Folk poet, composer and
interpreter (B. 1929, Şanlıurfa - D. 20th January
2004, Şanlıurfa). His real name was Bedih Yoluk and he was the last
representative of the specific tradition of the region of
Şanlıurfa, described
as the “Fertile Crescent” of the world and one of the oldest cities of the
“Cradle of Civilizations” Mesopotamia, owns a rich fund of culture with an
unknown beginning. There is a unique soul that holds the story of humanity in
the memory of the city and the divine recollections of the three great
religions permeated through the environment in its attraction and voice… Many
prophets were born here and breathed here, in particular Hz. İbrahim. Hz.
İbrahim resorted to Allah when he stood up to Nimrod. Barnabas, who was one of
the apostles of Jesus, walked around this city’s streets by murmuring the
melodies of the Bible, together with his adherents. Turkmens, Crusaders, Arabs,
Armenians, Kurds and Chaldeans sat here to the same table on the “Assyrian
Enlightenment”, accompanied by Barak music. Today, the community of this city
gives the names Halil, İbrahim, İsa, Muhammet, Eyüp, Musa, Yusuf, Bünyamin,
Meryem, Zeliha to their children because of this entire rich culture.
Therefore,
the tradition is the breath for the people in
Kazancı, whose interest
in music started at young ages, got married when he was fourteen years old
because he was the only child of the family and due to the insistence of his
father. In his youth, his father took him to Mecbelbahır with him. The nights
in here passed with meetings accompanied by music and fasils. The music masters
of
He never made a record.
After the arrival of the rotor tape recorder to Şanlıurfa, he became wanted by people
interested in making records and he sang gazelles, mayas and folk songs to
hundreds of local records free of charge. He sang the gazelle of many poets in various
maqams according to his own manner. He knew very well the tones and the
passages of tones (the change of tone, color and volume in one composition,
passage from one tone to another tone, modulation). Sometimes, he sang a song
from the art music in his own manner, in a different interpretation, just like
an unmetered folk song. He had a unique bass voice. In addition to hundreds of
local cassettes, he also sang gazelles, mayas and folk songs in cassettes
recorded in Istanbul. The gazelles he sang in the cassette series named “Urfa
Gecelik” were much admired within the country.
Kazancı Bedih educated
many people singing gazelles. In addition, many people listened to his local
bands, benefited from them and have tried to sing with his manner. Everybody is
in accord with opinion that there was something quite different that
glamourized the listeners in the voice of this quiet and intelligent man who
had a wide hearth and who knew what was going on. In a time close to his death,
his fans essayed to sacrifice two camels to celebrate the cassette he released.
The fact that he jumped in front of the camels to prevent them to be sacrificed
shows his personality.
Kazancı Bedih, who
recorded hundreds of local records during his musical life, started to record
cassettes that were sold throughout Turkey in the year of 1988. First of all,
he sang in the cassette named “Urfa Geceleri 3”, and then in “Urfa Geceleri 4”
and “Urfa Geceleri 6” on behalf of the company Sim Kasetçilik in