The Reed Artist of Istanbul
The Reed Artist of Istanbul
A writer searches Istanbul's cafés and alleys for the king of the ney, an enigmatic — and at times, endangered — flute that has long been a mainstay of Muslim musical traditions.
Sayin is a wonderful man, a local filmmaker told me, and he could tell me everything I want to know. “Everyone wants to interview him,” she said. But no one succeeds. “Even if the president comes, he won’t talk about the ney,” a ney maker once told me. “Catching an interview with Niyazi Sayin would be an accomplishment like walking on the moon.”
Dear Friends,
Our musical theme continues this week with a quick trip to Istanbul, following one writer’s quest to track down and interview an elderly, enigmatic (and elusive) master of the ney. A traditional Middle Eastern flute, the ney is one of the world’s oldest instruments in continuous use. Its design had not changed for centuries, until a man named Niyazi Sayin, or so it was rumored, invented a new way of making the ancient instrument—a method so ingenious that it became the standard across Turkey.
We hope you’ll enjoy reading “The Reed Artist,” written and photographed by Rollo Romig. It’s a fascinating tale. We also have an excellent audio version of this story, narrated by Göran Norquist and featuring music by Neyzen Emin. It’s available to play or download directly from our website, or wherever you like to stream your podcasts, including Apple and Spotify.
Watch Sayin’s remarkable and influential method of mouthing the ney, a technique that’s come to be known as ‘lip vibrato':
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Sincerely,
Todd Oppenheimer
Publisher & Editor-in-Chief, Craftsmanship Magazine
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