Uploaded August 2026 | Updated September 2026, 4 days ago
Turkish State Choir, cond. İbrahim Yazıcı
Ahmet Adnan Saygun (1907-1991) was the most famous composer of the "Turkish Five" who combined the Western classical tradition with Turkish folk music. For more on Saygun, see my score video of his viola concerto: youtube.com/watch?v=uxnNb4N756k
This work, a bit more traditional than Saygun's instrumental music, was written in 1943 as the last part of his Op.22 "Bir Tutam Kekik". The song itself, describing a clerk traveling to the Istanbul district of Üsküdar, is quite well known and has been adapted in various parts of the world, ranging in modern use from Saladin's theme in the Civilization 6 video game to (disputedly) German-based Eurodisco group Boney M's hit "Rasputin". However, Saygun's re-interpretation seems to be relatively unknown outside of the Turkish classical music scene, where it is frequently performed.
I got this scan from a friend and the quality is not great, so most of it is presented three systems to a page - hopefully this isn't any more than a slight inconvenience for those following the score on smaller screens. You can find the full text and English translation of "Kâtibim" here: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K%C3%A2tibim
Turkish State Choir, cond. İbrahim Yazıcı
Ahmet Adnan Saygun (1907-1991) was the most famous composer of the "Turkish Five" who combined the Western classical tradition with Turkish folk music. For more on Saygun, see my score video of his viola concerto: youtube.com/watch?v=uxnNb4N756k
This work, a bit more traditional than Saygun's instrumental music, was written in 1943 as the last part of his Op.22 "Bir Tutam Kekik". The song itself, describing a clerk traveling to the Istanbul district of Üsküdar, is quite well known and has been adapted in various parts of the world, ranging in modern use from Saladin's theme in the Civilization 6 video game to (disputedly) German-based Eurodisco group Boney M's hit "Rasputin". However, Saygun's re-interpretation seems to be relatively unknown outside of the Turkish classical music scene, where it is frequently performed.
I got this scan from a friend and the quality is not great, so most of it is presented three systems to a page - hopefully this isn't any more than a slight inconvenience for those following the score on smaller screens. You can find the full text and English translation of "Kâtibim" here: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K%C3%A2tibim
