Tatyos Enserciyan

Background

An Armenian from Istanbul, Tatyos Efendi was born in 1858 in the Ortaköy district of Istanbul as the son of Monakyan (Manuti), a musician at the Ortaköy Armenian Church.

Education

Tatyos Efendi"s family had a minor trading business and when he finished the Ortaköy Armenian Elementary School, he started an apprenticeship at a locksmith and later became an apprentice at a savat workshop (a traditional form of silver work).

Career

He played the kanun with amateur groups and musical meetings in a family setting. He conducted many fasıl concerts in various places including the Pirincci Gazino with artists like Karakaş, Ovakim and Şemsi. He composed many popular songs and instrumental works for fasıl.

His successful instrumental works show the influence of these co-performances.

Tatyos Efendi"s compositions successfully reflect the traditional aspects of the melodic forms and are a testimony to his superior understanding of the structure of Turkish classical music The musicians that learned from him include Arşak Çömlekçiyan, Münir Mazhar Kamsoy, Nasibin Mehmet Yürü, Mustafa Sunar and Abdülkadir Töre.

The composer spent his last years alone in misery. Although especially famous for his command of musical notation and able to take down a tune to paper immediately at first hearing, many of Tatyos Efendi"s works were not written down and were lost in time.

His surviving works are the peşrevs in the Karcığar, Suznak, Rast makams (melodic form), the saz semais in the Hüseyni, Süznak, Rast makams and more than fifty songs in various makams.

Connections

Friend:

Ahmed Rasim Bey