Customer Reviews

Suleyman The Magnificent: Original Soundtrack

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Wonderfully evocative of the Ottoman Empire in the days of its greatness under Suleiman "The Lawgiver". One of my favourites is track 16 played on the Turkish flute, the Ney, called "The Gate of Heaven" - it absolutely reeks of mystery. Buy this CD.

Amazing, wonderful for middle eastern dance. It's good to watch the video for which it is the soundtrack to understand the swirling emotions and destinies of it's characters. I have worn out my tape, I love painting to it and dancing to it.

Brian Keane is one of my favorite tastes of the middle east, along with Michael Danna, Omar Tekbilek and Hossam Ramzy. I recommend these artists if you want to create an ambience of another world.

A soundtrack to a documentary, this album nevertheless is able to stand alone. Ottoman themes, Turkish instruments, strong drum rhythms, a wide variety of sounds from ney flute, tanbur, baglama, and guitar lutes, rabab spiked fiddle, and zither, and vocals provide a richly ornamented Oriental tapestry. Brian Keane's occasional synthesizers do not distract and provide a harmonic drone. Most of the brief tracks together create an atmosphere. Some pieces are dances; others are formal works in traditional modes, still others are traditional folk tunes. At the end, we feel as if we spent a day in an Istanbul bazaar, fragrant with spices and hookah smoke, luxuriant in colorful clothing and glistening metallic wares, and in the distance the courtyard of the Caliph, with its echoing music beckoning us forward. Yes, this album is a journey.

I ordered this Suleyman The Magnificent CD because of the item description and I wasn't disappointed! It's a wonderful soundtrack for those who enjoy Middle Eastern music. Now I want to see the documentary that this was written for!

Performed by Omar Faruk Tekbilek, Brian Keane, Dincer Dalkilic and Emin Gunduz, this CD provides a soundtrack to the film Suleyman the Magnificent. And what a wonderful job it does. The music captures the mood and feel of the royal courts of the 16th century Ottoman Empire. From the stately, dignified "Istanbul'dan Goruntuler" to the lively "Egeli Gemici" and "Kuzeydeki Koy" to the classical sounding "Rast Medhal" and "Hicaz Taksimi" to the mystical "Mevlana", each song carries with a deep, beautiful ambience. The use of classical instruments such as the ney, kevel, kanun, rabab, tanbur, def, darbuka and saz (sometimes accompanied by Tekbilek's own vocals) suits the film wonderfully. I'm glad that I bought this CD, and strongly advise anyone who loves classical and religious Turkish music to do the same (and, for that matter, to see the film as well).

This CD was purchased through Amazon.com. I was happy to be able to listen to pieces of each of the selections on the CD before buying it. When we were able to hear the whole of it, but my husband i and were very pleased. Excellent sound and musicianship.

This music is cheerful and uplifting. Heard it on the radio over 12 years ago and finally tracked it down with Amazon. Recommend it to anyone who likes unusual music for a change of pace. Check out the other albums from Brian Keane and Omar Faruk Tekbilek, they are fantastic. Get them all.