Mevlana Jalaluddin Rumi, whose life and mystical poetry provided the inspiration for the Mevlevi Sufi order, is one of the world\u27s best-known poets.
Yet the centuries-long musical tradition cultivated by the Mevleviye remains much less known. In this deeply researched book, renowned scholar Walter Feldman traces the historical development of Mevlevi music and brings to light the remarkable musical and mystical aesthetics of the Mevlevi ayin – the instrumental and vocal accompaniment to the sublime ceremony of the \u27Whirling\u27 Dervishes.
This accessible introduction to the relationship between music and the performative elements of Sufi practice presents the biographies of the principal Mevlevi musicians, showing both their creation of the music of the ayin and their key role in the development of Ottoman court music. It also includes numerous original translations of Turkish verse by major Mevlevi poets and presents music examples with explanation, both in the book and freely available on the Aga Khan Music Programme website.https://ecommons.aku.edu/uk_ismc_series_music/1001/thumbnail.jp
