# Suphi Ezgi

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**Mehmet Suphi Ezgi** (1869 – 12 April 1962) was an Ottoman-born Turkish military physician who specialized in neurology, and a musician, musicologist and composer. He is best known for his studies of Ottoman classical music.[1]

## Early life and education

Mehmet Suphi was born to İsmail Zühdü and his spouse Emine in Açıktürbe quarter of [Üsküdar](/source/%C3%9Csk%C3%BCdar), [Istanbul](/source/Istanbul), then [Ottoman Empire](/source/Ottoman_Empire), in 1869.[1][2] His family name "Ezgi", he took after the adoption of the [Surname Law](/source/Surname_Law_(Turkey)) in 1934, means ""melody"in Türkish leanguage.His father was an accounting controller at the Ministry of Post and Telegraphs of the Ottoman Government.[1] Following the secondary education, he attended the Imperial Military Medicine School.[1][2] He graduated in 1892 in the rank of [Captain](/source/Captain_(armed_forces)).[1]

Already at the age of five, he stood out while chanting in the neighborhood school. His father was an amateur singer and music instrument player, who arranged weekly musical meetings at home with music lover associates. Notable musicians of the era like Medeni Aziz Efendi, [Hacı Arif Bey](/source/Hac%C4%B1_Arif_Bey) (1831-1885) and Kemani Tahsin joined the meetings.[2] Mehmet Suphi attended the meetings in the beginning by singing. At the age of eleven, he received his first music lessons in violin from Kemani Tahsin, adjutant major of the Imperial Military Music Band.[1][2] During his education of medicine at the boarding school, he visited Medeni Aziz Efendi on weekends for musical tuition.[2]

## Military career

He was appointed military physician of [neurology](/source/Neurology) at the 1st [Battalion](/source/Battalion) of the 58th [Regiment](/source/Regiment) in [Benghazi](/source/Benghazi), Libya during the [1911–1912 Italo-Turkish War](/source/Italo-Turkish_War). He returned home in 1913.[1] During [World War I](/source/Ottoman_Empire_during_World_War_I), he served in the rank of [colonel](/source/Colonel) as [chief physician](/source/Chief_physician) of the Hospital for Infectious Diseases (ota: *Emrâz-ı İntâniyye Hastahanesi*) in Serviburnu, [Beykoz, Istanbul](/source/Beykoz).[1]

With the beginning of the [Turkish War of Independence](/source/Turkish_War_of_Independence), he moved to [Anatolia](/source/Anatolia), and was appointed chief physician of the Central Hospital of [Ankara](/source/Ankara). He also served at many places as a physician. He retired from his military duty following the [proclamation of Republic](/source/Republic_Day_(Turkey)) in 1923. He then worked for nine years as a public physician for the government and municipalities before he resigned.[1]

## Music and musicology studies

Ezgi played the tanbur, as well as the violin and the viola d'amore, and blew the [ney](/source/Ney). By singing, he had a special own style.[1][2] He learned Western European musical notation from Hacı Arif Bey, who was his father's music teacher for [qanun](/source/Qanun_(instrument)) and the [Hamparsum](/source/Hampartsoum_Limondjian) notation of [Ottoman classical music](/source/Ottoman_classical_music) from [Rauf Yekta](/source/Rauf_Yekta) (1871–1935).[1] Later, he was able to dechipher the form called the "Mute Hamparsum notation".[1][2] He received music lessons for about three years from Zekai Dede (1816–1885). He took lessons for [viola d'amore](/source/Viola_d'amore) and then for [tanbur](/source/Turkish_tambur) playing from Halim Efendi, Sheikh of the [Rifa`i Order](/source/Rifa%60i) lodge in [Kozyatağı](/source/Kozyata%C4%9F%C4%B1). Among his music teachers are also Medeni Aziz Efendi (?–1895), with him he performed fasıl during his time at the Military Medicine School, Hüseyin Fahreddin Dede (1854–1911), Sheikh of the [Mevlevi Order](/source/Mevlevi_Order) lodge in Bahariye, [Kadıköy](/source/Kad%C4%B1k%C3%B6y), from him he obtained a rich repertoire of religious music, and [Edgar Manas Efendi](/source/Edgar_Manas) (1875–1964), from him he took lessons in western music and harmony after 1911.[1]

