Ok. Here’s a doozy. Really, this is one of my absolute favorite, favorite 78s of all time.
You want hyperbole? You’ve got it. I’m casting aside all restraint on this one, and probably my critical faculties. This is one of the most entertaining instrumental soloists I’ve ever heard. Sadık must have been from the region around the Black Sea, because his kemençe technique, well, rocks. He’s like the Jimi Hendrix of the instrument, which is a 3-stringed fiddle, held upright. It sounds like he’s taunting the competition when he plays.
I’m not positive when this recording was made, perhaps between the late 30s and mid-40s, on the Turkish HMV imprint, Sahibinin Sesi. I have been lucky to find a second Sadık 78 on Turkish Columbia. And as long as we’re in the nerdy, provenance-related paragraph, I should mention another, extra-special reason I enjoy this 78 so much: the surface of this record looks like garbage, yet it sounds beautiful! Hats off to the Turkish pressing. I really hope you enjoy this. For more, here’s a great video of a present-day kemençe master.
Rizeli Sadık – Erkek Kadın Oyun Havası
Technical Notes
Label: Sahibinin Sesi (Turkish HMV)
Issue Number: AX. 2023
Matrix Number: OTB 593
Excavated Shellac 
Wow, that’s a helluva Turkish hoedown! Nice!
This record was too hard to find to me. I have another record of Rizeli Sadık, which is published by Kalan Publishing in Turkey in a nostalgy serie. But, if you want a really good play of kemençe, you should listen Bicoğlu Osman (or Piçoğlu Osman in some sources).
Thank you for the record again and again…
And the recording date: It must be before 1938-39, because Turkish musician A.Saygun mentions this records in his book about folk music.
Two records by Rizeli Sadık:
Nazmiye: http://rapidshare.com/files/62763983/Nazmiye.mp3
Yenge Kızı: http://uploaded.to/?id=w65ks3
Thanks, celal! The download limit for free users has expired for the first song, however. Yenge Kızı is still available, though – great music!
holy toledo!
mind-shattering!
thank you!
thanks very much
some information about his life:
sadık aynacı (or rizeli sadık) born in rize, in 1888. he became a sailor when he was 15, and started to play kemençe. then he came to istanbul, made at least 12 record from sahibinin sesi and columbia. he died in 1946 in istanbul. some of his songs are transcribed by ahmed adnan saygun.
and here is a tiny photo of him: http://www.serander.net/images_1/rizeli_sadik.jpg
Thank you, VK! Terrific information on an artist who deserves to be more well-known…
sağolasın sadık. Teşekkürler
Rizeli Sadık’s kemanche style is one held in common by the Pontic Greeks (mostly deported from Turkey in 1923) and the Laz (whose language is related to Georgian). Guessing from his first name, I’d say he might well have been Laz himself.
In any case, the track is wonderful stuff. Thanks for uploading it!
The photo given in a comment is not Sadık’s photo. That photo was published in a book named “Kemençemin Telleri”, which is about famous kemençe-players, and it was published with an explanation saying “a kemençe-player from 1940’s”. You can see “real” Sadık here: http://img30.imageshack.us/i/ariv011.jpg/ (the photo is from a Columbia catalogue).
can you upload “rizeli sadik – yenge kizin”?
the uploaded file has been deleted.
Büyü ve Havas hakkında herşey…
went to share this wonderful piece of music with a friend and I am having problems with the sound file on FMA right now – it has a very distracting intermittent distortion that was not there last time i listened to this FANTASTIC track a few years ago. is this a problem for anyone else?
Hi Will – Yes, you’re right – that’s strange. It’s not in the original file obviously, so there must be something going on at the FMA. I’ll send them a message. — JW