The Oratorio of Saygun was inspired by Yunus Emre’s poetry and brought Saygun worldwide acclaim. The Concerto for Baglama is a beautiful cross-over between traditional Turkish music and Western musical styles. The Hoofdstadkoor presents Saygun’s oratorio and Arif Sag performs his own concerto. Both pieces are accompanied by the Promenade Orkest.
       
Sixty years of Hoofdstadkoor in 2012: anniversary project with oratorio by Ahmet Adnan Saygun
The oratorio celebrates the life of the 13th century philosopher Yunus Emre, not well-known in the Netherlands but a true celebrity among Turks. In 2002 we performed this composition with four solo singers from the Turkish State Opera in Ankara, which was a great success. Kulsan invited the Hoofdstadkoor, which turns 50 in 2012, to reprise this performance on the occasion of 400 years of commercial relations between the Netherlands and Turkey.  
Ahmet Adnan Saygun (1907 - Istanbul 1991) belonged to the first generation of Turkish composers who studied in the West. The works of the renowned Saygun included five symphonies, four operas and two oratorios. Yunus Emre is his magnum opus. The libretto of this oratorio is based on the poems of Yunus Emre, whose poetry has a preeminent place in world literature. In Turkey, many can quote him by heart. The oratorio is of a philosophical nature: What is man in the light of eternity? This question is a central theme to Yunus Emre’s thinking, calling for charity and tolerance rather than hostility and hatred. The musical form is Western, the content is Oriental. The 1947 premiere in Paris made Saygun world-famous.
For decades now the Hoofdstadkoor has consistently managed to produce remarkable choral concerts. The society has a unique position in that it presents works that are rarely performed in Amsterdam. The choir presents three concerts every two years and serves as the supporting choir for the annual Hoofdstad Scratch singalong event, organised in the Amsterdam Concertgebouw by conductor Martin van der Brugge since 2004.

Concerto for Baglama by Arif Sag Trio & Orchestra
Arif Sag is not only a virtuoso interpreter of traditional folk music but a talented composer, as is apparent from his Concerto for Baglama, the Turkish long-necked lute which is sometimes referred to as a saz. In his Concerto Sag has amalgamated the Oriental sounds of Anatolian folk music with the forms of Western classical music. The Concerto has previously been performed by the Metropole Orkest to great acclaim. Arif Sag is one of the most famous Anatolian troubadours of this century, perpetuating the Alevi tradition by interpreting ancient songs and melodies, while adding his own compositions to the repertoire. Sag is active both in Turkey and abroad and has previously been invited by Kulsan to perform with the Spanish flamenco guitarist Tomatito, and in 2002 with Gerardo Nunez’s Flamenco Ensemble. Sag has written more than 200 songs and released over forty CD’s. In the Dutch media Arif Sag was dubbed “the hero of the baglama” by the Volkskrant, while the NRC praised him for his “dexterous instrumental intermezzi, especially on the neck of the baglama”.