Ruhi Su

Mehmet Ruhi Su ( * 1912 in Van, † September 20, 1985 in Istanbul) was a Turkish folk singer and saz player of Armenian descent.

Life

Already at an early age he lost his family during the genocide of the Armenians and therefore grew up only with a poor family in Adana and later attended a boarding school for orphans in Adana. Su began playing the violin at the age of 10 years. In 1936 he attended a music school and in 1942 he studied at the Music Conservatory in Ankara (Ankara Devlet Konservatuarı ). In the following years he worked as a teacher at the middle school Ankara Cebeci İkinci Ortaokulu and the village Institute Hasanoglan. He then worked at the State Opera ( Devlet Operasi ) and appeared in operas such as Madame Butterfly, Fidelio, Tosca and Rigoletto. During his contemporary music education, he also studied Turkish folk music and had regular broadcasts on the radio, playing saz and singing folk songs while he worked on the opera. In 1952 he was imprisoned for political reasons, for five years, what his career in the opera put an end to.

While he roamed all over Anatolia from one village to another, he began to record folk songs. Its western music career formed the basis of his approach to the interpretation and implementation of traditional Turkish music. He used works of ancient Turkish Alevi poet - singer Aşık mentioned as Yunus Emre and Pir Sultan Abdal. In his songs he talks about the neglected and oppressed people and expresses his love for mankind.

Ruhi Su died on September 20, 1985 and was buried in the cemetery Zincirlikuyu in Istanbul. His wife Sidika Su died on 18 October 2006.

Discography

Albums

After his death

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