kill their brothers or sisters . They kill those who try to rebel against the Ottoman caliphate.

Merci beaucoup Isabelle, je suis honoré!

Don't misunderstand it either.. These jannisaries were ripped from their families, forcefully converted to Islam and made to forget their identities.. Please don't try to whitewash your history.

They have not made to forget nothing, Skanderberg is the most famous.

Thanks Boris, I really wanted my Serbian and other Balkan subscribers to enjoy this one :)

Thanks alot for the kind words Miloš!

Thanks alot! Yeah this was basically just an excuse to work on an hour of Balkan-Anatolian music haha

And oh this symphony is glorious, Farya never fails to capture the spirit of the Ottoman Empire. It resembles the Eastern Roman Empire but you know it's different and the Constantinople segments were very nice, never expected to hear the Ottoman version of it.

Turkish classical music is highly influenced by the Eastern Rome and orthodox church. we Turks respect and glorify the Byzantine heritage as well. greetings from Istanbul

​@@sinanermis5541 glorify? Turn the Hagia Sofia into a Church again then.

As for the "willing" and "many" at that, in the above statement, I must say that is a false exaggeration. it is something that is simply too painful for Indeed MANY of us that follow Farya and his work, even in this 21st century. Be careful and tread lightly.

Lol at devsirme romanticization

The reason she was willing was taken from poor families in the Balkans, there were conditions for this, 1 person was taken from each village anyway.

This is not true, most parents didn't give away their children to blood tax willingly, there were some that did that is true but it is a myth used to justify the practice as beneficial. It is in the end a mass conscription practice from youth and wasn't seen favorable by the parents, even with the rules in place like it couldn't be the only son of the family, and that only 1 boy taken from every so many families in a village. No need to try to justify practices of past states with modern morality.

Yes some families might be willing to give their children to the state but i think it is impossible to make a generalisation about a topic like this because in my opinion, we really don't have enough written resources from eyes of jannisarries. To be honest even if i had a 5 or 7 sons i wouldnt want give any of them but i live by modern morals. However, we can't deny the fact that jannisary corps was one the strongest , might be the strongest interest group at Ottoman Empire from its foundation to 1826 and being a jannisary was a hell of privilage in a society based on a godlike ruler and remaning are its slaves/servants regardless of their ethnicity and religion. Thats why during 16th century ethnic Turks started to get in Jannisary corps. By 17th century they become hereditary class located at heart of the Empire and held a immense poliitcal power and leverage against imperial council.

Magnificent and terrifying.... These scars will never heal. I am Bulgarian and I like the Turks. Sometimes I have discussions with friends or relatives about the Ottoman times and I support the idea that it wasn't so oppressive as our historians and politicians try to describe it. Life in Western Europe was worse until 18 century. But when they ask me: "What about the blood tax?" I don't have an answer....

Special Elite forces,mostly intelligent or strongest Christiaan childrens

Good rivals for their Christian rivals hussars and pikemen from the Catholic world

@@soslanroseft4750 the only thing that could destroy a janissary is a Poland- Lithuanian winged hussar

@@CONSTANTINEXI63 You are comparing an infantry unit with a cavalry unit. The Turkish Sipahi would destroy the winged hussars.

@Saban yeah, no, the winged hussars were by far the most powerful and feared cavalry in the world at the time, and they won against the siphai cavalry. Why do you think the Ottoman Empire was so afraid of the winged hussars, because the winged hussars destroyed almost all of the Ottoman soldiers that they fought

You right!Excellent work.