Turkish and Kurdish songs
April 14 to 18, 2025
PURPOSE
This training is based on the development of voice and ear training in the repertoires of Turkish and Kurdish singing, with a view to providing personalized support to each participant.
GENERAL CONTENT
With many years of teaching Anatolian music, Eléonore Fourniau proposes a methodical approach to these repertoires while remaining far from any academicism.
The pedagogical content of her master-class will include:
- Daily body and vocal warm-up
- Breathing exercises and vocal technique specific to Anatolian singing
- Methodical exercises of ornamentation according to the different regional styles
- Work ofa varied repertoire in Turkish and Kurdish
- Work on the main modes, exercises to hear and reproduce the “quarter-tone”
- Work of the different rhythmic grooves using the bendir (drum on frame)
- Introduction to chain dances
- Cultural and historical contextualization
METHODOLOGY
Eléonore Fourniau’s methodology is based on oral transmission that aims at the development of the ear, sharpening the precision in listening and the exact reproduction of the vocal gesture.
It is also based on the integration of rhythms by the body, songs by the heart, and on the repetitive practice of musical exercises and phrases in order to integrate them by making “let go of the mind”, far from any score.
FINAL PURPOSE
- Distinguish the main modes, listen to, and reproduce the quarter tones.
- Know the pronunciation of the different letters of Turkish and Kurdish
- Singing using the appropriate ornamentations several songs in Turkish and Kurdish
- For the more advanced ones: propose their own ornaments as well as bring an interpretation of songs not covered during the class, which Eléonore can comment on and help to improve their interpretation.
- Public restitution of the participants at the end of the master-class.
TERMS OF PARTICIPATION
Have a basic knowledge of Anatolian singing (Turkish or Kurdish) or singing in another Eastern tradition (Greek, Arabic, Persian).
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BIOGRAPHY
Born in a family of historians specializing in Central Asia, Eléonore Fourniau spent three years of her adolescence in Uzbekistan, where she learned Russian. Her father speaking Occitan, she was made aware of traditional music and regional languages from an early age.
Trained in classical piano since the age of 7, she discovered the hurdy-gurdy at the age of 19. She studied Russian and History at the ENS in Lyon and obtained the Agrégation of History in 2010 at the age of 23.
With her hurdy-gurdy on her back, she took a one-way ticket to Turkey in 2010 and became passionate about studying local languages and music, first Turkish and then Kurdish.
On the spot, she founded the groups OKSIT, ESMAN, a duo with MERCAN ERZINCAN. Over the course of her encounters, whether academic (she studied at the State Conservatory of Istanbul Technical University for 3 years), traditional (master-to-school relationship with Dengbej Xalide, Gülseven Medar), or friendly, she forged a special bond with these cultures.
Since 2016, she shares the stage with MIKAIL ASLAN, one of the great singers of the decade, and made numerous tours with him (Turkey, Europe, Australia).
With the contribution of the hurdy-gurdy to her repertoire, an astonishing vocal mastery resulting from diligent work, and a few viral videos (Lê Lê Rihê, Xezal Xezal, which have been viewed more than 30 million times, all networks combined), she was quickly noticed by the media.
Alongside the development of other projects, she began her solo career in 2017 and performed in many events and world music festivals throughout Europe (Germany, Switzerland, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, United Kingdom, Spain, Belgium etc.) and elsewhere (India, Canada, Kyrgyzstan, etc.).
She is currently preparing her first album of Kurdish music, an ambitious project bringing together more than 30 musicians including Sylvain Barou, Efren Lopez, Bijan Chemirani, Ersoj Kazimov, Djambo Agusev orchestra, the New World Strings ensemble, Ufuk Simsek, Fatih Oral, Turgut Özüfler, Tarık Aslan, Julien Stevenin, Emrah Kaptan, and other musicians from Europe and Turkey.
In addition, she is also keen to highlight the strength of women’s voices, she founded in parallelthe two vocal ensembles: the vocal trio SAMAÏA (polyphonies), and the quartet TELLI TURNALAR (music of Anatolia).
Passionate about teaching, she has been organizing since 2014 many courses, where it is important to her to develop a non-compartmentalized approach to these learnings (singing lessons but also rhythm, baglama, dances etc.).
In 2020, she launched group on-line classes during the various lock downs, and brought together a large community of students around the love of Turkish and Kurdish songs.