He composed more than 700 works in a great number of [Turkish makams](/source/Turkish_makam), however, he deemed only 165 of them worthy of publishing. His song *Vatan Şarkısı* ("Song of Homeland"), of which [lyrics](/source/Lyrics) are written by poet [Tevfik Fikret](/source/Tevfik_Fikret) (1867–1915), was [harmonized](/source/Harmonization) by [Albert Lavignac](/source/Albert_Lavignac) (1846–1916), academic at the [Conservatoire de Paris](/source/Conservatoire_de_Paris). 28 of his songs, which are compositions based on [Ottoman](/source/Ottoman_Empire) poet [Nedîm](/source/Ned%C3%AEm)'s (c. 1681–1730) [odes](/source/Ode), were included in the operetta *Lale Devri* ("[Tulip period](/source/Tulip_period)") by Musahibzade Celal in 1916. He also made some modifications in the Turkish music makams, and was music teacher, teaching the likes of Kemal Batanay (1893–1981), Ercüment Berker (1920–2009), Fahri Kopuz (1882–1968), Laika Karabey (1909 -1989), Mesut Cemil, Yılmaz Öztuna (1930-2012), Ahmet Çağan and Arif Sami Toker (1926-1997).[1]

In 1932, he was appointed member of the Board for the Determination and Classification of Historical Turkish Music Works.(Turkish: *Tarihî Türk Mûsikisi Eserlerini Tasnif ve Tesbit Heyeti*) at Istanbul City Conservatory. It began a period in which the research and study of Turkish music gained significance importance in his life. His board mission lasted 15 years. His research works, some of the in collaboration with others, were published by the Conservatory of Istanbul between 1933 and 1953. His works of *Tanbur Metodu* (The Method of Tanbur") and *Türk Musikisi Solfej Metodu* ("Solfège Method of Turkish Music") were partly published in the *Turkish Music Journal*. In 1956, he published an article on the [tempo](/source/Tempo) in the Turkish Music in the *Istanbul Institute Journal*.[1]

## Later years and death

In his last years, he lived as an [anchorite](/source/Anchorite) in [Beykoz](/source/Beykoz), Istanbul. Ezgi died on 12 April 1962, and was buried at [Zincirlikuyu Cemetery](/source/Zincirlikuyu_Cemetery).[1]

## Publications

1. Ezgi, Suphi, *Nazarî, Amelî Türk Musikisi* (I-V, İstanbul 1933–1953)[3] ("Theoretical and Practical Turkish Music")
1. Ezgi Suphi et al., *Türk Musikisi Klasiklerinden İlâhîler* (I-III, İstanbul 1931–1933) ("From the Turkish Music Classics: Chants")
1. Ezgi Suphi et al., *Türk Musikisi Klasiklerinden: Bektaşî Nefesleri* (IV-V, İstanbul 1933) (" From the Turkish Music Classics: [Bektashi Order](/source/Bektashi_Order) Music")
1. Ezgi Suphi et al., *Türk Musikisi Klasiklerinden: Mevlevî Âyinleri* (VI-XVIII, İstanbul 1934–1939)[4] ("From the Turkish Music Classics: Mevlevi Order Rituals ")
1. Ezgi, Suphi, *Hâfız Mehmed Zekâî Dede Efendi Külliyât*ı (I-III, İstanbul 1940–1943) ("Repertoire of [Hafız](/source/Hafiz_(Quran)) Mehmed Zekaî Dede (1816–1885)")
1. Ezgi Suphi et al., *Evc Bûselik, Mâhur Bûselik, Muhayyer Bûselik, Nevâ Bûselik, Bûselik, Hisâr Bûselik Fasılları* (İstanbul 1943) ("Turkish Makam Buselik")
1. Ezgi, Suphi, *Tanbûrî Mustafa Çavuş’un 36 Şarkısı* (İstanbul 1948) ("36 Songs of Tanbûrî Mustafa Çavuş (1700–1770)")
1. Ezgi, Suphi, *Türk Musikisi Klasiklerinden: Temcit-Na’t-Salât-Durak* (İstanbul 1945) ("From the Turkish Music Classics: [Sufism](/source/Sufism) Music ")

## References

1. ["Ezgi, Mehmet Suphi"](https://islamansiklopedisi.org.tr/ezgi-mehmet-suphi) (in Turkish). İslam Ansiklopedidi. Retrieved 14 April 2020.

1. Yener, Suat. ["Dr. Suphi Zühdü Ezgi (1869-1962)"](http://www.musikiklavuzu.net/?/blog/bestekarlar/dr-suphi-zuhdu-ezgi-1869-19629) (in Turkish). Musiki Klavuzu. Retrieved 19 April 2020.

1. ["Nazari ve Ameli Türk Musikisi"](https://www.nadirkitap.com/nazari-ve-ameli-turk-musikisi-1-5-cilt-takim-dr-suphi-ezgi-kitap2416501.html) (in Turkish). Nadir Kitap. Retrieved 19 April 2020.

1. ["Türk musikisi klasiklerinden: Mevlevi ayinleri XVII - Dede Efendi - Bestenigar Ayini"](https://www.nadirkitap.com/turk-musikisi-klasiklerinden-mevlevi-ayinleri-xvii-dede-efendi-bestenigar-ayini-kitap14033807.html) (in Turkish). Nadir Kitap. Retrieved 19 April 2020.

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Suphi Ezgi](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suphi_Ezgi) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suphi_Ezgi?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.